Girl Goes Viral With 1.1M Views By Sharing How She Found A Tile Tracker In Her Purse After A Night Out
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Women’s eyes often get caught on stories in the media concerning their safety. Thanks to social media channels, sharing experiences and raising awareness has become much easier and is available practically to anyone. So as the ‘bad guys’ are gradually coming up with new ways to compromise women’s security and safety, the ladies are growing strong.
A similar thing concerning safety and security happened to Sheridan Ellis, who shared her story of finding a Tile, a Bluetooth and a free app-based tracker, in her bag. This concerned her so much that she decided to share it with everyone and more than 1.1m million users on TikTok alone, and still counting, saw the video.
More info: TikTok
Sheridan, a young woman from Texas, had an unpleasant incident that made her quite concerned about her and other women’s safety
Image credits: sheridanellis
Sheridan Ellis, a 27 year old artist from Texas, has gone viral on her TikTok account after experiencing a strange incident that occurred after a night out for a friend’s birthday. Her message to everyone is pretty clear: beware of the contents of your bag.
On a Saturday night, Sheridan went out with a group of friends and although normally she doesn’t carry a purse, this time, she took a bag with her to carry decorations for the table.
Image credits: sheridanellis
“I think it’s just smart for everyone to be aware. I wanted to share my story just so others can be aware—like a ‘keep in mind.’ Do women need to be on high alert? Sure, but I think that honestly, in this day and age, everyone needs to be to some extent. I shared in the video that I don’t often carry a purse (and I don’t because I lose things easily—oh, the irony). I included that bit of information because I know, for example, my mom doesn’t clean her purse out very often. I only had a few things in my purse that night and I knew everything that was in there. When I say ‘I cleaned it out’ I just meant I was taking everything out because I was throwing away the decorations we didn’t need anymore, etc. I know for a fact that there was not a Tile in my purse before I left for the night and unfortunately, as the night went on, I ended up with a Tile in my purse.”
After a night out, she discovered a Tile tracker device in her purse that got there mysteriously
Image credits: sheridanellis
At the end of the night, Sheridan decided to clean her purse out and was very puzzled to find a Tile device. The tiny electronic gadget is normally used to find missing items by attaching them to the Tile. It is a Bluetooth-enabled device that uses its free app to find missing things that are attached to it. A really useful helper for people who tend to lose things is now apparently turning into a possible security and safety concern for everyone, but especially for women. Sheridan is highlighting the fact that this could happen to anyone: “I know everyone is saying ‘hey girls, be careful!’ but unfortunately the reality is that this could happen to anyone! A kid’s backpack, gym bag, purse, etc. This doesn’t mean we should live in fear, it just means we should be aware!”
The unnerving experience encouraged Sheridan to share her story so that others would be aware of a possible security and privacy issue
The first thing Sheridan did was to check if it belonged to anyone at the dinner party and take out the battery, and that’s what she advises everyone watching the video to do. It has been viewed over 1.1m times and received many comments and concerns. She made the video to alert others and raise awareness, but she didn’t contact the police as she’s not sure when the Tile was placed in her bag and she doesn’t want to put the battery back in. The Texan used to use a similar Tile, but regardless, took the battery out and later, at home, she found the old one laying in the drawer. “Once I realized that it wasn’t mine, I did get that pit in my stomach feeling, but checked with everyone that I was with the night prior just to make sure.”
Image credits: sheridanellis
She had not heard of any similar stories prior to sharing hers, but since the post has spread awareness, she has read a few comments with girls/moms saying they found a Tile in their bag as well. Many people were concerned about Sheridan and the incident that she went through. Some suggested contacting the police and tracking the mysterious stalker, while some reminded her that actually, beyond 200 ft, the Tile goes out of range. One of the comments pointed out that although other users were saying not to worry, the actual fact that someone intended to do such things is quite concerning.
