Tile announced its latest product, new QR code labels to help folks find their lost items. The Lost and Found Labels are meant to be used with things that don’t work well with regular Bluetooth item trackers, like earbud cases and school textbooks. This is also Tile’s first launch since being acquired for $205 million by Life360, a family safety and location-sharing app that also owns Jiobit child trackers.
The idea is that anyone who finds your lost belongings can just scan a QR code to find your contact information and view a personalized message. (You set that part up in the Tile app.) It’s basically a more discreet, high-tech version of writing “if lost, please contact so and so and such and such” on your belongings.
This isn’t the first time Tile’s used QR codes in its products, either. The company first introduced them last year on refreshed versions of the Mate, Pro, Slim, and Sticker trackers. Obviously, these aren’t the same as Bluetooth trackers — they’re not going to make any noise, and you can’t view where your items are in real time. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Labels aren’t quite as vulnerable to misuse as typical Bluetooth trackers. However, you should keep in mind that you are still putting your contact information out there, and that requires some caution. For instance, you could inadvertently broadcast your contact info if the label is visible in a picture you post to Instagram or if a weirdo happens to scan it in public.
The labels are available online at Tile’s website, cost $14.99 for three sheets of labels or 15 total, and come in green, purple, and teal colors.