Apple provisioned sharing the locations of an AirTag with other people through a secured link to help them locate lost items, with a plan to offer the capability to airlines.

The Share Item Location feature is available via the recently launched iOS 18.2 public beta. Location finding also works with Apple’s Find My network accessory.

 Users can generate a link on iPhones, iPads and Mac devices within the Find My app on the devices.

Once the link is shared, the person receiving it can click on it to see an interactive map that shows the location of the lost item. Apple updates a website automatically when the item moves and shows a time stamp of the move.

The shared locations can be disabled as soon as users are reunited with their items. It can also be manually cancelled by the owner at any time and will automatically expire after seven days.

The ability to share an AirTag’s location is currently available “in most regions worldwide” as part of the public beta of iOS 18.2. Apples plans to roll out more of the iOS 18.2 features “soon” as a free software update for iPhone Xs and later.

Over the coming months, Apple will partner with more than 15 airlines, including Delta Airlines, United, Virgin Atlantic, Lufthansa, Air Canada and Qantas, to add the Find My feature as part of their customer service to locate mishandled or delayed baggage.

The airlines will be able to “privately and securely” accept links to lost items, but the tech giant noted access to each link will be limited to a small number of people.

The link recipients will also be required “to authenticate in order to view the link through either their Apple Account or partner email address”.

Additionally, SITA, a baggage tracing company, will integrate Share Item Location into its luggage tracker.