In a press release published Monday, Apple announced a new feature in iOS 18.2 called “Share Object Location.” This will allow users to find their lost items by sharing the location of an AirTag with third parties, including airlines.
With this feature, users will be able to securely share the location of their suitcases containing AirTags directly with the airline’s baggage services team in the event of a delay or loss.
Shared location will be deactivated as soon as the user is in possession of their object and can be interrupted at any time by the owner. It will automatically expire after seven days.
“Locate is an essential tool for people around the world to track and find their stuff,” said Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Services at Apple. “Find My and AirTag have proven their effectiveness when traveling, providing valuable information when luggage is misplaced or misdirected. With the Share Object Location feature, we’re excited to offer users a way to easily share this information directly with third parties like airlines, while protecting their privacy. »
How does it work?
Users can generate a share link for an object’s location in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Recipients of the link can view the object’s location on an interactive web page, which will automatically update with the latest available location.
In the coming months, more than 15 airlines will adopt Find My functionality as part of their customer service to find lost or delayed baggage.
In addition to Air Canada, Apple also collaborates with Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Eurowings, Iberia, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines, Turkish Airlines, United, Virgin Atlantic and Vueling.
Apple says it has worked directly with its partner companies to put in place systems to adopt location sharing in a secure and privacy-compliant manner.
Access to each link will be “limited to a small number of people,” Apple says, and recipients will need to authenticate through their Apple account or email address to view the link.
It appears that WestJet has not changed its baggage policy. In an email to CTVNews.ca Tuesday, the Calgary airline said a traveler with an AirTag can communicate the location to the baggage handling team.
Porter Airlines has no plans to implement this feature at this time. It is not yet clear whether Sunwing or Air Transat will collaborate with Apple to offer this service.
The new feature is available in most regions around the world as part of the iOS 18.2 release and will soon be available to all users as a free update for iPhone Xs and later.
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