8 Practical Uses for an Apple AirTag

Apple introduced the AirTag in 2021 as an extension of the iPhone and its Find My app, tapping into the software’s sprawling global network to help keep track of important items. Designed to run for over a year on a standard, replaceable battery, the AirTag is an inexpensive tool that’s in it for the long haul. Its one-tap setup intuitively pairs to your iPhone or iPad and can attach to the desired item. The AirTag can be instantly integrated into your everyday life, and there are other practical uses for an Apple AirTag as well….

But first, what is an Apple AirTag?

The AirTag is a small, lightweight, elegantly designed accessory that utilizes the Find My app and network to provide location information. This is all while keeping sensitive data private with end-to-end encryption. It is IP67 water- and dust-resistant, and can send out a secure Bluetooth signal to pair Apple mobile devices. For items that are misplaced and nearby, like your keys or wallet, the AirTag can play a sound through its built-in speaker for easy recognition. 

As of iOS 17, it’s possible to share an AirTag with up to five others. Therefore, families and friends can keep track of communal, everyday items. When an AirTag is left far behind, it anonymously taps into the Find My network at large, built upon hundreds of millions of iPhones, iPads, and Mac devices around the world. The AirTag’s Bluetooth emission pings the nearest Find My-enabled Apple product and uploads location information to iCloud. You can then open your own Find My app to see your AirTag’s physical location. Plus, it’s all done anonymously and with encryption to protect everyone’s privacy in the process.   

Practical Uses

For Pets

Make sure your furry friends don’t stray too far from home—or safely locate them if they do—using an Apple AirTag. There are numerous cases, key rings, and holders for the AirTag, many of which are small and discreet enough to comfortably attach to a dog or cat collar. Using an AirTag ensures you have information about your pet’s whereabouts second-to-second, which is a much more time-sensitive solution to traditional collar tags or microchips.     

For Kids

Today’s world is a smartphone-driven place, but there are still those who are too young to have a handheld device of their own. It’s important for parents to be able to check in with their youngsters from time to time, and the Apple AirTag is a convenient and nondescript means of doing so. Place an AirTag in a school backpack and relax knowing that your child is safe where they’re meant to be.   

For Luggage

Lost luggage is one of the most helpless feelings associated with travel. Slipping an AirTag into your suitcase may not prevent an airline from misplacing your bag, but it can offer a sense of comfort in knowing where it is. It can potentially even help get it back sooner. In less extreme cases, like at the baggage carousel, it’s possible to ping your AirTag with audio to help uncover your luggage in a sea of others. 

For Your Camera Bag

Photographers understand the importance of protecting the tools that help them create. With thousands invested in bodies, lenses, and accessories, an Apple AirTag is the least expensive means of protecting valuable equipment. In the event that a camera bag is misplaced during a gig—or, at worst, stolen—the AirTag is there to track its movement at every step. Professional and hobbyist creators alike can benefit from the reassurance a simple AirTag provides.

For Your Keys or Wallet

AirTags are great for daily essentials like keys and wallets. We’ve all lost one (or both) of these at some point, and it’s always a frustrating experience—especially when you’re in a hurry. The AirTag as a keychain is aesthetically sleek. It’s also incredibly functional for finding missing keys. Equally viable in a wallet, the thin and lightweight AirTag doesn’t occupy too much space. When items are out of sight, yet not far away, the AirTag’s Bluetooth beam and playable sound effect can quickly help you recover them. 

For Your Bike

Beyond lost or stolen possessions, there’s a prominent personal safety aspect of Apple AirTag functionality that makes it absolutely invaluable. Whether you’re a two-wheeled commuter, downhill mountain biker, trail rider, or road cyclist, hooking an AirTag to your ride and sharing it with friends and family is a simple means of letting those close to you know you’re safe and sound at all times. In the event of accident or injury, AirTag and Find My offer precise location information so help is never too far away. 

For Your Car

Perhaps one of the most common and passive uses of an AirTag is placing it in the car. Possible theft aside, there are much more innocent benefits to being able to track your vehicle’s position. How many times has your car been “lost” in a parking structure, forgotten in the dreary corner of a lot, or otherwise been unreachable after a concert, sporting event, or even just a trip to the grocery store? With an AirTag in the glove compartment, those momentary lapses in memory may not be a thing of the past, but they’ll no longer be as big an obstacle.    

For Your Drone

Drones are extremely popular among content creators and hobby drone pilots. Flying virtually anywhere outside of an open field presents a host of navigational challenges that threaten to drop a drone from the sky. If it goes down in a densely forested area, for example, it could prove nearly unrecoverable. An Apple AirTag still offers pinpoint accuracy to find your aircraft should it happen to go down. Additionally, there’s the chance that a drone unintentionally flies too far outside of its range, loses reception, and crashes. Again, the AirTag can mark its location and get it back in the sky sooner than later.   

Conclusion

Apple’s innovations build on Find My app capabilities, opening up any item, vehicle, or even pet to quick and seamless discovery in times of distress. Safety is always first, and when a faraway AirTag is revealed by the expansive Find My network, all location information is handled anonymously and securely. The AirTag is just another part of the Apple ecosystem, making it easier to protect people, pets, or possessions.