Here you can check out the full video that Sheridan shared on her TikTok profile
@sheridanellisCheck your purses …🥴 ##fyp ##psa ##forwhatitsworth ##safety♬ good 4 u – Olivia Rodrigo
Video credits: sheridanellis
“I am a full-time painter/artist right now and I am currently working on a mural in Dallas and there is a fire station next door and the firemen there will come talk to me and hang out while I paint sometimes. I shared what happened to the captain of the station and asked him what he suggested I do. He said they hear/see things like this all the time and to either flush it/throw it away or bring it to the station so he and the other firemen can have some fun waiting for whoever it is, haha. He said as long as I feel safe and know that I took the battery out before I got home, then there’s really no point in taking it to the police. We went to multiple places that night and I am not sure when the Tile was put in my purse.”
The bothersome episode received many comments not only supporting Sheridan and suggesting further steps, but also expressing great distress
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I'm concerned about ajw3600's thinking she's safe from predators because she's "old and not hot". That's not at all how it works and being naive about it makes you a target. Be safe, all of you.
Yeah, I was a bit concerned when I saw that. Anybody can be creeped on, if you're creepy and depraved enough to do anything like stalking or tracking a person without their consent, I don't think they really care about the age of their victims or how they look.
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While I completely and totally understand the concern that would be associated with this, it might be possible that we are jumping to a lot of conclusions here. I'm not saying there aren't stalkers out there, but that would seem like a very odd way to do it. It's not GPS operated, it's bluetooth, which barely has any range at all. There's also no context to this story. Was she talking to anyone or was there anyone that wouldn't leave her alone? Where her and her friends going in and out of her purse to grab decorations for the gathering? Could it possibly be a friends device that fell off of their keys? Could it have just been swept up along with everything else used that night and tossed in her bag while cleaning up? I don't know, it seems like there can be other possibilities. I get it though - just another way of saying "be careful".
I think your explanation is right on. I was thinking that perhaps the tile was attached to one of the decorations, that sometimes happens in stores to control inventory.
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Out of curiosity, (genuine question, not rhetorical or sarcastic) does anyone know why someone would even bother using a device that only works within 200 feet of the person to stalk them home? I'd like to think she isn't making this up, so is there some reason I'm not thinking of?
If the woman lives in an apartment building, a person could easily follow her as far as the building, then use the tile to locate exactly which apartment she lived in.
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I don't believe this. First of all this woman gets paid for increasing her views. You can purchase a real car tracking device for $40 that will actually work and track her all the way home. Why would someone use a "Tile" tracker that is limited to finding your keys to "Track" a woman home. That's not what that tool is even for, and if you tried to use it for that, it was be almost useless for it. It is to find your lost keys, or your remote. How many people on here have the tile tracker app on their phone? Im willing to guess almost no one here. For it to locate her, someone within 200 ft of her house would have to have the app. Unlikely. Im willing to bet that this will turn out to be a publicity stunt for the views. Views that bring her money.
The company that puts out Tile trackers claims their range is 200 ft, but I've heard from people who've tried them on cat collars it's more like 20 to 40 ft. And there's this: even if it were 200 ft, or the 300 ft they claim for their Pro range, that's not any great distance - it's about the length of a city block - and it'd be subject to the vagaries of Bluetooth reception.
The tile depicted in this story is sealed and there's no access to the battery. Sorry. Not buying this story.
This is a hoax clearly a hoax by someone who doesn't understand the difference between a GPS tracker and a passive bluetooth beacon. The fact that she refers to it as a "Tile" means she probably bought it herself without understanding its use and functionality.
Um... is she sure one of her friends isn't now searching for their GPS tracker? Seems like an expensive way to track a stranger and I don't think those things get the best signal range. Of course it's always prudent to be aware of potential safety concerns for yourself and others but not everything has a sinister intentions and my first assumption would be that I'd accidentally nicked someone's tracking thingy
Contrary to what Apple claims, their new AirTag trackers will allow for stalking as well. Supposedly, they've taken measures to prevent it, but probably can't completely stop it.
Oh look another scary story on Bored Panda about how women should watch out for stuff attached to their wing mirrors, bottles left on cars and now a bluetooth tile tracker that appeared in a woman's bag after a night out. It surely cannot have fallen in there from someone's key fob so it MUST be a stalker using expensive bluetooth gear with no range to stalk people. I think someone at Bored Panda needs to start sense checking these stories before publishing them and adding to the litany of scare stories targeted solely at women.
