Some people rarely lose things. Wallets are always exactly where they’re supposed to be, keys never go missing, and remotes never slip between the couch cushions. And then there’s the rest of us — the folks who can’t ever seem to find the thing that was right there a few seconds ago. For us, there are Bluetooth trackers.

Bluetooth trackers have been around for a long time, and they all generally work the same way. You stick the tracker onto an object, pair it with your phone, and then, when you lose said object, you can go into an app and ring the tracker. But these days, Bluetooth trackers can do a lot more. Some have ultra-wideband chips that enable precision tracking, so you can find exactly where in a room your item is. Others tap into large networks that make it easier to find lost items outside the home. Many will notify you if they detect you’ve left the device behind or come with QR codes that link to your contact information so people can easily return lost devices.

Are you limited to Bluetooth range, or can you make use of wider networks like Apple’s Find My, Google’s Find My Device network, or Amazon Sidewalk? Is it hard to hear the tracker when you ring it?

A technology that lets you track small objects can be abused to track people without their consent. Tracker companies know this, and an increasing number now come with anti-stalking features. These features may never prevent abuse 100 percent of the time, but I investigate whether these features were crafted with care, how well the company educates users about them, and if the company is proactive about updating them according to feedback from experts.