Latest dossier · GPS Trackers · 6 min read
Tile lists both iPhone and Android on its own support pages, AirTag is documented for iPhone and iPad, and SmartTag2 for Galaxy phones. Here is how that plays out if you change…
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Hidden Cameras & Nanny Cams
A phone's own hardware can sense far less than hidden camera app listings suggest. Here is what the magnetometer, Wi-Fi radio and time-of-flight sensor can and cannot do,…
GPS Trackers
An Android phone cannot add or locate an AirTag, but it can warn you about one and read it by NFC. This guide covers what Apple and Google…
GPS Trackers
Google renamed Find My Device to Find Hub, and Samsung runs its own locator. Here is how the two differ, how to switch Find Hub on, and what…
Counter-Surveillance & Privacy Law
Phone stalkerware is built to hide, and removing it can alert the person watching you. Here are the signs, the checks, and the order to do things in.
GPS Trackers
The Galaxy SmartTag2 and the AirTag share a battery type and an IP67 rating, but each works with its own maker's phones. Here are the specs both companies…
GPS Trackers
Apple lets you share a lost bag's AirTag location with a partner airline, but the location is approximate and the FAA tells travelers to check with the airline.
GPS Trackers
Apple's battery routine resets an AirTag in five rounds, but a locked tag still needs the previous owner. Here is what each step does and where it stops.
GPS Trackers
An AirTag runs on a replaceable CR2032 coin cell, not a charger. Here is what Apple says about battery life, the low battery alert and the second generation.
GPS Trackers
Changing an AirTag battery takes five steps and no tools. Here is Apple's procedure, the CR2032 compatibility catch, and the child-safety rules for the old cell.
It depends on the state. Federal law (18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d)) allows a recording when one party to the conversation consents, and many states follow that rule. Others, California among them (Penal Code § 632), require every party to agree. Recording a conversation you are not part of is a separate and much riskier question.
Video of the common areas of your own home is generally allowed, and audio recording and private spaces such as bathrooms change the answer. Our guide to cameras and household workers walks through the cases. Housekeepers and cameras.
Recording a roommate in a shared bedroom without their knowledge is unlawful in nearly every state, whoever signed the housing form. A camera aimed at your own desk is a different situation. Dorm room camera rules.
Tracking a vehicle you own, or one the owner has agreed you may track, is the safe case. Putting a tracker on someone else's car without their consent can be stalking or a privacy offense in many states, and state statutes vary. Magnetic vs hardwired GPS trackers.
No. We do not run a test lab. We read manufacturer specifications and the relevant laws, then weigh them against what owners report. The method is described on our evaluation page. How we evaluate.
Statutes cited: 18 U.S.C. § 2511, California Penal Code § 632. General information, not legal advice.