My pet tracker can be set up to only send location when asked for it. It uses a SIM card (pre paid), plus you can call it to listen to the surroundings or have it blink or make noise through the app.

The app requires the phone numbers of the people who are allowed to query the tracker.

I don’t know what trackers are available in your country. I found several who had subscription-type deals to have the tracking actually work. I hate subscriptions, so will always choose to pay more upfront to control my usage and cost. It’s a lot more expensive than any sort of air tag.

With the one I have I can delete the app after setup and only text the number to get gps-coordinates when I wish, but the app works great for my needs.

It also triangulates with WiFi etc to give a more accurate reading. All such settings can be changed in the app.

Can’t speak for privacy aside from it can be set up to only send info when queried and only to preselected numbers. Kinda depends what you mean by privacy respecting.

It does need to charge (varies greatly depending on weather, queries, settings etc) often.