DALLAS — As the holiday season approaches, travelers worldwide are already embracing Apple’s AirTag tracker to prevent luggage panic and ensure their bags are safely secured.

Now, Apple has introduced 'Share Item Location', which its enables users to share the location of an AirTag or Find My network accessory with third parties, including airlines. This feature, currently available in most regions worldwide as part of the public beta of iOS 18.2, will soon be rolled out to all users as a free software update for iPhone Xs and later.

'Share Item Location' utilizes the Find My network, a vast network of "over a billion Apple devices equipped with Bluetooth wireless technology." These devices actively detect missing items or devices in their vicinity and promptly report their approximate locations back to the device’s owner.

Users can generate a 'Share Item Location' link in the Find My app on their iPhones, iPads, or Macs. When an airline receives this link, it can access a website that displays an interactive map showing the item’s current location. The website automatically updates whenever a new location becomes available and includes a timestamp indicating the most recent update.

Airlines Accepting Item Locations

Apple says it has worked directly with partner airlines to put systems in place to privately and securely accept Share Item Location, leveraging the hundreds of thousands of Apple devices many airlines are already using. 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.

In the coming months, over 15 airlines, including Aer Lingus (EI), Air Canada (AC), Air New Zealand (NZ), Austrian Airlines (OS), British Airways (BA), Brussels Airlines (SN), Delta Air Lines (DL), Eurowings (EW), Iberia (IB), KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL), Lufthansa (LH), Qantas (QF), Singapore Airlines (SQ), Swiss International Air Lines (LX), Turkish Airlines (TK), United (UA), Virgin Atlantic (VS), and Vueling (VY), will commence accepting Find My item locations as part of their customer service process for locating mishandled or delayed bags. More airlines will be added in the future.

Additionally, SITA, a prominent player in the aviation technology industry, will provide support for Share Item Location within WorldTracer, the baggage-tracking system utilized by over 500 airlines and ground handlers at more than 2,800 airports globally.

What about Security, Privacy?

According to the tech giant, Find My is "built on privacy and safety principles, and the shared location will be disabled as soon as the user is reunited with their item." The owner can deactivate location sharing at any time, and the location 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 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.”

Apple says the entire process is encrypted and maintains anonymity, ensuring that no one, including Apple or manufacturers of Find My Network accessories, can access or view a device’s location or information.

Comments from Airlines

“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.”

“While more than 99 percent of checked items make it to their destination as planned, we know how stressful it can be for customers when they don’t. That’s why we’re excited to support Share Item Location beginning later this year,” said Erik Snell, Delta Air Lines’ senior vice president of Airport Customer Service, Cargo Operations, Ground Support Equipment, and Global Clean. “It will provide our team with extra visibility to reunite those items with their owners. This cutting-edge solution, developed by Apple and in partnership with Delta Air Lines, will enable us to locate items more efficiently and effectively.”

“By accepting Find My item locations, we’ll be able to offer additional peace of mind to customers who travel with AirTag in their luggage,” said Annalisa Gigante, head of innovation at IAG, the parent company of British Airways, Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus, and LEVEL. “We’re always testing innovative solutions and enhancing our systems to ensure that checked bags reach their intended destination as quickly as possible, and we look forward to incorporating this solution into our lost baggage processes beginning later this year.”