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Can Airtags really be used to track stolen items?

My concern/question is really quite simple. If I place an Airtag in my car and the car gets stolen. Wouldn't the thief be notified that he's being "tracked"? And as such can have the Airtag sound an alert and then find it and remove it?


So in reality Airtags are "only" for misplaced items?

iPhone SE, iOS 15

Posted on Jan 27, 2022 1:57 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jan 27, 2022 6:10 AM

In that scenario, the thief would be notified if it travels with him for some time. In my experience, it takes about 1-2 hours for a notification to appear. Personally, I only use them for items I misplace often or I need to find quickly.

4 replies

Feb 6, 2022 11:34 AM in response to SteinPilot

My understanding is the notification to the thief would only occur when the AirTag and iPhone associated with the thief arrive at the thief's home location. The time would be variable. If the thief never went home with the stolen items, the notification would never appear on thief's iPhone. (assuming the thief did not steal the iPhone also......)

Can Airtags really be used to track stolen items?

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