AirTags are Apple’s circular solution for misplaced keys, bags, pets, and wallets. The issue lies in their design, which makes them too cumbersome to fit in a conventional wallet – much less a slim one. This is where Ridge’s Tracker Card steps in. Its credit card size, thickness, and weight make it ideal for slipping into a wallet, but without the AirTag’s ultra-wide band chip, are they effective?
The Stolen Wallet Experiment
I asked two friends to take my wallet – one equipped with an AirTag and the other with a Ridge Tracker Card to determine if I could recover either within 20 minutes. Both gadgets utilize Apple’s Find My network and are supposed to notify you when they exit your (phone’s) range. Unfortunately, in both instances, it took over 10 minutes to receive that alert. This halved my search time, and while the Ridge Tracker Card did emit pings more frequently than the AirTag, the updates were spaced minutes apart.
Falling Lost
Indeed, in both scenarios, I was unable to locate my wallet. Neither the Ridge Tracker Card nor the AirTag was updating frequently enough – in a busy and populous area of a European capital – so I can assume that in less crowded locations, the performance would be even poorer. My pickpockets were perpetually one step (or three) ahead of me.
Naturally, in a real pickpocket situation, the thieves would probably discard an AirTag right away. A Ridge Tracker Card is less noticeable, so there’s a possibility it wouldn’t be abandoned as quickly. Still, the most plausible scenario involves someone stealing a wallet, walking a few blocks away to a quieter area to unload the cash and cards, and leaving everything else behind.
Not Everything is Lost
Both the Ridge Tracker Card and AirTag offer several functionalities, but they’re not GPS devices. They lack the frequency of updates necessary to actively track someone in most situations. However, for misplaced belongings, they can be helpful in obtaining a location, notifying you that you left your wallet at home, or informing you that a thoughtful barista is holding on to the wallet you left at the café.
When time is of the essence, both an AirTag and a Ridge Tracker Card might be just a tad too slow for you to keep pace with a thief.