So as it turns out, unlike the stuff on the windshield hoax, this one is actually a thing. There was a man in Houston recently arrested for stalking his ex using a Tile. The Tile App even lets you find your Tiles from other people's devices if they have the app installed as well. So a random passerby with a iPhone could ping the Tile and alert the stalker. I'm with you, BP does a lot of bullshit scare stories, but this one seems to have some actual weight to it.
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i am all for women being extra cautious because s**t happens to us and i've been through it as well but i'm always very wary of post like these that start off with: "i rarely carry a purse/do this/ wear this, etc" and wouldn't you know, it happens to them that ONE TIME. it's a form of fear mongering to those that regularly do/carry/wear those things. it's a distraction trend as well. now you've got girls looking in their purses for little pieces of plastic that don't work very far out of range of the perp's phone instead of with their heads up and checking their surroundings for those that might be right beside them. distracted people are more easy to victimize than those more aware.
Can people not spell or are they just lazy. I stop reading as soon as I see the non-word "cuz" used instead of the real word "because". That's my takeaway from the story.
men are disgusting they need to leave us women alone this is not fair not women should have to go out to a party to have fun and then find a tracker in there bag this is gross 😃😒
What a beat-up. These trackers use Bluetooth tech which has a maximum range of around 10 to 20 meters (30 to 60 feet). Beyond that, the tile will be out of range from the phone that is tracking it and will cease to work. For a "stalker" to successfully track you live, he has to keep within this distance (close range) all the time, otherwise, you'll just disappear from his "radar". How do I know this? Because I used these tiles on my luggage while travelling. While waiting to collect my luggage at the airport luggage belt, I tried to scan for its location but nothing! It only appeared on my phone's radar/map when the luggage started moving along the conveyor belt when in Bluetooth range. There's a button battery in these tracker tiles so if you're paranoid, open it up and remove the battery. Or smash it with a hammer. End of story.
Absolutely these can be tracked, thats why they exist. They do require connection to a bluetooth device. The way these work is that if you have the app installed regardless of whether or not you have registered the tile, the tile will connect to bluetooth and return the location to the owner. Anyone that walks past you that has the app installed can pickup your location abd transmit it back to the owner (via the Tile app). It's not reliable or necessarily convenient, ot tinely, but over time the position of that tile can be tracked, particularly in crowded locations where the chances of several people having the app is installed. From the Tile App itself: Find far away When you’re outside of Bluetooth range, use the Tile app to view your Tile’s most recent location or you can enlist the secure and anonymous help of the Tile Network to aid in your search.
Pretty funny all the contradictions about the tile. 200 feet max range and it's bluetooth. The person who put this in her bag could have had a couple of reasons for doing so - only one of which was good intentions. Honestly though for them to think it was going to work is just proof of lack of understanding how to use it. *shrug
Yeah the police don't do anything that's why we have to be "hyper vigilant"
Maybe someone was cleaning up near her purse and put it in her purse because they didn't know what it was and thought it was hers? Who knows. It's hard to believe anything on the internet these days. If this really happened, that's super creepy and she should find out who it's registered to. It's definitely something to be aware of in your surroundings. However, a part of me feels like she could be making up this story for "fame"/views/likes. Either way, thanks for the awareness!
My roommate has one on her keys, in her wallet, and one on a tv remote. Can confirm, the range can be spotty, and if the battery doesn't have enough juice it won't connect and make noise to find the keys, lol. My thoughts are this is a video just to get views. I don't do the tik tok thing regardless, I've got more important things to do
and this is y i dont use a handbag. i use either a wristlet or wallet wristlet is always attached to me and id feel if someone tried anything. i never get clasp always zipper makes things more difficult for the person trying something. all my wristlets and wallet wristlets have zippers u have to hold it to open they arent easy to open otherwise. any side pockets also have zippers. one of my best friends is a cop and he even told me wat im doing is smart. hes quite uncomfortable with the amount of calls from woman being followed, think they r being followed, or find odd things in their purse. he told his wife to start doing wat i do. for her birthday i got her 3 wallet wristlets 1 black leather to match anything 1 purple leather her fav color and 1 fancy silver one for nights out she uses them all the time and said she no longer feels paranoid about her belongings. she even had my friend test taking it or trying to open it so she could kno wat it feels like. she told me theres no way u cant notice the strap is so short that even the slightest tug will make u look. i dont go places where these things happen often but my friend and his wife live in nyc where anything can happen
I'm concerned about ajw3600's thinking she's safe from predators because she's "old and not hot". That's not at all how it works and being naive about it makes you a target. Be safe, all of you.
