More details on Apple's new tracking tags leak out

Tile Pro
(Image credit: Tile)

We've already heard rumors that Apple is working on a personal item tracker – a lot like the Tile trackers you might be familiar with – and now more details have spilled out about how they're going to work.

According to some digging done by MacRumors into an internal build of iOS 13, the accessory will help you "tag your everyday items" and "never lose them again".

Everything you tag with one of these trackers – keys, wallets, backpacks and so on – will show up in the new Find My app that's coming with iOS 13. It'll be the place to go to track all your Apple products, from iPhones to MacBooks.

MacRumors even uncovered an image of the upcoming tracker in the iOS 13 code, though this may not exactly match what the finished product looks like.

Apple tag leak

(Image credit: MacRumors)

The idea is that once the app detects you've been separated from one of your Apple tags (and whatever it's attached to), it'll start beeping. You can set up "safe locations", like your home, where this doesn't happen.

Users will also be able to put tags into "lost mode", the code suggests, where you can enlist the help of other iPhone owners in tracking down the item (this sounds like the same system for finding lost MacBooks coming in iOS 13).

Finally, there's going to be an augmented reality aspect to the app as well, guiding you towards your lost items through an overlay on top of the camera display.

This all sounds very similar to what Tile trackers and other similar products can already do, but if you're keen to find out more about Apple's take on the technology, these tags should be unveiled with the new iPhones on September 10.

TOPICS
David Nield
Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

Latest in Tech
Apple iPhone 16e
Which affordable phone wins the mid-range race: the iPhone 16e, Nothing 3a, or Samsung Galaxy A56? Our latest podcast tells all
The Apple MacBook Air next to the Dyson Supersonic R and new AMD GPU
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from the best tech at MWC to Apple's new iPads and MacBooks
A triptych image featuring the Bose Solo Soundbar 2, Nothing Phone 3a Pro and the Panasonic Lumix S1R II.
5 trailblazing tech reviews of the week: Nothing's stylish, affordable flagship and why you should buy AMD's new graphics card over Nvidia's
The best tech of MWC 2025 examples, including the Nothing Phone 3a Pro, the Nubia Flip 2, and the Lenovo Solar PC
Best of MWC 2025: the 10 top tech launches we tried on the show floor
Toy Fair 2025 Primal Hatch
The 7 best toys we saw at Toy Fair 2025, from a Lego boat to a hatching, robotic dinosaur
ICYMI
ICYMI: the 7 biggest tech stories of the week, from a next-gen Alexa to the new iPhone 16e
Latest in News
GTA 5
GTA Online publisher Take-Two is gunning for a black market that’s basically heaven for cheaters
The Discovery+ homepage
Discovery+ just got a big update to its streaming app that makes it more like Max – here are 5 great new features to try
Two Android phones on a green and blue background showing Google Messages
Struggling with slow Google Messages photo transfers? Google says new update will make 'noticeable difference'
China
Chinese hackers targeting Juniper Networks routers, so patch now
Google Meet create custom backgrounds
More AI features are coming to Google Workspace
Elayne, Egwene, and Nynaeve dressed regally and on horseback in The Wheel of Time season 3
'There's a reason why we do it': The Wheel of Time showrunner responds to fans who are still upset over the Prime Video show's plot alterations