28-year-old daughter refuses mom's gift of a keychain after she discovered it contained a tracking device: 'Your mom is nuts. She needs therapy.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Dec 28, 2025 3:00 PM EST

She had made it clear that she doesn't want to be tracked.

Everyone feels a little differently about being tracked by our friends and family. A lot of young people are totally cool with the people closest to them having their locations on their phones at any given moment. Heck, a lot of the time, I forget that my mom and some of my friends can check my location whenever they want. I trust the people who have my location to handle it without showing up at my office unannounced or at a restaurant where I'm eating to make a scene. Nothing bad has happened yet from someone having my location, but that doesn't mean I'm going to start giving it out to just anybody. 

A lot of people are deeply uncomfortable with anyone constantly having their location, and honestly, I get it. We didn't need our best friend's location back in 2010; we got along just fine without it. We already have near-constant access to each other through social media and are constantly on our phones in general… why should we have to sacrifice the ability to walk around the city without anyone knowing where we are? Some people sacrifice that for safety reasons, but let's be honest: someone knowing your location probably won't save you from a crime. It's much more likely to make people who are already scared of crime even more freaked out. 

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement

  • The mother in this story is one of the people who should not have access to Find My Friends. She is willing to show up at her daughter's apartment unannounced just because she had a premonition that something might be wrong. When her daughter told her to stop, she took her antics one step further.

  • Closeup of house keys
    via Curated Lifestyle (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Am I the bad guy for returning my mom’s “thoughtful gift” after I found a tracker inside it?

    I'm 28F, live about 40 minutes from my mom, and we've had a recurring issue where she "worries" in a way that turns into control. She'll text me if I don't answer within an hour, she'll call my friends if I'm quiet, stuff like that. I've tried talking to her calmly and it always becomes "I'm just being a good
    via u/sp00ky_bun_42
  • mother." Last month she showed up at my apartment building because she "had a bad feeling" and wanted to make sure I was alive. I wasn't in danger, I was just napping after a night shift. We had a big argument and I told her, very clearly, you cannot show up unannounced again.
    via u/sp00ky_bun_42
  • Mother and teenage daughter having an argument
    via Curated Lifestyle (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • This week she invited me for dinner and handed me a new keychain that had a little tile style finder on it. She said it was so I "never lose my keys again" and acted super proud of herself. I actually thought it was kinda sweet until I got home and the keychain kept pinging my phone in weird ways. I
    via u/sp00ky_bun_42
  • opened the battery compartment and inside, taped under the plastic, was an AirTag. Not the brand name finder she told me it was. I checked and it was registered to her Apple ID.
    via u/sp00ky_bun_42
  • Person holding black and white round ornament
    via Mark Chan

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I texted her asking why. She responded with a bunch of crying emojis and said I'm paranoid, it's for emergencies, and that any daughter would be grateful. I drove over the next day, put the keychain on her kitchen counter and said I'm returning it and I need space for a bit. She started yelling that I'm
    via u/sp00ky_bun_42
  • "punishing" her and that I'm being cruel for making her feel unsafe. Now my aunt is texting me that I'm overreacting and "moms do this." AITJ?
    via u/sp00ky_bun_42
  • OverRice2524 I'm a mom My kids are 26, I do not do this. Your Mom is nuts. She needs therapy. Sorry sweetie.
    via u/OverRice2524
  • 18k_gold Take a month long break from your mom. it will be the only way she learns a lesson. then tell her if she invades your boundaries again it will be a 2 month break from her. Do the same with your aunt. tell her it's none of her business and if she interferes she will keep getting blocked. I'm old and my parents are a little like this. not so crazy but enough to drive me insane. we were overseas recently and they kept calling me anytime I was out past 10:30pm. Wanted to make sure I was ali
    via u/18k_gold
  • reallynah75 Normal, mentally healthy moms do not do this. Mothers that are entirely too attached to their grown children do this so they don't completely lose control of their children do this.
    via u/reallynah75
  • Repulsive-Isopod3045 NTJ. I'm a mom and this is insane behavior.
    via u/Repulsive-Isopod3045
  • emptynest_nana I am a mom and a Nana. I have never considered track any of kids or grandchildren. That is unhinged behavior. NTJ your mom is way out of line.
    via u/emptynest_nana
  • Beagle-wrangler Should have just tossed it in the back of some big truck. Or mailed it to another country and turned off your phone and headed out for a weekend getaway. Seriously, she's way out of line and you are gonna have to find a tougher way to set limits. Whatever is going on, don't assume rational talks will work. Borderline personality disorder or something. If you are reasonable and she is making you wonder if you are a jerk, it's a sign you need to do something drastically different (
    via u/Beagle-wrangler
  • NotRealMe86 Maybe some moms do this. Good moms do not.
    via u/NotRealMe86
  • dogswelcomenopeople NTJ- My kids are F35(disabled but mobile) and M33. We don't track them in any way. They text when they're traveling, but it's voluntarily done. If they forget to text, we don't freak out at all. Your mom is unhinged. I like the commenter who said one month no contact, with increasing months of NC for each violation.
    via u/dogswelcomenopeople
  • Investigator516 Should have tossed this into a landfill and had her freak out for a few weeks.
    via u/Investigator516
  • Random_NYer_18 She's at major fault here, not you. Yikes. I'm a parent of kids almost your age and I would NEVER invade their privacy like that. Your mom has big time detachment issues and needs therapy. You need to start thinking about the ways to protect yourself. Hopefully, your mom doesn't have access to your residence, car, bank accounts, etc.
    via u/Random_NYer_18

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

tracking surveillance gift aunt Keychain family daughter mom adult children entitled people
Scroll Down For The Next Article