AirTags were marketed by Apple as the ultimate tool to prevent you from misplacing your keys, wallet, or bag. However, how about attaching it to a live animal and tracking its movements if it goes missing?

There's no major reason not to use AirTags to track your pet; but it is not going to work like many people think. After all, there is no secret that AirTags work very well for tracking a static object, such as a backpack left in an office, a car in a parking lot, or a wallet in the bushes on a path. By contrast, a pet introduces several new challenges.

First, Apple itself admits that AirTags were not designed to track living objects like a person or pet.

When a dog or cat goes missing, it is less likely to stay in one place but rather move its head erratically, sniffing, running, or looking in different directions. Movement seems to seriously disrupt the tracking ability of AirTags. In theory, you can locate the general location of a lost pet, but the key word in this sentence is “general”, meaning within a hundred to two hundred meters depending on the pet's movements. The provided information is only accurate if the pet is within a continuous eight-to-ten-meter radius of a compatible iPhone in a reception area. If your pet is in an area where it can be reliably tracked, it is likely that someone will see it and simply call the number on its collar, if it has one. However, if someone wants to steal your pet, the collar is the first thing they move. In this scenario, the AirTag becomes immediately useless.

What are the dangerous side effects of AirTags?

If you plan to attach a small lithium battery to your pet's neck, there are several potentially dangerous side effects to be aware of. Pets love to chew, especially dogs. If your dog's collar comes off, chances are your dog will chew or bite it and get a mouthful of raw lithium. Even worse, if the AirTag comes off the collar and falls off, there is a good chance your dog will eat it all. This is one of the reasons why AirTags have been banned from sale in several major Australian stores.

A ton of legal and privacy issues have been raised regarding the use of AirTags. Apple does not recommend pet owners to attach AirTags to their pets, then turn on Apple when the AirTag fails to find a lost pet.

Sources: The New York Times, World Tech News, Today World Latest News