Your new AirTag has a hidden warning that's just for kids – and it's for the best

(Image credit: Daniel Romero / Unsplash)

The U.S. CPSC has announced that Apple's AirTag is now inline with Reese's Law.
Apple's item tracker now features additional warnings about it's potential battery hazards.
The law is centered around preventing 'life threatening ingestion of button cell or coin batteries'.

No, it’s not an AirTag 2, but Apple’s AirTag now comes with a warning label attached to the box and a symbol by the battery door to make the item tracker complaint with Reese’s Law in the United States, according to a new notice issued by U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

While Apple’s item tracker has come under scrutiny for unwanted tracking, this time, Apple’s item tracker is now in line with Reese’s Law's “warning label requirements” after being in violation.

The law is all about having the proper warning labels and notices on products with ‘button cell or coin batteries’ to prevent children from ‘life threatening ingestion.”

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An AirTag lying in grass with the metal side facing upwards — (Image credit: TechRadar)

Since its launch, Apple’s AirTag has had the proper mechanism for keeping the battery in place. However, units imported after the effective date of Reese’s Law – March 19, 2024 – were not in compliance because they were missing the label on the box or on the battery door for the tracker itself.

The company is now affixing a label to the box warning of the battery and to help prevent ingestion, as well as adding an icon to the interior of the door on the AirTag itself.

Additionally, since units were sold without the proper labels, an update to the Find My app’s interface for changing the battery warns “about the hazards of button and coin cell batteries.”

The CPSC worked with Apple to get the AirTag in line with Reese’s Law and is the one issuing the release revealing how the company is now compliant with the law. It’s a win-win, especially for consumer protection and hopefully to prevent battery ingestion.

Apple’s AirTag has been on the market since 2021 and has proven to be a very handy item tracker that works seamlessly with the iPhone, among other devices. One of the main benefits is that it has a user-replaceable battery, so making it safer and clearer of the potential dangers is important.

Of course, as with most Apple products, rumors are swirling around a successor to the original AirTag with better privacy and improved connectivity. That second-generation AirTag could arrive later this year, but for now, the current model is in line with Reese’s Law.

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Jacob Krol is the US Managing Editor, News for TechRadar. He’s been writing about technology since he was 14 when he started his own tech blog. Since then Jacob has worked for a plethora of publications including CNN Underscored, TheStreet, Parade, Men’s Journal, Mashable, CNET, and CNBC among others.

He specializes in covering companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google and going hands-on with mobile devices, smart home gadgets, TVs, and wearables. In his spare time, you can find Jacob listening to Bruce Springsteen, building a Lego set, or binge-watching the latest from Disney, Marvel, or Star Wars.