Skechers recently started selling a line of kids shoes that have a hidden compartment under the insole for inserting Apple’s AirTag item tracker.
The idea here is that parents can put an AirTag in the shoes, and then track the location of those shoes (and the child wearing them) in the Find My app, which is available across the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and on the web at iCloud.com.
The shoes can provide parents with peace of mind by allowing them to keep track of their child’s location in public. If a child gets lost in a busy shopping mall, for example, the parent could view their location in the Find My app. Or, a parent could double check that their child is where they are supposed to be at a certain time, such as school.
In a YouTube ad shared this week, Skechers said that kids cannot feel the AirTag under their feet while wearing the shoes, making it a discrete solution.
These shoes could also prove invaluable if a child is kidnapped, but one caveat is that the kidnapper would receive an alert on their iPhone or Android smartphone if an unknown AirTag has been following them for a little while. If the kidnapper is unable to find the AirTag, it will eventually start playing a sound. This is a safety feature that is designed to prevent people from using the AirTag for stalking purposes.
Another thing to keep in mind is that if the child does not have an Apple device on them, the AirTag will rely exclusively on the Find My network to send its latest location to iCloud. In other words, the child will need to be around other people with Apple devices, in an area where there is cellular or Wi-Fi connectivity. If the child is somehow alone in an area without any internet connectivity, the AirTag’s location would not update.
Alternatively, parents can give their child a cellular Apple Watch for location tracking purposes. The child does not need to have an iPhone.
On its website, Apple says the AirTag should not be used to track people, but a parent using the accessory to track a young child is justifiable.
The shoes are available for boys and girls in the U.S., Canada, and select other countries. In the U.S., prices start at $52 as of writing (an AirTag is not included). They come in a variety of styles, and they are machine washable, according to Skechers.
