Apple’s latest Find My feature taps airlines to rescue lost luggage

Apple’s Find My platform for item location is one of the most lucrative elements of its ecosystem. Now, the company is introducing a new feature called Share Item Location, which allows users to securely share the location of any accessory (or item with an AirTag attached) with friends, or commercial airline service providers.

To that end, the company has joined hands with over 15 airline service providers operating across North America, Australia, Asia, and Europe to help passengers locate their lost items. The airline partners will kickstart their respective tracking assistance services in the coming months.

The current list includes renowned names such as Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Turkish Airlines, United, and Virgin Atlantic.

SITA (Société Internationale de Télécommunications Aéronautiques), a global aviation technology provider, will integrate Apple’s Share Item Location feature into its WorldTracer baggage tracking system. This collaboration will expand the reach of Apple’s tracking service to over 500 airlines and 2,800 airports, improving the travel experience for users worldwide.

The Share Item Location feature is integrated into the Find My system and it is now available as part of the iOS 18.2 beta update. As of press time, Digital Trends has verified that it’s already available to users in multiple regions across North America and Asia.

The new tool supports all Apple devices that are compatible with the Find My tracking system, as well as any item or luggage linked to the AirTags object tracker. Apple assures that the entire process of sharing item tracking links with service providers will be end-to-end encrypted, which is a crucial security assurance.

Let’s say you misplaced an Apple device or a bag equipped with an AirTag. You can begin the recovery process by opening the Find My app on any Apple device and creating the Share Item Location link.

Once the link is generated, the recipient will get access to a map view to check the location of the reported missing item. “The website will automatically update when a new location is available and will show a timestamp of the most recent update,” says Apple.

As a security measure, anyone trying to access the tracking dashboard will be required to verify their identity. This helps to prevent unauthorized access to the live location of the item, thereby protecting user privacy.

The authentication process will be done either through an Apple Account (for those already in the Family Sharing group or Apple ecosystem) or through a registered email address belonging to the airline service provider.

The email address mentioned above will be listed as an Apple Partner, and it will only be granted to airlines that have partnered with Apple to help users with Find My tracking.