I thought it was intended for lost items rather than stolen items. I've had my phone stolen multiple times and thieves know exactly what to do to prevent 'find my' activating. I'm sure it wouldn't take them long to find/disable AirTags either.
>I've had my phone stolen multiple times and thieves know exactly what to do to prevent 'find my' activating. I'm sure it wouldn't take them long to find/disable AirTags either.
...putting it in a faraday bag? Since tags are cheap, they can even smash it.
On the upside as long as you have Find My iPhone activated when you did have the phone it doesn't have a huge amount of value to the thief, particularly on newer models where individual components can't even be swapped without issues.