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Remember, just because you put an AirTag on your valuables does not mean the Police will be willing or able to do anything to get your valuables back should they be stolen.
You might be surprised. It's an easy win for them to get success/completion/conviction figures up.
 
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Aren't there actual trackers that are better at this task than AirTags?
1. Yes, although the cost…
2. No, as they may not be as good if they require GPS plus a transmitter when you can’t get a line of sight to a satellite.
. I also note your name as their is a ‘badger' character in the ad.
You would think law enforcement might offer AirTags free to local businesses - it would surely more than pay for itself. Or if I sold safes I would include them free.
They did that in New York and boy you should see the hate on this forum.
 
The important part of the story, they went to the police and didn't go to the person's home themselves in an attempt to retrieve stolen property. As opposed to what Apple showed in their recent ad.

Stay safe everyone!
OTOH they could have gone with an alternative…
latest
 
A lot of folks don't think theft is such a big deal, but I'm tellin' ya, stealing is the lowest of the low, the dirtiest, even downright damnable crime! You know the old saying - if you can't steal it, rob it; if you can't rob it, kill for it - That's what I'm talkin' about. If you wanna permanently fix the theft problem, it's actually simple. Just send everyone who steals to the electric chair. What's that? Too many people? Well, what's the issue - let 'em line up.
There are plenty of people far lower than thieves...estate agents, recruiters, solicitors, bitcoin enthusiasts, tesla fans etc
 
This is neat but eventually will get figured out by the more "aware" thieves. Still, means plenty of morons will get nabbed by this for years to come.

The more aware thieves are already not getting caught ; so you are correct it's the morons that do.

Since it works well for stuffed animals, I may as well put one on my real dog.

I have one on my doxie as she has a habit of hiding in the house and that lets me find her and know she didn't escape outside.

Will no longer work since Google will roll out an update to detect Airtags.

Sure it can, much like today. As was pointed out, a Faraday cage and not moving will limit notifications.
 
While I think this is a great use of an airtag, wasn't Apple's stance that it should be used to find your own items, and not used to track your stolen goods, because of potentially abuse of an airtag for stalking? And wasn't Apple actively making it so that you couldn't use it for that purpose, by notifying anyone not owning the airtag (if that person has an iPhone) and by emitting a sound that "you are carrying an airtag with you" ?

Mostly wondering why the thief wasn't notified of carrying an airtag in this case...
 
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While I think this is a great use of an airtag, wasn't Apple's stance that it should be used to find your own items, and not used to track your stolen goods, because of potentially abuse of an airtag for stalking? And wasn't Apple actively making it so that you couldn't use it for that purpose, by notifying anyone not owning the airtag (if that person has an iPhone) and by emitting a sound that "you are carrying an airtag with you" ?

Mostly wondering why the thief wasn't notified of carrying an airtag in this case...
They weren’t making it that couldn’t use it for that purpose, they were adding some safeguards. And they reiterated that its primary use is for finding your own property.

But that’s exactly what has happened here. They tracked their stolen property. A bit different to attaching to someone.

With regard to your main point. I found this.

Apple has implemented safety mechanisms within AirTag that include a feature that plays a sound when an AirTag hasn't been near its paired iPhone for at least three days. Additionally, users will receive an alert at a random period between eight and 24 hours once an unknown AirTag has been detected traveling with them.
 
why did he steal the stuffed animal though lol, did he just assume it was expensive cuz it was in a safe?
 
why did he steal the stuffed animal though lol, did he just assume it was expensive cuz it was in a safe?
He stole the safe, because it is easier to take it and break in later rather than risk having set off an alarm and teh police showing up while you are trying to open it. He had no idea what was inside until he got it home and opened it; in his mind it was "Safe = money = steal = open at home;" leaving out "=being tracked = busted"
 
He stole the safe, because it is easier to take it and break in later rather than risk having set off an alarm and teh police showing up while you are trying to open it. He had no idea what was inside until he got it home and opened it; in his mind it was "Safe = money = steal = open at home;" leaving out "=being tracked = busted"

ah thanks, i skimmed the article and missed that part.
 
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The thief, who turned out to be a 52-year-old man, took the bait and stole the safe. Police officers were able to track the AirTag to the thief's home, and he was able to be connected to multiple burglaries in the area. He was arrested and charged with nine counts of second-degree burglary.
"... he was able to be connected ..." 🤮 who writes this stuff? That's the ugliest implementation of the passive voice that I've ever seen. How about "Police tracked the AirTag to the thief's home and connected him to multiple other burglaries in the area."
 
🙄 These stories are soon to be gone…
With the minority complaint of stalking, the only use for them is confirming things that most likely could be stolen, have been stolen— affirming that you’ll have no chance of getting them back.
 
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