These tools can help you find lost devices

Maybe notice Apple AirTags in the headlines lately — as Apple’s new products tend to be — but these little tracking discs are the latest in a long line of options for storing tabs where your phones, tablets, and laptops are.

Location tracking features on our devices are valid privacy issues, and the more advanced they are, the more problematic they can be (see this piece How Apple AirTags can be a gift for hunters and pursuers) but they also mean that our precious equipment can report their location around the clock, making it much more difficult to lose something.

With AirTags and Galaxy SmartTags, Tile trackers, and all other similar products, this type of location tracking can be extended to all kinds of items, from bags to key chains. Even if something does not indicate its location, it can be attached to an existing device.

If you decide to find out where your most valuable items are, you have more options than ever before.

Apple

Let’s start with Apple, which has just launched AirTags. These little followers Find My App You can find it pre-installed on iPhones, iPads and Macs. It is also available through the website iCloud portal, which can be accessed through any computer with a web browser.

Most modern Apple products can report location via Find Me, not only phones and laptops, but also AirPods and Apple Watch. The Apple Pencil can’t be located through this app, but as far as Apple devices are concerned, it’s a minority. To make sure your device is being tracked, tap your name then Find My In the Settings section of iPhone or iPad or select Security and privacy then Privacy In Mac System Preferences.

You can see your devices on a map Find me on launch and see details including how they left the battery charge, if any. Choose a device and you can delete it remotely, lock it to protect it from unauthorized access, or extract sound (very useful if it can fall on the back of the sofa).

AirTags works a little differently. They do not report your location directly, but communicate with your other devices using short-range connections (via Bluetooth and more specifically) Ultra-Wide). While they are around (Apple has not provided a specific range), they can be found on your devices through the Find My app.