3 ms·
Well darn. All I want is something really thin I can attach to my Kindle, and track down where I left it in my house, using some kind of local wireless transmis
by DennisP 6y ago
Well darn. All I want is something really thin I can attach to my Kindle, and track down where I left it in my house, using some kind of local wireless transmission. Something that could receive a signal and beep would work, too.
I thought Airtags might be a solution but it turns out it's trackable from miles away and reports to iCloud? I have no need for that and whatever safeguards they put in place, it's a potential privacy hole with no benefit to me.
What's on the market that does nothing but help you find it when it's kicked under the couch?
- unstatusthequo 6y agoTile?
- DennisP 6y agoJust checked their website and they do collect information centrally, by having everyone with the app notice any nearby Tile. I don't want that, I want to find it with my own phone or not at all.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- tashoecraft 6y agoI guess what did you think airtags were? They emit out a uuid and other iOS devices will process it in the background to let the owner know where they are, but not random users. I think in terms of actual security risks it’s not worse then anything else you have. If it’s only in your house then you never need to worry about it pinging another users iOS device.
- DennisP 6y agoIt's not only in my house, I carry it everywhere. I just don't lose it except in my house.
- tashoecraft 6y agoI think the high majority of lost items intended for airtags is when they are lost in home. That’s the most common use case and what airtags are designed to be very effective to handle. But there’s the less common, but much worse outcome of losing something away from home. Airtags then provide a marginally better way of finding your items. The privacy concerns feel so overblown.
- fullstop 6y agoI put mine on a specific bookshelf when I'm done reading. Sometimes habits are more reliable and more practical than technology.
- nathancahill 6y agoThis is literally what AirTags are.
- oliyoung 6y ago" track down where I left it in my house, using some kind of local wireless transmission" it does exactly that https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/iphone/ipha779f0c10/ios#iph44bb32c36 https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/iphone/ipha779f0c10/io...
- DennisP 6y agoBut it doesn't do only that and I want something that does only that. I don't see why this is so hard for people here to wrap their head around.
- madeofpalk 6y agoThat is the only thing what it does. Except it does "only" local wireless transmission with _every_ iPhone, not just yours. It's exactly what Tile does, except just built into the OS.
- DennisP 6y agoI'm going to give up after one last try: I want something that only communicates with my phone with nothing contacting Apple. People keep telling me "well yeah it only does that, except also this other stuff," right after I explicitly say I don't want that other stuff. This is the weirdest HN discussion I've had all year.
- madeofpalk 6y agoMaybe you can stick an Estimote UWB beacon on the back and build something yourself? You probably won't lose your Kindle then, but not for technical reasons.