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Apple announces location sharing for lost items via Find My on iOS 18.2

2024 November 11
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Apple has announced that iPhone owners can now share the location of their lost items like luggage, with others, including airlines, with a link.

MacRumors discovered this new iOS 18.2 feature a few days ago, and the iPhone maker formally announced it via a November 11 press release published in the Apple Newsroom. Called Share Item Location, it will arrive in beta.

Apple partnered with over a dozen airlines to simplify tracking lost luggage for iPhone owners. However, airline support will be available “in the coming months.” Meanwhile, you can share the location of your lost AirTag or Find My-enabled accessory when iOS 18.2 is publicly released in December.

Like always, your privacy is guaranteed because the entire process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous. “No one else, not even Apple or Find My Network accessory manufacturers, can view a device’s location or information,” Apple notes.

iOS 18.2 brings location sharing for lost items via Find My

Apple has partnered on this feature with airlines such as Aer Lingus, Air Canada, 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, with support for additional airlines to be added “over time.”

Three iPhone screenshots showcasing sharing lost luggage location with an airline in the Find My app.

When enabled “in the coming months,” airlines will accept Find My item locations as part of their customer service process for locating mishandled or delayed bags.

“Apple 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,” reads the announcement.

“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.”

When you share the location of a lost item using the Find My app on an iPhone, iPad or Mac, a link is generated that anyone can open in a web browser to get location updates. “The website will automatically update when a new location is available and will show a timestamp of the most recent update,” Apple clarifies.

The shared location automatically expires after seven days, but you can kill it anytime. It’s automatically disabled as soon as you’re reunited with your lost item.

Apple added that the air transport technology provider SITA will build support for Share Item Location into WorldTracer, the baggage-tracing system used by over 500 airlines and ground handlers at more than 2,800 airports worldwide.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2024/11/11/apple-announces-location-sharing-for-lost-items-via-find-my-on-ios-18-2/

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