Photo: Bogdan Popa/autoevolution/Tile
Apple's AirTags have already become must-have devices for vehicle owners, but they're not the only products that help keep an eye on our belongings.
The competing products include Tile, a device with similar capabilities but also packing a unique concept no other company offers. And this unique technology recently helped bust a serial thief who stole motorcycles in New Jersey.
It all starts with Yahama owner Ed Paredes, who had the brilliant idea of installing a Tile into his bike specifically to keep an eye on it in case it gets stolen. Fast-forward several months later, and somebody was intrigued with this 2007 R6, so they stole it in a matter of seconds. Video surveillance footage shows the thief in action, so Paredes had strong evidence to ask the police for an investigation.
However, the man also had something the thieves did not see coming. Paredes used information provided by his Tile tracker to determine the bike's location in real-time, providing the investigators with valuable information on where the Yamaha was located. It was a matter of time until the police knocked on the thief's door, and to their surprise, the investigators came across not one, not two, but five other motorcycles reported as stolen.
The Tile tracker works similarly to the AirTag, but compared to Apple's device, it uses a feature that makes it undetectable to thieves.
Apple equipped the AirTag with anti-stalking protection, alerting nearby iPhones when it's moving with them. The notification helps people protect themselves from stalkers who install AirTags into their belongings to monitor their location.
Tile offers an Anti-Theft Mode feature that makes the tracker undetectable to others. And while the whole approach might sound like a huge privacy concern, it's not. Tile requires an ID verification before enabling the Anti-Theft Mode on a device, so you can't do it anonymously. Once the feature is activated, Tile knows precisely who you are, so you can't misuse it and use it for nefarious purposes like stalking.
As a result, you can use a Tile tracker to keep tabs on your belongings without fearing that a thief might detect the device and remove it. If you hide it well enough in your car, the Tile tracker is impossible to detect, and considering it doesn't generate alerts, you can monitor its location permanently.
Tile wants to make sure the Anti-Theft Mode is used with good intentions, so if you misuse the feature for anything such as stalking, the company is ready to slap you with a $1 million lawsuit.
This case serves as great marketing material for Tile, especially considering the AirTag rivalry, but the bottom line is that the market doesn't always come down to Apple's device.
It all starts with Yahama owner Ed Paredes, who had the brilliant idea of installing a Tile into his bike specifically to keep an eye on it in case it gets stolen. Fast-forward several months later, and somebody was intrigued with this 2007 R6, so they stole it in a matter of seconds. Video surveillance footage shows the thief in action, so Paredes had strong evidence to ask the police for an investigation.
However, the man also had something the thieves did not see coming. Paredes used information provided by his Tile tracker to determine the bike's location in real-time, providing the investigators with valuable information on where the Yamaha was located. It was a matter of time until the police knocked on the thief's door, and to their surprise, the investigators came across not one, not two, but five other motorcycles reported as stolen.
The Tile tracker works similarly to the AirTag, but compared to Apple's device, it uses a feature that makes it undetectable to thieves.
Apple equipped the AirTag with anti-stalking protection, alerting nearby iPhones when it's moving with them. The notification helps people protect themselves from stalkers who install AirTags into their belongings to monitor their location.
Tile offers an Anti-Theft Mode feature that makes the tracker undetectable to others. And while the whole approach might sound like a huge privacy concern, it's not. Tile requires an ID verification before enabling the Anti-Theft Mode on a device, so you can't do it anonymously. Once the feature is activated, Tile knows precisely who you are, so you can't misuse it and use it for nefarious purposes like stalking.
As a result, you can use a Tile tracker to keep tabs on your belongings without fearing that a thief might detect the device and remove it. If you hide it well enough in your car, the Tile tracker is impossible to detect, and considering it doesn't generate alerts, you can monitor its location permanently.
Tile wants to make sure the Anti-Theft Mode is used with good intentions, so if you misuse the feature for anything such as stalking, the company is ready to slap you with a $1 million lawsuit.
This case serves as great marketing material for Tile, especially considering the AirTag rivalry, but the bottom line is that the market doesn't always come down to Apple's device.
Google News