Yeah, I was a bit concerned when I saw that. Anybody can be creeped on, if you're creepy and depraved enough to do anything like stalking or tracking a person without their consent, I don't think they really care about the age of their victims or how they look.
Load More Replies... While I completely and totally understand the concern that would be associated with this, it might be possible that we are jumping to a lot of conclusions here. I'm not saying there aren't stalkers out there, but that would seem like a very odd way to do it. It's not GPS operated, it's bluetooth, which barely has any range at all. There's also no context to this story. Was she talking to anyone or was there anyone that wouldn't leave her alone? Where her and her friends going in and out of her purse to grab decorations for the gathering? Could it possibly be a friends device that fell off of their keys? Could it have just been swept up along with everything else used that night and tossed in her bag while cleaning up? I don't know, it seems like there can be other possibilities. I get it though - just another way of saying "be careful".
I think your explanation is right on. I was thinking that perhaps the tile was attached to one of the decorations, that sometimes happens in stores to control inventory.
Load More Replies... Out of curiosity, (genuine question, not rhetorical or sarcastic) does anyone know why someone would even bother using a device that only works within 200 feet of the person to stalk them home? I'd like to think she isn't making this up, so is there some reason I'm not thinking of?
If the woman lives in an apartment building, a person could easily follow her as far as the building, then use the tile to locate exactly which apartment she lived in.
Load More Replies... I don't believe this. First of all this woman gets paid for increasing her views. You can purchase a real car tracking device for $40 that will actually work and track her all the way home. Why would someone use a "Tile" tracker that is limited to finding your keys to "Track" a woman home. That's not what that tool is even for, and if you tried to use it for that, it was be almost useless for it. It is to find your lost keys, or your remote. How many people on here have the tile tracker app on their phone? Im willing to guess almost no one here. For it to locate her, someone within 200 ft of her house would have to have the app. Unlikely. Im willing to bet that this will turn out to be a publicity stunt for the views. Views that bring her money.
The company that puts out Tile trackers claims their range is 200 ft, but I've heard from people who've tried them on cat collars it's more like 20 to 40 ft. And there's this: even if it were 200 ft, or the 300 ft they claim for their Pro range, that's not any great distance - it's about the length of a city block - and it'd be subject to the vagaries of Bluetooth reception.
The tile depicted in this story is sealed and there's no access to the battery. Sorry. Not buying this story.
This is a hoax clearly a hoax by someone who doesn't understand the difference between a GPS tracker and a passive bluetooth beacon. The fact that she refers to it as a "Tile" means she probably bought it herself without understanding its use and functionality.
Um... is she sure one of her friends isn't now searching for their GPS tracker? Seems like an expensive way to track a stranger and I don't think those things get the best signal range. Of course it's always prudent to be aware of potential safety concerns for yourself and others but not everything has a sinister intentions and my first assumption would be that I'd accidentally nicked someone's tracking thingy
Contrary to what Apple claims, their new AirTag trackers will allow for stalking as well. Supposedly, they've taken measures to prevent it, but probably can't completely stop it.
Oh look another scary story on Bored Panda about how women should watch out for stuff attached to their wing mirrors, bottles left on cars and now a bluetooth tile tracker that appeared in a woman's bag after a night out. It surely cannot have fallen in there from someone's key fob so it MUST be a stalker using expensive bluetooth gear with no range to stalk people. I think someone at Bored Panda needs to start sense checking these stories before publishing them and adding to the litany of scare stories targeted solely at women.
So as it turns out, unlike the stuff on the windshield hoax, this one is actually a thing. There was a man in Houston recently arrested for stalking his ex using a Tile. The Tile App even lets you find your Tiles from other people's devices if they have the app installed as well. So a random passerby with a iPhone could ping the Tile and alert the stalker. I'm with you, BP does a lot of bullshit scare stories, but this one seems to have some actual weight to it.
