Are you thinking about putting AirTags on your pet?
Well in this video, we’re going to talk about it.
AirTags have been marketed by Apple to be the ultimate tool to prevent you from misplacing
your keys, wallet, or bag.
But, how about strapping it to a live animal and tracking their movements if they go missing?
Let’s cut right to the chase, there’s no major reason why you SHOULDN’T use AirTags
to track your pet.
But, it’s not going to work the way you think it will, and I’ll show you exactly
why.
If you’re a fan of my channel, you’d know I like to do my own testing, but I also realise
the inherent bias of only relying on that single source.
So, I also do a ton of research into other sources to make sure my findings are accurate.
Like my MacBook battery guide, RAM guide, or USB-C hubs killing Macs videos.
If you want to see more videos like these, my cat would appreciate it if you subscribed.
Let’s get started.
So it’s no secret that AirTags work great to track a static object, like a backpack
left in an office, a car in a parking lot, or a wallet in the bushes on a path.
But, a pet introduces several new variables.
Firstly, the AirTags simply were not designed to track living objects like a person or a
pet.
Apple admits this themselves, and for good reason.
There’s a tonne of legal issues surrounding this capability, and also privacy issues (we’ve
written about Apple’s privacy policies on our website by the way).
Apple does not want pet owners strapping AirTags to their pet, and then coming after Apple
when the AirTag fails to recover a lost pet.
Vice versa, there’s also the question of AirTags being used to track a person against
their will.
So, although Apple doesn’t state this publicly, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s something
built into the AirTag hardware or software that actually limits the AirTags capability
to track an obviously living and moving object, whether pet or human.
What do I mean by this?
Well, look at the data out there.
There are multiple videos from users that have tested trying to track a moving AirTag
while attached to a person walking.
It’s difficult, the location generally is not accurate at all, and only updates roughly
every 5-10 minutes.
And all of this depends on if there are enough compatible iPhones within about 8m of the
AirTag in question.
To keep this video relatively short, I won’t include my own testing in depth, but I will
share this screen recording from my iPhone that essentially sums up my entire experience.
I had someone take an AirTag and mimic the movement of a pet, about 200m away from my
location.
When dogs or cats go missing, they generally won’t stay in the same place, and they will
move their heads erratically - sniffing, running, or looking in different directions.
This movement seems to seriously disrupt the AirTags tracking ability, as you can see in
this screen recording.
My iPhone is saying I’m right on top of the AirTag, but in reality it’s more than
100m away.
I was located in a residential area with probably 50-100 iPhones within that 100m radius.
I did repeat this test several times in different locations and the location accuracy was very
broad at best.
Don’t take my word for it, watch this video, this video, also this one, and this one.
All have similar results.
To answer the inevitable comments saying “oh but I’ve seen videos where it works”,
yes I’m sure there are some videos where that’s the case.
However, in most of those videos they’re either sponsored by pet companies selling
AirTag collars, or the Youtuber has someone with an iPhone holding onto the dog’s leash
while it’s being FINGERS UP “tracked” so really not the most accurate testing.
I couldn’t even get the AirTag to reliably track my cat in my own backyard, even when
standing less than 10 meters away.
You can see in this clip just how much the AirTag moves around due to the cat’s erratic
movement, which is no doubt affecting tracking ability.
So, yes, in theory you can track the general location of a lost pet, but the key word in
that sentence is general, as in, a one hundred to two hundred meter radius depending on the
pet’s movements.
And this information is only accurate if the pet is in a continuous 8-10m range of a compatible
iPhone in an area with reception.
Odds are, if your pet is in an area where it can be somewhat reliably tracked, someone
will likely see it and simply call the number on it’s collar tag if it has one.
If someone wants to steal your pet, well the collar is the first thing that they’re removing,
so the AirTag is rendered immediately useless in that scenario.
There are obviously dedicated pet GPS trackers out there too, but many of them aren’t super
reliable and honestly, probably aren’t even worth using.
But, this video is AirTags so I’ll stay on topic.
Moving on, there are several potentially dangerous side effects of strapping a small lithium
battery to your pet’s neck that you should be aware of if you’re intending to put an
AirTag on them.
Now I will say that the possibility of any of these happening is slim, but the risk is
still there.
Firstly, pets love to chew, especially dogs.
If your dog’s collar comes off, there’s a chance your dog is going to chew or bite
it.
And don’t tell me that the collar you’ve bought is chew proof.
I’ve owned 3 dogs throughout my life and all of them can chew through almost anything.
All it takes is one tooth to bust through the AirTag and your dog is going to get a
mouthful of raw lithium.
Even worse, if the AirTag comes loose from the collar and falls out, there’s a good
chance your dog will just eat the entire thing.
And you guys know what dogs are like, rolling around, jumping, play fighting with each other,
sprinting.
So anything can happen, even if you go to the extreme of stitching the tag into the
collar.
There’s a reason why the sale of AirTags were banned in several huge Australian retailers.
The back can be very easily popped out to access the battery, which is a safety concern
for children.
The only things with a penchant to eat random crap more than children are, you guessed it,
dogs and cats.
Seriously, my dog will eat it’s own vomit and my cat eats insects whenever she can,
although I don’t think cats would be able to swallow a battery, but they can sure chew
on it.
Speaking of cats, unless you have a large breed, like a maine coon, in my opinion the
AirTag is just too bulky and heavy to strap to a cat.
My cat is around 5 kilos and the AirTag is clearly too big for her.
And yes, in some of my B-Roll she’s wearing it with an extra ring, that was just for video
purposes.
You can buy collars that strap the tag against their neck, but it’s still just too big
and will interfere with their eating, grooming, and sleeping, in my opinion.
I will also mention that the AirTag is designed to be kept in a bag or purse it’s entire
life.
It is NOT designed to be strapped to a pet digging through dirt, jumping over fences,
getting wet all the time, and being constantly outdoors and in the elements.
Also, bear in mind that although the AirTag is from Apple and you would expect has been
designed well, the battery and future replacement batteries are not, and COULD come from a cheap
and poor quality source.
If anything goes wrong with the AirTag OR the battery, for example it starts leaking
- that thing is strapped to your pet’s neck 24/7.
So what should you do?
Well, it’s simple.
First and foremost you must complete all the necessary steps of being a responsible pet
owner.
Microchip your pet, secure your backyard if you have a dog, don’t let your cat roam
outside at night if you live in a city (this also protects local wildlife), and buy a safe,
quick-release collar for your pet that will break open if they get hooked on a tree or
fence to prevent injury.
Also, make sure you have a small identification tag on the collar with your contact information.
Then, and only then, if you still want to go ahead with putting AirTags on your pet,
just consider all of the points I’ve touched on in this video before you do it.
Anyway guys thanks for watching this particular video.
If you enjoyed it let me know down below but apart from that, thank you guys for watching
and I’ll catch you in the next one.