Many air travellers use AirTags to track their bags, but it doesn’t help much if their luggage is misplaced and they can’t share the location information easily with the airline that misplaced it. That is changing.
Apple has introduced Share Item Location, a new iOS feature that helps users locate and recover misplaced items by easily and securely sharing the location of an AirTag or Find My network accessory with third parties such as airlines.
Share Item Location is available now in most regions worldwide as part of the public beta of iOS 18.2, which will soon be available to all users as a free software update for iPhone Xs and later.
“In the coming months, more than 15 airlines serving millions of people globally will begin accepting Find My item locations as part of their customer service process for locating mishandled or delayed bags,” Apple said in a news release.
Among those airlines are Air Canada, British Airways, Delta Air Lines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, United and Virgin Atlantic. More will be added over time, Apple says.
The company says its ‘Find My’ technology is built with privacy and safety at its core. The shared location will be disabled as soon as a user is reunited with their item, can be stopped by the owner at any time, and will automatically expire after seven days.
“Find My is an essential tool for users around the world to keep track of and find their belongings,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP of Services.
Unclaimed luggage piles up at an airport. (Photo Credit: Flickr/Chor Ip)
“The Find My network and AirTag have proven to be a powerful combination for users while travelling, 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.”
Users 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.
An Air Canada spokesperson confirmed in an email to CTVNews.ca that the company is “collaborating with Apple to integrate their new Share Item Location feature into our baggage handling processes.”
“It will allow customers to securely share the location of their baggage containing AirTags directly with our baggage service team in the rare event their bags are delayed or misplaced,” the airline said.
WestJet told CTV that no changes have been made to its baggage policy regarding AirTags, but it encourages AirTag users to provide location information to the baggage team. Porter Airlines said that it does not plan to immediately implement the new Apple feature.