NORFOLK, Va. - No matter where you, or your things, are going these days it seems like there is always a way to keep track of your belongings.
Devices like AirTags and Tile are popping up a lot more. In fact, AirTags were a big help for people dealing with the lost luggage pileup after thousands of Southwest flights were canceled last month.
Passengers like Valeria Szybala credit the technology to finding her bags.
"First time ever [and] it turns out it really was worth it. I'm so glad," she said.
She watched with disbelief as her bags went to an apartment complex, a McDonalds and a shopping center. Szybala shared her story on Twitter, hoping to get answers from the airline, and it went viral.
"I think without two things: without the tracker and without a tweet thread going viral, I wouldn't have my bag back today," she said.
So how do AirTags work?
News 3 Problem Solver Erin Miller checked in with Summer Hull, the director of content for The Points Guy.
"The AirTag works on the Bluetooth network. It also works with Apple's 'Find My' network," Hull said. "I just go into 'Find My' on my iPhone, and it will show you where it is. And it'll show you how long ago that updated."
In non-travel-related scenarios, Hull said, "I also know stories that people who when their kids are skiing, they put them on their kid's skis in case the kids go a different direction."
When it comes to tracking people, herein lies the mixed reviews on safety.
Apple has faced several lawsuits over allegations that the AirTags make it easier to be stalked and harassed.
"It's a scary thing and I wonder if they thought about that when they created this?" said Neisha Himes.
Neisha Himes is the Founder and CEO of the G.R.O.W. Foundation. The Chesapeake nonprofit exists to support anyone who has experienced domestic violence.
"As it relates to this, I've seen where survivors don't know how their partner is finding them wherever they go," Himes said. "I think it just adds another layer of challenges and barriers that survivors already face."
Last year, Apple said it updated the software to protect against this, but News 3 was curious if there were any local cases where people reported being tracked.
A search of police reports and court records found, in Norfolk, a woman said after being near the MacArthur Center, she got a notification to her phone that there was a device near her. She said she pulled up the map on her phone and it showed her track from the mall and where the vehicle was parked.
In Newport News, a woman reported she had been stalked for two and a half months and found a magnetized tracker under her vehicle.
In Isle of Wight County, Investigator Sean Lacy said, "we actually worked a case recently with another jurisdiction, where they found air tags hidden in a car, so we were called out to verify that there were no more tracking devices on a car. It was a stalking case.”
"We're going to be more successful and more efficient at finding devices that we otherwise may not have found," said Lacy.
Apple also has an extensive article about what you should do if you're alerted that there's an AirTag near you.
