When I look for my Air Tag and it says it was detected at a certain location 25 minutes ago, does that mean it’s been at that location for the past 25 minutes or does it mean it WAS there 25 minutes ago but gone now?
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Air Tag Question
AirTag
All you can wean from that information is that is WAS at that location 25 minutes ago.
It may still be there, or it might have moved and hasn't updated its location. It automatically updates its location when it's in range of other Apple devices (predominantly iPhones).
There is no fixed schedule for when AirTags update their location, but if it's somewhere far from the nearest Apple device then it may not update for some time.
However, if it's in a populous location the chances are it's still there since there's likely to be some number of Apple devices in range.
The adjunct to that is if some malicious user found the AirTag and removed the battery. Now all bets are off as to where it is.
It's important to understand that an Apple AirTag does NOT know its location. It has no means to do so. It is not based on GPS technology. Instead, it relies on Bluetooth and the Apple's Find My network. The latter consists of literally millions of other iPhones.
The "last known location" which can appear, potentially, indefinitely, is NOT the location of the tag, but the location of the iPhone that detected it and relayed the phone's GPS location to the Apple servers over the Internet. If no other phone comes within Bluetooth range (~30-40') of the tag, that location will not update.
Understanding AirTag's 'detected at a certain location' duration
