A Tag8 alternative where your contact is never exposed
Tag8 sells a broad lost-and-found range — QR and NFC tags plus Bluetooth trackers. MyTags does one thing and puts privacy first: a finder scans your QR tag and reaches you, but your phone number, email and name never appear. Every message routes through MyTags.
- Contact never shown
- Free digital tag
- No app for the finder
- Not a tracker
A finder reaches you — your phone and email stay hidden.
First, the honest version
Tag8 and MyTags are not the same kind of product, and it helps to say so up front. Tag8 covers a lot of ground — scannable QR and NFC tags for wallets, bags, keys and pets, plus battery-powered Bluetooth trackers that report proximity. If you want a device that pings a nearby phone, that is a real strength and a QR tag cannot match it.
MyTags is narrower on purpose. It is a privacy-first QR lost-and-found tag. The whole product is built around one promise: a finder can contact you without ever learning who you are or how to reach you off-platform. If that promise is what you came for, the comparison below is where MyTags pulls ahead.
Tag8 vs MyTags, on six things that matter
Only checkable claims below — and we mark the one row where Tag8 is genuinely the better pick.
| Dimension | Tag8 | MyTags |
|---|---|---|
| Contact privacy | Varies by product and plan | Masked relay on by default — contact never shownMyTags wins |
| Product focus | Broad lost-and-found hardware: QR / NFC tags plus Bluetooth trackers | Focused on privacy-first QR lost-and-found |
| Free digital tag | Hardware purchase | Free digital tag, live instantly — no hardware neededMyTags wins |
| Finder experience | Scan a QR with a phone camera | Scan with any phone camera — no app, no signup for the finderMyTags wins |
| Alerts & integrations | App notifications | Push + email, plus optional WhatsApp, Slack and webhookMyTags wins |
| Live location & range | Bluetooth trackers give proximity rangeTag8 wins | None — passive QR, cannot track (by design) |
Want the privacy promise in detail? Read how the private relay works. Comparing trackers instead? See MyTags vs AirTag.
Where each one pulls ahead
A fair split: MyTags leads on privacy, reach and price; a Bluetooth tracker leads on live range. Read both columns before you choose.
Where MyTags leads
- Your contact stays hidden by default — a finder reaches you without ever seeing your number, email or name
- A free digital tag goes live instantly — no hardware, no subscription, no waiting on delivery
- The finder needs no app and no signup — any phone camera opens the tag
- Alerts land as push and email, with optional WhatsApp, Slack and webhook, plus guides for each use case
Where Tag8 does better
- Its Bluetooth trackers give live proximity range — you can ring a nearby item, which a passive QR code cannot do
- A wider hardware catalogue — QR, NFC and BLE across many categories in one brand
If live range is the point, a Bluetooth tracker is the right tool — a QR tag is not trying to be one.
Worried a tracker could be used against you? Our guide on theft protection without GPS explains why a passive tag is a safety win.
Set up a private tag in three steps
No hardware to order and no battery to charge. See the full walkthrough.
Create a free digital tag
Make a digital QR tag in the MyTags app. It is free and live the moment you create it — no hardware to order and nothing to charge.
Put it on your thing
Print it on a label, or add it to a sticker or travel tag you already own. Stick it on a bag, bike, laptop, car or a pet’s collar.
A finder scans and messages you
Any phone camera opens your tag. The finder sends a message, you get a push and email alert, and you reply — your contact details stay hidden the whole time.
Make one in seconds with a digital QR tag, or want a weatherproof one on the outside of a bag? Both use the same private relay.
Often the best answer is both
If you want to be reachable on a lost item while keeping your phone number, email and name private — and you want it free and live in seconds — choose MyTags. That is the one job it is built for, and it does it on anything from a suitcase to a pet collar.
If you also need to ring an item that is within Bluetooth range, add a tracker — Tag8’s BLE line, or any other. The two are complementary: a tracker for range inside the bag, a private MyTags QR on the outside so an honest finder can always reach you. You lose nothing by running both.
Tag8 vs MyTags, answered
Is MyTags a good Tag8 alternative?
It depends on what you want. If your goal is a lost-and-found tag where a finder can reach you without ever seeing your phone number, email or name, MyTags is built around exactly that. If you also want live proximity range, a Bluetooth tracker — including Tag8’s BLE line — does something a QR tag cannot. Many people use both.
Does the person who scans my tag see my phone number?
With MyTags, no — never. Every message a finder sends routes through MyTags, so your phone number, email and name stay hidden in both directions. Tag8 offers a broad range of products, so what a finder sees varies by the specific tag and plan you choose; MyTags keeps the masked relay on by default for every tag.
Can MyTags track my item’s live location like a Bluetooth tracker?
No, and that is deliberate. A MyTags tag is a passive QR code with no battery and no radio. It cannot report location and cannot be used to follow the person carrying it. For live range you want a Bluetooth or GPS tracker, such as Tag8’s BLE trackers. The trade-off is privacy and safety versus range.
Do I have to buy hardware to use MyTags?
No. A digital QR tag is free and live the instant you create it in the app — print it on a label or add it to a tag you already own. Physical tags, such as weatherproof stickers and premium Teslin travel tags, are optional and sold in the shop.
Does the finder need to install an app or sign up?
No. Any phone camera opens a MyTags tag in a browser. The finder installs nothing and creates no account to send you a message — which matters when a stranger has your lost bag and just wants to return it.
Can I use MyTags and a Bluetooth tracker together?
Yes, and it is a sensible setup. Put a Bluetooth tracker inside a bag for live range, and a private MyTags QR on the outside so an honest finder can reach you without seeing your details. Each covers the other’s blind spot.
Weighing other options? Compare MyTags vs AirTag and MyTags vs Sampark, or download the app to try it. More on the MyTags blog.
Try the private alternative, free
Create a MyTags QR tag in two minutes. A finder can reach you in seconds — and your phone number, email and name never appear on it. Free to create, live instantly.
Create a free tag