Shoe manufacturer Skechers has launched a new line of children’s shoes featuring a hidden compartment where parents can insert an Apple AirTag to keep track of their child’s whereabouts.
“As a parent, your child’s safety is always top of mind. You want to give them the freedom to explore and be kids, while also having the reassurance of knowing they are safe. At Skechers, we understand that feeling, and we’ve combined our signature comfort with innovative technology to bring your family a new level of peace of mind,” Skechers writes on its website.
The “Find My Skechers” look just like any other kids’ shoes, but with one major difference: they contain a secret compartment under the insole of the shoe that’s just big enough to secretly hide an Apple AirTag. Simply put, it turns a pair of sneakers into a tracking device.
According to Skechers, this is a safe and child-friendly way to track the whereabouts of your kid. The Apple AirTag isn’t easily removed: it’s located underneath a thick, cushioned insole and secured with a screw-tight cover that requires a screwdriver to open it.
Skechers says it specifically chose to integrate the Apple AirTag in “Find My Skechers” because of the robust privacy features built into Apple’s Find My network.
“The signal sent by an AirTag is anonymous and end-to-end encrypted. No one else, not even Apple or Skechers, can see the location of your AirTag, and location data is never stored on the device itself,” the shoe manufacturer promises.
It’s doubtful that Apple is going to be happy with Skechers’ latest addition to integrate an Apple AirTag into kids’ shoes.
“AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person’s property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products. Unwanted tracking has long been a societal problem, and we took this concern seriously in the design of AirTag,” Apple stated when it first launched the AirTag.
The downside is that the locate and track feature of Apple’s AirTag exclusively works with Apple’s “Find My” network. Therefore, Android users are out of luck.
Find My Skechers shoes are available right now in three color options for $58. Parents will have to buy an Apple AirTag separately, which is an additional $29.
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