I use a tile tracker on my personal keys but do not use them on the keys I give a sitter.
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what is a Nest? - all this new technology!
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Hi @liz Nest Technology is a way of turning a home into a “SMART” home … it automats home utilities (heating, lights, etc) this link helps explain …
There’s also Nest Doorbell, and Ring and a few others. Nest Doorbell replaces an existing door bell with video of everyone/everything at your front door, day and night.
Smart home…….mmmm……
it’s cold in here, think I’ll turn up the heating…….walks to the wall control and turns up the heating……now that’s smart.
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Yeah, well some people rely too heavily on Ring technology too.
I had a HO melt down because she watched the previous day’s Ring video and saw her cat go out and didn’t see him return. (He’d came back via the back porch.) Instead of giving him and me the benefit of the doubt (this was a return sit), she assumed he was lost and that I hadn’t told her. /eyeroll.
I got out of the shower and saw four missed calls in a row. I called her back immediately. She was in hysterics, even after I said “He’s right here, and has been since about 10 minutes after he went out (last night). Do you want me to call back via FaceTime so you can see him?” She was wailing. It was quite bizarre, and I was left feeling very insulted.
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No that’s creepy……why did she feel the need to keep an eye on her cat with a sitter she had already used. Plus she was on holiday. I’ve better things to do with myself than monitor where my pets are in or out of the house while I’m sitting on a sunny beach.
I understand the need for tracking devices on keys, mobile phones, even dogs. I’m at an age that I spend half my day looking for things and the other half laughing about it but monitoring a pets movements while on holiday, hmmmm.
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Wow.
(that’s all I wanted to say, but I have to write 10 characters)
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Re smart home technology.
I am super into technology and have lots of devices. I am often an early-adopter and I’m usually the person that friends and family go to for tech help.
That being said, I am not a fan of smart devices, although I assume some day, I’ll have no choice. I do not like the idea of something (someone?) listening in waiting for a command. I turned off “Hey Siri” on my phone for the same reason.
I remember reading about google (?) staff whose job it was to listen to clips of audio from random people’s homes and identify what is being said, in order to help train the AI technology. Sometimes they heard abusive situations and needed mental health support afterwards because they couldn’t do anything about it. Anyway, the whole thing just creeps me out and I’m going to avoid it all for as long as I can.
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oh my - defies description. Why have a housesitter if you can’t bring yourself to trust them to do what you have chosen them for?
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At Christmas I had my family under the same roof … MY roof … for the first time in 8 years Yay!! But wait … I watched all of these “wired up” 40+ somethings constantly on their phones looking at door camera’s, internal cameras, wondering where the cats were, who had just delivered what to the door, call the police, someone just used the drive to reverse, quick what was the number?:)) Oh, what time did the cat sitter arrive, how long did she stay for (not a THS sitter, a relative they also knew about the camera) and who’s going in the Airbnb? … Last but not least, a young couple who are lovely neighbours, walked a few hundred yards to drop in for drinks only to keep calling their young Lab over the phone, to say “We wont be long”
I was totally exhausted … Another G&T please and back to the forum 
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oh my! perfect example of how this technology just creates stress and anxiety :-). I used to smile at cartoon depictions of whole families at a restaurant just looking at their phones, until I realize that is now a common and acceptable way to spend time in company. I see it all the time and find it quite sad
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I might sew one in my husbands shirt collar so I can find him in Tescos
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This is the best kind of can of worms. i have a tracker detector on my phone and I always shout “ok google” and “alexa” when I’m alone to find out where those darned things are.
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What app is that, and how does it work?
In today’s news:
AirTags are being used to track people and cars. Here’s what is being done about it
Apple’s AirTags were billed as an easy way to track your keys and wallet, but now the small button-sized device are being used by stalkers and thieves to track people and steal cars.
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Thank you. Very useful to know but I for one won’t be buying an air tag
I know this is a fairly old post now, but to add my perspective as home owner. One of our dogs wears a Tractive tracker 24/7, which gives us peace of mind as she can be prone to running off if given a chance. I fully intend to tell the house sitter all about it, and add them to the app, so they can track too if needed.
But it did make me giggle the other week, I had to go on a course for a day and left the dogs with my husband, I checked the tracker to see Bella was, the location map her showed as at McDonalds in a nearby city (he was off to view a car and took them with him), we were supposed to be eating well, and the tracker gave it away! I’d not thought of it as intrusive to a sitter, but will be upfront 100% about it, and turn off the notifications whilst we are away too.
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