Apple’s new Share Item Location feature, now available in beta with iOS 18.2, allows users to share the location of lost items like AirTags and other Find My network accessories with third parties, such as airlines. This addition aims to make it easier for people to locate misplaced items by enabling secure location sharing directly with others when needed.
Through the Find My app on iPhones, iPads, and Macs, users can generate a Share Item Location link for a lost item. Recipients of this link will receive a website showing the item’s location on an interactive map, which updates with the latest available location data. Links expire within seven days or can be disabled anytime by the owner.
Apple said it designed Share Item Location with user privacy in mind.
“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,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services, said in a blog post.
In the coming months, over 15 airlines, including British Airways, Delta Air Lines, and Singapore Airlines, will integrate this feature into their customer service processes to help passengers locate delayed or lost baggage. Apple has collaborated with these airlines to set up secure methods for accessing the Share Item Location links, ensuring only authenticated users, such as customer service representatives, can view them.
This feature builds on Apple’s crowdsourced Find My network, which uses encrypted and anonymous Bluetooth connections across over a billion Apple devices to track missing items without compromising privacy.