Apple has announced the release of a new feature, Share Item Location, as part of its Find My service, designed to help users locate and recover lost items. Available in the public beta of iOS 18.2, this feature enables users to securely share the location of an AirTag or Find My network accessory with third parties, including airlines. The feature is expected to roll out to all users with iPhone Xs and later as a free software update.
“Find My is an essential tool for users around the world to keep track of and find their belongings,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services. “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. 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.”
Key Features of Share Item Location
The Share Item Location feature allows users to generate a secure link in the Find My app on iPhone, iPad, or Mac, which can be shared with others to track an item’s location on an interactive map. This feature is built with privacy and safety as priorities; the shared location will automatically expire after seven days, can be disabled by the owner at any time, and is deactivated once the user retrieves the item.
In the coming months, more than 15 airlines, including Delta Air Lines, United, British Airways, and Qantas, will begin accepting Find My item locations as part of their baggage recovery processes. Apple has collaborated with these airlines to ensure that shared item locations are handled privately and securely, leveraging Apple’s widespread device network and encryption.
Airline and Industry Collaboration
David Kinzelman, United’s chief customer officer, expressed the airline’s support for the new feature.
“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,” said Kinzelman. United plans to implement the feature at select airports with a goal of full rollout by early 2025.
Delta Air Lines also plans to support Share Item Location later this year.
Erik Snell, Delta’s senior vice president, highlighted the feature’s potential to improve customer service: “This cutting-edge solution will enable us to locate items more efficiently and effectively.”
IAG, the parent company of British Airways and Iberia, is also preparing to integrate Find My item locations into their baggage tracking systems. Annalisa Gigante, IAG’s head of innovation, stated, “We’re always testing innovative solutions, and we look forward to incorporating this solution into our lost baggage processes beginning later this year.”
Additionally, SITA, a leading air transport technology provider, will integrate Share Item Location into WorldTracer, a global baggage-tracing system used by over 500 airlines and ground handlers. Nicole Hogg, SITA’s director of Baggage, noted, “This collaboration with Apple will make it easy for airlines that use our industry-leading WorldTracer solution to implement Share Item Location for more efficient baggage management.”
Privacy and Security
Share Item Location utilizes Apple’s Find My network, a crowdsourced system of over one billion devices that use Bluetooth to detect nearby missing items. The location-sharing process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, ensuring that only the item owner can view the shared location, with no visibility for Apple or Find My network accessory manufacturers.
This new feature represents a significant advancement in Apple’s Find My capabilities, providing users and airline partners with a streamlined, privacy-focused method to track and recover misplaced items.
For more information about Apple’s Share Item Location, visit the Find My section on Apple’s official website.
Image: Apple
