Sketchers is releasing a line of AirTag-compatible kids’ shoes. The Find My Sketchers initiative is introducing children’s shoes with a built-in AirTag slot, which may be tracked through Apple’s Find My app. While there are ethical concerns around, you know, spying on your kids, it should prove easier to keep track of a child through something as fundamental as their shoes, rather than a phone or a smart watch.
Modern tech is a helicopter parent’s dream. You can track your kids via their smartphones, smart watches, and online accounts. Now you can add shoes to that list.
Sketchers puts a ‘Tag on it
On the sneaker maker’s site, potential buyers can view four colourways for its Go Run Elevate 2.0 shoe, with both girls’ and boys’ versions. As seen in the ad, to install an AirTag, parents must pull up the sole and insert it into a slot in the heel. Then they can start tracking their kids through the Find My app, which will display how far away the tag is. AirTag sold separately, of course.
Overall, parents of really young children should be the biggest beneficiaries. Sketchers’ shoes will prove especially useful when attending large events, where losing track of a child can happen in minutes. Also, while a kidnapper will quickly dispose of a phone or watch, a shoe may slip their mind. Beyond children, there may also be applications for the elderly.
While there are mild privacy and tyrannical parenting concerns, the ethical aspects aren’t too different from those of professional-grade trackers. Essentially, it all depends on how it’s wielded. It’s worth noting that this technology may also help toxic and abusive parents reinforce their regimes in addition to keeping tabs on the kiddos at a festival. Available sizes for these shoes are currently for children from as young as one and as old as ten.
