Car tracking devices: Everything you need to know

You are being watched. No, seriously, right now there's a device somewhere near you that is tracking you.

It’s no surprise that digital tracking is about as common as needing to lie down in a dark room after reading the news.

Helicopter parents track their offspring 24/7 with apps like Life360 and Findmykids, UberEats and Amazon insists you track your delivery drivers’ every move, while the popularisation of Apple's AirTags in recent years allows tracking of everything from your wallet to your favourite pet through your iPhone.

It makes sense that millions around the world choose to implement this technology into their most prized possessions, their cars. The universal stomach-drop of realising you can’t remember where you parked last night, or where you left your car keys, should be a thing of the past, along with proper grammar in texting.

More obviously, and pressingly, the idea that someone might steal your car and get away with it disappears, at least slightly, when you've got a sneaky car tracker secreted in the vehicle. A thief might steal it, but you - with the help of the police - will find them.

But with so many options in the digital market, many struggle to decide on the best car tracking device, and which cost-effective vehicle tracker to buy. So, here are a handful of the most popular options to assist your transition into the future of car ownership.

1. Apple AirTags

Apple AirTags, due to the popularity of the Apple brand and the devices inherent integration to the iPhone and other Aapple devices, serve as one of the most popular options for vehicular and non-vehicular tracking of everything.

From the Apple store these little gadgets sell for $49, with 'Precision Finding' down to the centimetre and vocally activated search functions (“Hey Siri, find my car”).

Attaching an AirTag to your car keys allows you to take advantage of its sound-emitting technology, which will chirp to let you know your keys have fallen between the couch cushions or under the bed, and (just in case) can survive up to 30 minutes in a metre deep of water. Or your fish tank. Impressive.

The bluetooth device’s battery has just over a year of duration and can be easily replaced, and its size (31.9mm diameter and 8.0mm thick) allows it to be easily concealed within your car (and hiding one so that you can totally surprise a car thief does sound fun). For more information, click here.

2. Samsung SmartTag

The Samsung SmartTag, SmartTag 2 and SmartTag+ offer similar capabilities to the AirTag with varying features and diagnostics. As opposed to the iDevice oriented AirTag, the SmartTag interfaces with Samsung, Galaxy and Android devices only - still capable of serving as a GPS tracker for your car, but in the non-Apple technological universe.

SmartTag 2, the most contemporary of the SmartTag line, released in 2023, boasts better battery than the AirTag with 500 days of battery life guaranteed, as well as similarly water-resistant capabilities, dust resistance (perfect for the unkempt car crevice) and similar 'Compass View' and 'Search Nearby' features that allow real-time precision tracking.

Available through both JB Hi-Fi and the Samsung website the SmartTag 2 costs $55, with a purchase of four being available for $169, reducing the price of the individual tag to $42.25 each.

The AirTag and SmartTag are almost identical, with paralleling features and tracking systems that rely solely on customer preference and personal device interface to inform decision making.

3. Tile Trackers

Tile trackers, from the company Tile, which also operates the location-based app Life360, come in more variants than AirTags and SmartTags combined.

Tile offers the Tile Pro, Tile Mate, Tile Slim and Tile Sticker as well as a premium Tile subscription that provides more customer services and app-to-tracker integration.

The Tile Sticker, available from JB Hi-Fi for $39.95, is the smallest available Tile tracker with three years of battery life (yes, that is very good) and an adhesive backside that allows it to attach to any surface (that includes the interior of your car).

The Tile Mate ($39.95), a more keychain-oriented tracker with a slightly larger size, offers the exact same location tracking service with, again, up to three years of battery life and SOS alert capabilities in conjunction with the Life360 app.

The Tile Pro, advertised as the “longest tracker” includes the longest Bluetooth connection range of 152 metres and one year of replaceable battery life for just under $50.

Finally, the Tile Slim, advertised as the “Car Tracker” for its slim card-like shape and easy hideability sells for $38.46, although it serves the exact same functions as the other three Tile trackers and, if anything, seems just as optimal for a wallet as a car. All Tile trackers are compatible with Life360 and newer models (marked by the 'Squircle' logo) all contain SOS functions.

4. Hardwired Vehicle 4G GPS Tracker VL101G

For some, the reassurance that the simple, portable and grandma-friendly aforementioned trackers provide is simply dissatisfying.

Those with tinfoil hats, newspaper-lined windows and potentially manic obsession with preventing car theft will greatly appreciate what you might call the 'Nuclear Option'; The GPS Tracker VL101G.

Coming in at just under $300, this nifty, CIA-level hidden GPS tracker for your car provides everything the other products have to offer and so much more.

Designed especially as a car anti-theft device, the VL101G shares the battery of your car, meaning 24/7 location coverage and no need to replace any batteries.

The device is also capable of connecting to any device you desire, whether that be phone, laptop, tablet or SmartFridge. Some of its most notable (and neurotically over-the-top) features include remote fuel and power shutdown control to stall any thievery in its tracks, a lifetime 'TrackSolid Pro License' guaranteed, an 'Inertial Navigation System' that provides tracking in low-service areas like tunnels or remote urban environments, driver behavioural analysis, 'Geo-Security' geofences that set physical boundaries for where your car is permitted to travel, and systematic assistance from five different global positioning systems to provide nanometre-accurate tracking.

If overkill was a car tracker it would bow down before the VL101G in fear and shame. This device is, rather fittingly, available for purchase at The Spy Store, where you can further live out your wildest and most deluded James Bond fantasies, as well as AutoEquip Australia and Sentriwise.