--- title: "Surveillance-Minded Parents Can Now Hide AirTags In Kids Shoes" description: "Find My Kid We interrupt your regularly scheduled doomscrolling to bring you a new development from the blossoming world of child surveillance: Skechers is selling new kids shoes that come with a hidden AirTag compartment, enabling parents to know where their meandering progeny are at all times. Readers, we're officially Skech'd out. According to the sneaker company, the tiny Apple tracking devices can be slotted into a hole in the heel of the shoes that's accessed by lifting the sole. That's the only difference with these shoes in the \"Find My Skechers\" line — otherwise, they're visually indistinguishable from regular […]" date: "2025-08-02" modified: "2025-08-02" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/parents-hide-airtags-shoes" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "apple" - "parenting" - "privacy" - "surveillance" --- # Surveillance-Minded Parents Can Now Hide AirTags In Kids Shoes ![Skechers is selling shoes that come with a hidden AirTag compartment, allowing for easy, inconspicuous tracking.]() *\Image: Skechers via YouTube\* We interrupt your regularly scheduled doomscrolling to bring you a new development from the blossoming world of child surveillance: the sneaker brand Skechers is selling new kids shoes that come with a hidden AirTag compartment, enabling parents to quietly track their meandering progeny at all times. Readers, we're officially Skech'd out. According to the sneaker company, the tiny Apple tracking devices can be slotted into a hole in the heel of the shoes that's accessed by lifting the sole. That's the only difference with the shoes in its newly dubbed "[Find My Skechers]()" line — otherwise, they're visually indistinguishable from regular pairs. They were announced earlier this month, but weren't spotted until this week, when they were [noticed by *Apple Insider*](). Skechers seems to be aware of how creepy this all sounds, because its carefully worded marketing would have you believe that people want to use $30 AirTags to keep track of shoes that at most cost $60, and definitely not the kids that would be wearing them. "Know where your kid's shoes are at all times and give yourself comfort of mind," reads one marketing line. "See where your kid's shoes are with the Find My app," reads another. "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." To be clear, the "Find My Skechers" are for younger kids and not, say, teenagers, who are old enough to demand some privacy away from their parents. And Skechers may argue that it's merely filling an existing demand, as many parents already use AirTags to keep tabs on their toddlers. The peace of mind it could give a beleaguered mom or dad who has to wrangle a bunch of wandering ankle-biters is a powerful thing indeed. Still, in our age of [mass surveillance](), be it through algorithms or cameras, it does feel a little icky. And who's to say this won't inspire other brands to start selling their own AirTag ready apparel, until we reach a point where teens or adults are expected to wear them, too? "A lot of 12-year-olds are going to learn the phrase 'op sec' in the next few years," [quipped]() one user on Bluesky. More nefariously, what if someone slips an AirTag into one of these compartments without consent — be they a parent or a stranger? What then? Maybe that sounds extreme, but Apple has had to constantly update its AirTag software to combat it [being used as a stalking tool]() — [which it has been]() on an [alarming number]() [of occasions](). Helpful as it may be, the shoes are a testament to how casual of a practice surveillance has become. "Sync it to your drone for literal helicopter parenting," joked one user in *The* *Verge*'s [comments](). **More on privacy:** *[Cursed New Dating App Matches You Based on the Most Deranged Thing We Can Imagine]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()