New York Police Department Encourages Car Owners to Use AirTags to Deter Theft, 500 Free AirTags Available

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is encouraging New York car owners to install Apple AirTags in cars in order to cut down on car theft in the city.

airtag cyber
In a tweet shared over the weekend, the NYPD said that "the 21st century calls for 21st century policing," and that an AirTag in a car will help officers recover a car if it is stolen. An accompanying video instructs car owners to get an ‌AirTag‌ and install it in a location in the vehicle where it can't easily be found.

The video then demonstrates a car theft where the owner uses the Find My app to track the car, with the tracking information relayed to the police. Officers find the car thanks to the ‌AirTag‌ and are able to recover the vehicle and arrest the thief.


"Safe guard your car by simply putting an Apple ‌AirTag‌ inside of it," the NYPD writes at the end of the video. The ‌AirTag‌ initiative comes after a viral TikTok car theft video that caused an uptick in thefts across the United States. In the TikTok, thieves demonstrate how to get into Hyundai and Kia vehicles through an easily accessible exploit.

In an accompanying press conference on Sunday, New York City mayor Eric Adams said that the city will provide 500 free AirTags to car owners. According to CBS News, the AirTags are available to residents in Castle Hill, Soundview, and Parkchester, as these areas have seen a 548 percent increase in stolen Hyundai and Kia vehicles.

Popular Stories

iOS 26

6 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.1

Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below. Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
ios 26 1 slide to stop

iOS 26.1 Brings Back 2007 Feature in New Way

Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important. Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped. The new ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.1 Coming Soon: New Features for Your iPhone and Release Date

Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more. Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1. Release Date Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
M5 MacBook Pro

Waiting for New Macs? Apple Just Shared Bad News

Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year. Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

8 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
maxresdefault

Apple TV 4K Could Still Launch Before 2025 Ends: All the Rumored Features

Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors. ...
ipad mini 7 feature blue

OLED iPad Mini: Release Date, Pricing, and What to Expect

Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out. Processor and Performance Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Coffee Burgundy and Purple iPhone 18 Pro Mock 1

Leaker Outlines Potential New Colors for iPhone 18 Pro

Friday October 31, 2025 8:28 am PDT by
Apple's iPhone 18 Pro models could be available in new rich and warm color option, according to a known leaker. The Weibo user known as "Instant Digital" today suggested that next-year's iPhone 18 Pro models will be available in at least one of the following color options: Coffee, purple, and burgundy. The iPhone XR, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, iPhone 14, and iPhone 14 Pro were all available in ...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, and macOS Tahoe 26.1 Release Candidates

Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas. The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...

Top Rated Comments

noraa Avatar
33 months ago

“Free”

Yeah you know the cops are tracking you too if you take one of those

Why does anyone still live in NY?
Not sure you understand how AirTags work. They’re tied to your Apple ID, only you can track your AirTag (unless you give someone your Apple IR credentials - which if you’re giving the police you’re info than you’re just being dumb).

You can’t bind an AirTag to more than one Apple ID, so it’s not like the police could bind the AirTag to a NYPD Apple ID, and then give it to you and act like it’s not already bound to an Apple ID.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robbysibrahim Avatar
33 months ago

“Free”

Yeah you know the cops are tracking you too if you take one of those

Why does anyone still live in NY?


Plus if you film them steal it, track it to the hood rats dwelling, call the cops, $5 says they won’t do anything, but go 11mph over the speed limit, or don’t have one of their “inspection” stickers clogging up your windshield and they’ll be on it like flys on..we’ll NY
All of this is wrong. And I'll add, the LAPD recovered my stolen motorcycle the same day because I had an AirTag on it.
Score: 34 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Little Endian Avatar
33 months ago
Despite all the obstacles that Apple implements to deter it is still possible to use an AirTag for theft tracking purposes on a car. A thief will only get a notification they are being tracked if they have an iPhone. On Android you actually have to download an app and manually check. Also depending on the situation there is a time buffer between when a thief would get tracking notification or an airtag starts making sound. A small window of opportunity to track is better than none at all.

Even if they do realize they are being tracked there are endless places to hide one that would take time for a thief to find. Hiding one in an engine bay, inside a bumper cover, take apart dash, take apart rear seat, inside trunk under the liner or in spare tire well etc. Hiding an AirTag good enough to the point where disassembly of parts of the vehicle may buy enough time for it to be located after being stolen.

If you make the AirTag frustrating to find and get to the thief may also just get spooked enough to abandon the car. In that case them knowing they are being tracked might be a good thing.

Anyhow my vehicle already has built in GPS tracking from the factory. I keep an AirTag hidden in the car for extra peace of mind.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
noraa Avatar
33 months ago

NY only does things that benefit NY

and as it stands the police don’t care about your stolen car or many of the attacks which can’t be discussed in NYC

So I wouldn’t trust it, not sure how, but nooope
Are you speaking from experience? Do you live in NY (or have lived in NY)? The NYPD are far, far, far from perfect (for so many reasons), but you’re pretty much just speaking out of your ass right now.
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclardy Avatar
33 months ago

“Free”

Yeah you know the cops are tracking you too if you take one of those

Why does anyone still live in NY?


Plus if you film them steal it, track it to the hood rats dwelling, call the cops, $5 says they won’t do anything, but go 11mph over the speed limit, or don’t have one of their “inspection” stickers clogging up your windshield and they’ll be on it like flys on..we’ll NY
You can’t even share an AirTag with an iCloud family member, no way it can be shared with NYPD.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
fenderbass146 Avatar
33 months ago
Or...maybe just maybe, we could be tough on crime again instead of releasing criminals back onto the streets almost immediately.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)