Apple's new item tracker is privacy-focused, but that raises questions over how it works with family sharing and whether an AirTag can be used by more than one person? For example, the need to have access to the car is generally accepted in a one-vehicle family, and finding lost keys with an AirTag is a great reason to own Apple's advanced location beacons.
There are several AirTag accessories available on Apple's website with third-party manufacturers introducing new varieties at a rapid pace. One of the most obvious and popular choices has to be the keyring. Belkin's plastic keyring holder holds an AirTag and protects its surface from scratches for $12.95, while Hermes offers a leather keyring that includes a $29 AirTag at a ridiculously expensive $349. AirTag holders also take the form of luggage tags and loops that can be threaded through handles and holes in various items. Of course, an AirTag can also be placed inside an item, making them quite convenient for keeping track of various items.
AirTags are not really designed to be shared between users. In a YouTube interview, Rene Ritchie spoke with Apple’s VP of WW Marketing, Kaiann Drance, and Senior Director of Sensing and Connectivity, Ron Huang. One of the questions was about loaning car keys, for example, to a relative. The Apple executives explained that alerts can be disabled when sharing an item that has an AirTag attached, so a family member won’t be bothered by notifications of an unknown AirTag traveling with them. This went over well in the interview, but seems to have the potential for abuse among family members. This isn't really a new situation, however, since Find My can be used to track family members that own an iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, or MacBook when family sharing is on.
Sharing car keys with family members is fairly common, but Apple doesn't allow family sharing of an AirTag. That doesn't prevent the loan of items that have an AirTag attached and keeping track of important items is still a worthy reason to use Apple's location beacons. When sharing an item for less than three days, there won't be any automatic sound alerts from the AirTag. When three days have passed with the AirTag out of Bluetooth range of the paired iPhone, audio alerts will sound but can be disabled by the owner. If the borrower carries an iPhone, a notification will be triggered that an unknown tag is traveling with them. This alert can be disabled by the person with the AirTag. However, the only person that can find the AirTag is the owner, possibly requiring them to travel to the location the item was lost, even if the other person is right there and may have been able to find the missing item in seconds.
There is a workaround to this problem, but it still isn't ideal. The owner must unregister an AirTag in order to allow someone else to register it with their Apple ID, then repeat the process when returning it. For occasional use that may be acceptable, but if it has to be done daily with a spouse, it could grow burdensome in a hurry. It's worth noting that an AirTag can also be set up with an iPad and an iPod Touch, but not with an Apple Watch, HomePod, or Mac computer.
Source: Rene Ritchie/Youtube, Apple
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