It’s that time of year again. Time to take stock of 2023 and post our Spotify roundups on our Instagram stories. It’s also time to look back on a year of travel. Fortunately, we don’t have to exert too much brain power or research effort to figure out what this year has looked like, thanks to Life360 and Tile. Life360 is a tracking app for your phone, while Tile is a tag you attach to your luggage, so even if it’s lost you can still track it down. The two services conducted a year in review, collecting data in a variety of categories ranging from lost luggage to the most popular states to travel to.
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132,000 Lost Bags Were Found With Tile and Life360 in 2023
Good news for anyone who uses luggage tags, or is thinking about getting one. 132.5k bags have been found using Tile and Life360 this year. While lost bags at the airport are an exception rather than the rule, tracking devices like Tile not only make it easier to ultimately reunite with your bag, but also give you some peace of mind and a sense of control over your baggage as it moves through the behind-the-scenes Narnia of connecting flights.
Tracking isn’t just an overbearing way for your family and friends to trace your every movement – it can also provide some interesting insights on our behaviors and trends. According to Life360’s data, Florida was the state most traveled to by users in 2023. It also found that 19k members attended the Taylor Swift Eras Tour in Kansas City (not surprising), that Minnesota has the best drivers, and Washington DC has the worst.
But what human habit is more interesting than eating? That’s right, the app also tracks where people have been eating this year, and it probably won’t shock you to learn that McDonald’s came out number one, with 6.15 million visits. Chick-Fil-A was a distant second with 2.50 million visits, followed by Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell, Dairy Queen, Burger King, and Pizza Hut. In rough news for those servers on skates, the Sonic Drive-In came in last with .93 million visits.
The end-of-year stats uncovered other interesting trends too, like the top check-in locations, number of vehicular accidents and calls for road assistance, and volume of data breach alerts among users. But there’s one key takeaway: tracking apps and devices might feel a little sketchy, but they provide a level of security and peace of mind that make them well worth the “why are you at McDonald’s AGAIN?” calls from your mom.