Load More Replies... i am all for women being extra cautious because s**t happens to us and i've been through it as well but i'm always very wary of post like these that start off with: "i rarely carry a purse/do this/ wear this, etc" and wouldn't you know, it happens to them that ONE TIME. it's a form of fear mongering to those that regularly do/carry/wear those things. it's a distraction trend as well. now you've got girls looking in their purses for little pieces of plastic that don't work very far out of range of the perp's phone instead of with their heads up and checking their surroundings for those that might be right beside them. distracted people are more easy to victimize than those more aware.
Can people not spell or are they just lazy. I stop reading as soon as I see the non-word "cuz" used instead of the real word "because". That's my takeaway from the story.
men are disgusting they need to leave us women alone this is not fair not women should have to go out to a party to have fun and then find a tracker in there bag this is gross 😃😒
What a beat-up. These trackers use Bluetooth tech which has a maximum range of around 10 to 20 meters (30 to 60 feet). Beyond that, the tile will be out of range from the phone that is tracking it and will cease to work. For a "stalker" to successfully track you live, he has to keep within this distance (close range) all the time, otherwise, you'll just disappear from his "radar". How do I know this? Because I used these tiles on my luggage while travelling. While waiting to collect my luggage at the airport luggage belt, I tried to scan for its location but nothing! It only appeared on my phone's radar/map when the luggage started moving along the conveyor belt when in Bluetooth range. There's a button battery in these tracker tiles so if you're paranoid, open it up and remove the battery. Or smash it with a hammer. End of story.
Absolutely these can be tracked, thats why they exist. They do require connection to a bluetooth device. The way these work is that if you have the app installed regardless of whether or not you have registered the tile, the tile will connect to bluetooth and return the location to the owner. Anyone that walks past you that has the app installed can pickup your location abd transmit it back to the owner (via the Tile app). It's not reliable or necessarily convenient, ot tinely, but over time the position of that tile can be tracked, particularly in crowded locations where the chances of several people having the app is installed. From the Tile App itself: Find far away When you’re outside of Bluetooth range, use the Tile app to view your Tile’s most recent location or you can enlist the secure and anonymous help of the Tile Network to aid in your search.
Pretty funny all the contradictions about the tile. 200 feet max range and it's bluetooth. The person who put this in her bag could have had a couple of reasons for doing so - only one of which was good intentions. Honestly though for them to think it was going to work is just proof of lack of understanding how to use it. *shrug
Yeah the police don't do anything that's why we have to be "hyper vigilant"
Maybe someone was cleaning up near her purse and put it in her purse because they didn't know what it was and thought it was hers? Who knows. It's hard to believe anything on the internet these days. If this really happened, that's super creepy and she should find out who it's registered to. It's definitely something to be aware of in your surroundings. However, a part of me feels like she could be making up this story for "fame"/views/likes. Either way, thanks for the awareness!
My roommate has one on her keys, in her wallet, and one on a tv remote. Can confirm, the range can be spotty, and if the battery doesn't have enough juice it won't connect and make noise to find the keys, lol. My thoughts are this is a video just to get views. I don't do the tik tok thing regardless, I've got more important things to do
and this is y i dont use a handbag. i use either a wristlet or wallet wristlet is always attached to me and id feel if someone tried anything. i never get clasp always zipper makes things more difficult for the person trying something. all my wristlets and wallet wristlets have zippers u have to hold it to open they arent easy to open otherwise. any side pockets also have zippers. one of my best friends is a cop and he even told me wat im doing is smart. hes quite uncomfortable with the amount of calls from woman being followed, think they r being followed, or find odd things in their purse. he told his wife to start doing wat i do. for her birthday i got her 3 wallet wristlets 1 black leather to match anything 1 purple leather her fav color and 1 fancy silver one for nights out she uses them all the time and said she no longer feels paranoid about her belongings. she even had my friend test taking it or trying to open it so she could kno wat it feels like. she told me theres no way u cant notice the strap is so short that even the slightest tug will make u look. i dont go places where these things happen often but my friend and his wife live in nyc where anything can happen
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