United has announced the integration of Apple’s new Share Item Location feature for AirTag into its mobile app.
Now available with iOS 18.2, Apple’s Share Item Location feature enables United customers who travel with an AirTag or Find My network accessory to privately, securely, and share the accessory location with the airline’s customer service team to help locate their luggage in the event that it is mishandled.
While more than 99% of customer bags flew with – or even beat – their owner to their destination so far this year, this new digital innovation is the latest example of United’s infrastructure, training and technology investments geared towards making travel easier and bag handling more seamless, especially when plans don’t go as expected, according to David Kinzelman, United’s Chief Customer Officer.
United offers all customers the ability to track their bags directly in the United app. Now, customers will be able to generate a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac for an AirTag or Find My network accessory, and share that with United to help locate a misplaced item more quickly and securely.
According to Kinzelman, here’s how it works:
- In the event a bag doesn’t arrive to its final destination, customers can file a delayed baggage report in the United app, and those who travel with an AirTag or Find My network accessory can additionally now create a Share Item Location link in the Find My app on their iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and add that to the delayed baggage report in the United app.
- Once the report has been submitted, authorized United customer service agents will receive the Share Item Location link and be able to view the location of the item on an interactive map. The map will automatically update when a new location is available and show a timestamp of the most recent update.
- United will use the shared location to more quickly find delayed bags and reunite them with customers.
- For customers’ privacy and security, the shared location will be disabled as soon as a customer is reunited with their bag, can be stopped by the customer at any time, and will automatically expire after seven days.
Share Item Location is built on the Find My network, a crowdsourced network of over one billion Apple devices — including the 120,000 iPhone, iPad, and Mac deployed by United — that use Bluetooth wireless technology to detect missing devices or items nearby, and report their approximate location back to the owner. The entire process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, so no one else, not even Apple or Find My Network accessory manufacturers, can view an item’s location or information.
To experience the new feature, customers should verify that their iPhone is running on iOS 18.2 or later and that their United app is up to date. For customers without the United mobile app, they will receive an automatic text notification with information to track misplaced luggage and add a Share Item Location link for their AirTag or Find My network accessory.
