Android trackers aren't just for keys—here's 5 unique ways I use mine

Published Aug 21, 2026, 12:45 PM EDT Ismar is a Senior Author at How-To Geek. He previously worked as a writer, editor, and general manager at a content agency before joining the team in 2023. He began his writing career in 2021 after completing a BA in English Language and Literature. Beyond How-To Geek, Ismar has contributed to Red Stag Fulfillment and Authority Hacker. He has also worked on various SEO projects to help clients improve their search visibility. Ismar has been around Windows PCs since the age of three, so friends and family naturally chose him as the resident tech support. His projects often involve tinkering, such as disassembling mechanical keyboards and gaming mice to mod his beloved gear. He also enjoys pushing hardware to the max through overclocking while staying on a reasonable budget. An avid gamer, Ismar has logged thousands of hours across various genres, including first-person shooters, RPGs, racing games, and roguelites. When he is not at his desk, he is probably exploring other people’s phones to discover their quirks and features or experimenting with the latest AI tools. In his free time, Ismar enjoys spending time with his wife, working out at the gym, playing guitar and bass, cooking gourmet meals, and traveling. Above all else, he’s a proud cat owner. Bluetooth trackers are one of the best modern inventions—anyone who's ever lost something and promptly recovered it thanks to a tracker will strongly agree. As someone who loses stuff on the regular, I've invested in some inexpensive Bluetooth trackers, and I've been putting them to work since acquiring them. Of course, I use them for all the regular stuff, like my keychain, car keys (yes, the spare gets a tag too), and backpack. But there's also some less obvious stuff, and after talking to a few colleagues who also use trackers, I've realized I've been using them in some somewhat unique ways that aren't immediately obvious. I attached a tag to my earbuds case because I can't afford to lose them The one thing I lose and find on an everyday basis Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek Some higher-end earbud charging cases, like the Pixel Buds Pro 2, now have built-in support for Google's Find Hub. And as happy as I am with my gaming-focused SteelSeries Arctis GameBuds, they unfortunately lack that particular feature. Fortunately, I was able to add that exact functionality by buying a protective silicone case, a carabiner, and a cheap tracking tag. This won't help me find a lost earbud, but since I always put them back in the case when I'm not using them, I don't actually lose the earbuds all that often. What I do lose, however, is the actual case. I bring my earbuds with me to the gym and often leave the case in a random spot while I'm exercising. Then I'll wander over to another part of the gym to talk to someone, and by the time I'm done, I have no idea where I left the case. With the tag, I can simply open the app and locate it with ease. It also doubles as a tracker for my gym bag, so I'm killing two birds with one stone with this setup. ANNNWZZD 4-pack Find My trackers (generic AirTag) $16 $20 Save $4 My car has a tracker for one very embarrassing reason Parking garages are my natural enemy Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek Although it's shameful to admit it, most of us have likely lost our vehicle in a large parking garage at some point. Sometimes it's hard to remember the level you parked on, let alone the actual parking spot or general area. I've actually gone a whole step further and couldn't find my car in a neighborhood in a different city. In my defense, it was nighttime, raining, and full of identical-looking skyscrapers, so I kept running in circles with my key fob in hand, hopefully watching for the blinking turn signals. To prevent this from ever happening again, I've added a tag to the underside of my trunk. Although we're in the middle of a hot summer here right now, it still seems to be alive and kicking six months later. It goes without saying that you should never treat this as an anti-theft device. Still, it would be kind of funny if you could use the tag's location to get useful information about your car and pass it along to the police in the (hopefully unlikely) event that it got stolen. I put a tracker on my USB drive because I'd lose a lot more than just a drive A lot of important stuff lives on that thing Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek Most of my important work files and private images already have copies backed up on my NAS. However, I also use a 128GB flash drive to store additional copies of the most important stuff. And while I don't normally carry this drive around with me, it does contain some private data that I'd prefer not get into the wrong hands. Since a drive is small enough that it could disappear almost anywhere, I keep a tracker on it at all times to ensure I always know exactly where it is. Of course, for people who rely on a USB drive for their day-to-day work and might temporarily store sensitive company data on it, a tracker is an absolute must. My passports are always being tracked because I'm not risking that nightmare The one thing you really don't want to lose Credit: Ismar Hrnjicevic / How-To Geek A lot of people buy tags just for travel. They attach one to their suitcase so it doesn't get lost or stolen among the dozen other suitcases at baggage claim, in the hotel lobby, on public transport, and so on. That's a no-brainer, but I actually go a whole step further and keep a tag on the single most important item I've got on me when I travel: my passport. I have a pouch where I store my wife's and my passports, and we keep the passports and tracker together in it at all times, only taking the documents out at border crossings. Should I ever find myself in the unfortunate situation of losing that pouch while traveling, the tag should help me find it. I put a tracker in my wallet after learning the hard way Losing it once was enough Apart from my phone and keys, the one thing I always have on me when I'm outside is my wallet. While many people have shifted to slim card holders and magnetic wallets that attach to a MagSafe case, I much prefer the utility and feel of a traditional wallet. A lot of places here still only take cash, so it's not like I have much of a choice anyway. I slipped one of those chunky trackers designed to attach to keyrings into my wallet and my wife's, and they've never left them since. Many brands actually sell slim tracking cards that fit neatly into a spare card slot, which is a much cleaner solution. But since I already had the regular trackers, I made do with them. They're often way cheaper, anyway, and you can just use a rotary tool to cut off the excess plastic. I actually lost my wallet just last year. A police call and the dread over losing $200 in cash and all my documents later, I actually found that it had slipped in between the center console and seat in my car, and I immediately placed an order for some trackers after that happened. At this point, I probably need to start buying trackers for my trackers Trackable tags are one of those gadgets that you never really think about. They sort of just exist around the important stuff you don't want to lose. However, once you actually use a tag to locate something you thought you'd lost for good, you realize just how valuable they can be. The best part is that they're now cheap enough that you can afford to place them almost anywhere—remember, a cheap tag is way better than no tag!