AirTag helps recover $7,000 in stolen camera gear

Apple's AirTag has helped recover photography equipment and other items valued at $7,000, by helping a man on vacation in Australia track his stolen possessions.

A photographer's worst nightmare is to discover their kit has been stolen or otherwise gone missing. In the case of one Sydney resident's sudden loss of hardware, there is a happy ending because they used AirTags.

Graham Tait was on holiday in South Australia in early May, but while at a hotel, the theft of his items took place. Goods including a notebook, a Sony camera, a wallet, a GoPro, and other gear valued at AUS $10,000 ($7,000) was pilfered from the break-in.

"My car was broken into whilst we were traveling in the Flinders Ranges last night and they took a laptop bag and camera - both of which had AirTags fitted," Tait told 9 News.

Since he actively used AirTags with his items, Tait then broke out the Find My app and tracked down the missing hardware. It turned out that his possessions were taken to a different room within the hotel he was staying in.

Police were called after the discovery. Law enforcement are now "dealing with the alleged offender," the report states.

Despite being the target of bad press surrounding its anti-stalking measures, AirTag has been used in a number of more positive ways. In October, it was used to track down a stolen vehicle, while in January, it was employed to keep track of a family's belongings during a house move when a shady moving truck driver failed to arrive on time.

In one famous case in January, AirTags were used to uncover a secret German intelligence agency.