Apple new feature in the iOS 18.2 beta’s Find My app allows you to temporarily share an AirTag’s location with a trusted person and soon you’ll also be able to share it with airlines, Apple today announced.
Apple said over 15 airlines will begin offering the feature “in the coming months.” The participating airlines include Delta, United, Air Canada, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, Aer Lingus, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Iberia, SWISS, Turkish Airlines, and Vueling. More airlines will follow in the future.
United is working to implement the feature systemwide in “early 2025,” according to a quote from the airline in Apple’s press release.
“We’ve worked closely with Apple to incorporate Share Item Location into our baggage recovery process and are excited to make this feature available to our customers soon,” said David Kinzelman, United’s chief customer officer. “We know many of our customers are already traveling with AirTag in their checked bags, and this feature will soon make it easier for them to share location information with us safely and securely, helping our customer service agents work more efficiently and giving our customers added peace of mind. We plan to accept Find My item locations in select airports initially, with the goal of introducing the service systemwide in early 2025.”
Apple is working directly with airlines to put systems in place to privately and securely accept Share Item Location Access to each link will be limited to a small number of people, and recipients will be required to authenticate in order to view the link through either their Apple Account or partner email address. The item’s location will stop being shared “as soon as a user is reunited with their item,” or at any time that the item’s owner decides. An item’s shared location will automatically expire after seven days.
The feature will be integrated into each airline’s customer service process for locating mishandled or delayed baggage, making it easier for the airline to help find lost bags with an AirTag attached to them.
iPhone, iPad, and Mac users running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2 can generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Recipients of a link will be able to view a website that shows a location of the item on an interactive map. The website will automatically update when a new location is available and will show a timestamp of the most recent update.
“The Find My network and AirTag have proven to be a powerful combination for users while traveling, providing invaluable location information when bags have been misplaced or mishandled,” said Apple’s services chief Eddy Cue. “With Share Item Location, we’re excited to give users a new way to easily share this information directly with third parties like airlines, all while protecting their privacy.”
The feature also works with third-party accessories and item trackers that support the Find My network.
Apple has confirmed that iOS 18.2 will be released in December, and we can expect iPadOS 18.2 and macOS Sequoia 15.2 to also be released then.
