When Apple introduced AirTag in 2021, it emphasized that the product was only intended for objects and should not be used to track children or pets. However, many people are still attaching AirTags to pets, children, and even elderly people with Alzheimer's or dementia.

According to iMore , iPhone marketing VP Kaiann Drance and Apple senior director of sensors and connectivity Ron Huang emphasized that users should think carefully before attaching AirTags to things they want to track. However, Apple did not clarify why they gave such advice. Many speculated that it could be due to technical limitations or simply that Apple did not want to face the risk of being sued if AirTags did not work.

Parents are concerned that owning a phone too early will accidentally expose their children to unhealthy content, but still want to track their children's location to ensure safety, AirTag becomes a perfect solution for them.

Stephanie Chin, who lives in Virginia (USA), is an example. Because her 8-year-old daughter is too young to use a phone, this mother chose to attach an AirTag to her child's bag to easily track her child's location. Sharing with The Washington Post , Sandi Bourbeau said that she only used AirTag to track her 13-year-old son for 3 months before he switched to using a mobile phone to contact his family.

Peter Gray, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Boston University, said that over the past four to five decades, children have lost more freedom than they used to. To protect their children from danger, parents often do not allow them to walk to school, take public transport, or play in the park without adult supervision. Too much control and monitoring can cause children to face anxiety and depression, and have difficulty making decisions about their own lives, Gray added.

For journalist Tara Mendola, both of her children agreed to wear AirTags, so Mendola believes the product increases freedom and protects children, not controls them.

Parents choose to use AirTag to track their children because it is much cheaper than the Apple Watch, easy to carry, and has a battery life of up to a year. But it should be noted that AirTag is less accurate and updates more slowly, which is inconvenient in an emergency. The device also does not have its own cellular connection and needs to be near other Apple devices to be located on a map. If the child is in a sparsely populated area or has few iPhone and iPad users, AirTag will not be able to update its location accurately and promptly.

Instead, the tech giant recommends that users use Apple Watch to better monitor young children thanks to its ability to locate, support texting and calling.