Apple’s Find My Gets A Major Update, Allowing Users To Share AirTag Location With People And Airlines In Case Of Lost Baggage

Ali Salman
Apple introduces AirTag location sharing feature with Find My to help airlines locate lost baggage

Apple has announced a new feature for AirTags today, which will allow users to share the AirTag's location with another trusted person and the airlines. The location will be shared temporarily, allowing the airline to locate your item if it has been misplaced at the airport.

Apple’s new Find My update lets you track lost luggage in real-time through AirTag location sharing with airlines

It was initially reported last week that the company is working on a feature where the Find My app in iOS 18.2 beta 2 will allow temporary location sharing of AirTags. Today, the company has officially announced that users can share the location of their AirTag with another person and soon with airlines. In a press release, the company shared more details on the feature and how users will be able to take advantage of it.

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Apple says that more than 15 airlines will offer this functionality "in the coming months," which means it will be expanded to additional airlines in the near future. Currently, the feature will be supported by Vueling, Turkish Airlines, SWISS, Iberia, Eurowings, Brussels Airlines, Aer Lingus, Austrian Airlines, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines, Qantas, Lufthansa, KLM, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Air Canada, United, and Delta.

United is planning to offer the functionality system-wide early next year. Apple will add the feature to the airline's customer service process to help locate mishandled or delayed baggage. We have covered various stories in the past, such as how AirTags were used to locate lost baggage at airports and how airlines failed to locate the items. Apple's service chief, Eddy Cue, states:

"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."

 

The feature will be available and supported by iPhones, iPads, and Macs running iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS Sequoia 15.2. The software will generate a "Share Item Location" link in the Find My app, and once you share the link with the authorities, they will be able to locate the item in the vicinity of the airport. The location of the lost item will be displayed on a website with a map of the area, and the location will be updated with the latest results.

The company also states that it is working with airlines to integrate the system by early 2025, focusing on privacy and security, considering the "Share Item Location" link. This means that the link will only be accessible by a handful of people in the authorities, and recipients will be required to authenticate to view the link. The item's location will stop being shared with the airline when it reaches its owner. The sender can disable the location sharing of the item at any time, and if they do not, the location will expire automatically after seven days. The feature also works with third-party accessories and item trackers that support Apple's Find My platform.

Apple will release iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and macOS 15.2 in December, which will bring support for the aforementioned changes. We will keep you posted when the feature arrives.

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