Earlier this month, Skechers announced Find My Skechers, a new line of kids’ sneakers with a hidden compartment for Apple AirTags. The AirTag is placed in a circular slot below the insole, and Skechers says kids won’t be able to feel it.
Some parents already use Apple AirTags to track their kids’ location, turning to Amazon to buy AirTag holders you can pin on clothes, to shoelaces, or wear around the wrist. However, I haven’t seen a major company launch a product that caters to this trend before.
Interestingly, while the Skechers website and an announcement Instagram post say the product is designed to make it easy to locate your kids’ shoes, a promo video from the company specifically talks about using the shoes to track your kids. The Find my Skechers website reads, “Each pair is designed with a secure, hidden pocket under the insole that perfectly fits an Apple AirTag, so you can always know where their favorite shoes are.” (Emphasis added.)
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However, this mobile YouTube video from the Skechers YouTube page is more direct: “Moms and dads, now you can know where your kids are at all times in Skecher’s newest Apple AirTag compatible sneakers. It’s genius. There’s a clever, secure, hidden compartment under the insole. Your child can’t feel it, and you can see where your kids are on the Find My app.” (Emphasis added.)
In the video, a cheery actress also says, “Look, we all know Skechers is famous for comfort, and now they’re giving us comfort of mind when it comes to our kids.” However, in the non-mobile version of the ad, the actress reads the same script, except she adds the word “shoes” in lines like “you can see where your kids shoes are.” It’s a small but significant difference. Mashable reached out to Skechers for clarification, and we’ll update this article if the company responds.
Regardless, the new sneakers are available for sale now at the Skechers website in boys’ and girls’ sizes. The shoes are priced between $52 and $58.
Shoes that track kids’ location could be a godsend for parents who are nervous about losing track of their kids in a crowded place, but products like this also raise potential privacy concerns. Apple has taken steps to make AirTags more privacy friendly in recent years.
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