Tile: the world’s biggest lost and found

Tile uses technology to help us keep track of belongings

Tile is a small, waterproof, device that helps you keep track of anything. From your mobile devices and briefcase, to your keys and children’s toys, Tile can manage them all. You can have up to ten Tiles on one account. If you should ever misplace your items with the Tile app, finding them has never been easier.

The Tile app remembers where it last “saw” your Tile, so you can easily find where you left it using the GPS data. And provided your phone is not the missing item (and even if it is you can track it from any smartphone, for example a friend’s or family member’s) you can track the exact distance to the missing item from your phone. The app will show you where your item is as your get closer, within a fifty to one hundred and fifty foot range. It is a bit like a game of “hot and cold” for adults. You can also activate a Tile to ring, so that you can find it by sound, instead of location, say if your keys are lost in the house.

Also, you can share Tiles with other people, securely over the cloud-based platform. If you daughter loses the keys to the car and your son needs them, you can activate the Tile from your phone and he car hear the Tile ringing at home and find the keys. Tile never needs batteries; each Tile lasts for one year, and when you need a new one, Tile will send you an alert along with an envelope to recycle your old Tile.

Marking Tiles as lost

If your item is stolen, or goes missing, you can mark it as “lost” within the app and this will alert all other Tile apps to “watch” for your item. If any Tile user gets within range of your lost item, their Tile will discreetly communicate with the cloud system and you will be sent an alert (to your phone) of your item’s location; turning Tile in to the world’s biggest lost and found application.

If you are worried about other Tile users being able to track you, Tile states, “the Tile teams takes your security seriously. Only you and the Tile users you have explicitly shared your Tiles with can search for your Tiles.” So while you utilize other users in case your item goes missing, they cannot track your Tile. Other Tile users simply serve as markers for the proximity of your missing item’s Tile. They cannot see your location or search for you.

You can preorder a single Tile for $18.95, with discounts offered for multiple Tile purchases. The site says Tiles will begin shipping this winter. Tiles are currently only compatible with iPhone (4S, 5), iPad Mini, iPad (3rd and 4th Gen.), and iPod Touch (5th gen.). New iOS devices will be supported as they become available, as long as they have Bluetooth 4.0 support.