Can you share AirTag location with family?

You cannot.

Click on this link to find out 'How to reset your AirTag' --> https://support.apple.com/HT212251

"An AirTag can be associated with one Apple ID. If you want to use an AirTag that someone else has used, they need to remove the AirTag from their Apple ID first. If the previous user removed the AirTag from their Apple ID but they were out of Bluetooth range of the AirTag, then you need to reset it before you can use it with your devices."

I just want to say I purchased an Ebike and an Air Tag as the most reasonable form of tracking. It has taken me hours to realize, hours, that I cannot associate the air tag with a friend or family member so they can specifically track it. This would be so incredible to assist me in case the bike was stolen if i had all set up. They would be able to trrack the bike (air tag) like I can and support. All they can do is watch me looking for it. Seems like an oversight on the part of apple to not integrate this for each separate device or there were privacy concerns. I don't know. I wish youtubers, or apple would make it clear that air tags can not be location shared with friends/ family. Only your networked phone.

Now, i have not declared my air tag missing so. im unfamiliar with how that will help in a search attempt for the bike. Come on apple, you are awesome, kick it up a notch and be super awesome. Thank you

Hello.

Good news! This will be a finally be a feature in iOS 17! 🎉 (as mentioned already above).

Here is the new feature from the Apple website: Share AirTag or Find My network accessories with up to five other people. Everyone in the group can use Precision Finding and play a sound to pinpoint the location of a shared AirTag when they’re nearby.

This is now perfect for sharing a certain AirTag or accessory to everyone in your family. I wonder why Apple didn’t release this feature in the beginning 🤔.

I hope everyone’s problems in this feed are fixed (finally!).

Voilà! Your wish is being granted.

iOS17 will add an AirTag family sharing capability this Fall.

See the official announcement here:

iOS 17 makes iPhone more personal and intuitive - Apple

No, but Family Sharing members can at least turn off the safety alerts on shared items like car keys as per: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT212227 "If the AirTag is attached to an item you're borrowing, you can tap Pause Safety Alerts to turn off "AirTag Detected" notifications for one day. If you're borrowing an AirTag from a member of your Family Sharing group, you can turn off Safety Alerts for one day or indefinitely."

Fingers-crossed that Family Sharing of AirTag location is a feature whose future development will be hastened if enough people post feedback.

Please add your name to requests to Add Family Sharing of AirTag location: https://www.apple.com/feedback/airtag/

Any one AirTag can only be tracked by the Trusted Devices of it’s paired AppleID and ONLY it’s paired AppleID.

AirTag locations are NOT shareable across multiple AppleID’s … even those in the same family.

You cannot.

Click on this link to find out 'How to reset your AirTag' --> How to reset your AirTag - Apple Support

"An AirTag can be associated with one Apple ID. If you want to use an AirTag that someone else has used, they need to remove the AirTag from their Apple ID first. If the previous user removed the AirTag from their Apple ID but they were out of Bluetooth range of the AirTag, then you need to reset it before you can use it with your devices.

Ridiculous. I purchased this as a Santa Tracker for my family. A fun way to get the relatives and kids excited! The plan was to share the information with the family and have everyone follow package/s sent through the mail.

Additionally, having the ability to share the information with law enforcement if something was stolen. Obviously, some shared links ought to have an exploration. Although I can see some nefarious things occurring with AirTags and the 'legal' disclaimer while setting up the AirTags will not deter criminals, why do you think they're criminals in the first place?

Like pretty much everybody else who's purchased an AirTag, we were dissapointed to find out they cannot be shared with family me members. They'd be a lot more useable if I could share with my wife. We have a tag on keys, our cats, etc. and only I can find them. We'd previously had Tile and could both find our keys and cats. It seems Tile was the better option.

While the desire to FAMILY SHARE is understood - INCLUDING by ME - the capability was limited … at least in the initial Airtag rollout … by privacy concerns.

Specifically to allow all parties involved in the Bluetooth-based, FindMy “relaying” network to remain anonymous AND for Apple to NOT be able to track an individual’s airtag.

The ONLY way to find a particular individual’s airtag out of “the cloud” is with a device holding the corresponding PRIVATE KEY. (i.e. using a device on the “paired” AppleID)

Private keys are not shared across AppleIDs for obvious reasons.

(This is also why you can’t “share” iMessages)

We’ll all see if there is a “Next Airtag Iteration” when (or rather IF) Apple releases it.

For those so-inclined, a “deep dive” into the cryptological underpinnings of FindMy is outlined in two articles beginning here:

https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/security/sec6cbc80fd0/web

Please report this sharing issue to Apple through the below link. This is a forum for discussion. And although I’m encouraged by how many share my pain, (that I cannot share my AirTags with my family) Apple needs to get inundated with our requests!

https://www.apple.com/feedback/airtag/

🙂

I think that's the point everyone is making. We can give access in Find My to others about our iPhones, iPads etc., but not the Air Tags. It seems to be a decision by Apple, but clearly one they can fix as part of a software update, because they've already done this for other systems.

Example: Both my wife and I need access to the airtag on our dog's collar. As it stands she gets a warning when walking the dog that someone is using a nearby AirTag to track her movements. We know it's the dog's AirTag doing this so not an issue, but not a masterful piece of design by Apple.

wwwheaten wrote:

Don't tell your cat. We didn't tell our dog. Now we know where he really sneaks out to when he is supposed to be at his doggie club. BUT WE CAN ONLY SEE THIS ON MY PHONE, my wife - his main caregiver - can't see what he's up to and thus believes him when he asks for more cookies.

AirTags track pets getting treats? Who knew!

pple really needs to fix this: if I can share my phone, iPad etc. with anyone, why can't I share something as simple as an AirTag????? There's no justification for this that's remotely valid.

Have you told Apple your thoughts on the matter?

Product Feedback - Apple

Bdubnellie wrote:

I was asking the same question.

And the answer is still the same: you can't.

Huge missed opportunity.

You should submit feedback to Apple.

Re: “… then there shouldn't be privacy issues...”

First I do NOT disagree that sharing tags would be a very useful feature. We own 4x tags ourselves and would indeed like to see this feature implemented.

However the “privacy” issue has to do NOT w/ you or your shared family “directly” but w/ the “relaying” iPhones.

= A bit of tech background: =

AirTags are pretty basic “beacon” devices with a bit of crypto added; they don’t contain GPS or have the “faintest clue” as to where they are located.

ANY passing-stranger’s iPhone that “sniffs” YOUR tag, reports the tag ID and THEIR phone’s location to Apple’s servers - via a message encrypted w/ YOUR public key (exchanged w/ the AirTag during “pairing”)

The “privacy protection” concern is that YOU can obtain YOUR tag’s location from Apple’s servers (which is actually SOMEBODY ELSE’s phone’s location) w/o you knowing who’s phone is doing the reporting OR being able to otherwise geo-locate that particular phone.

Further Apple can’t see YOUR tag’s location either. (All tag location decryption is performed by FindMy using YOUR private keys on YOUR trusted devices)

Restated another way … YOUR own phone today is reporting YOUR location along with the TagIDs of COMPLETE STRANGERS

Thru some clever cryptologic methods, none of the “strangers” can determine that it’s YOUR phone and YOUR location.

If so-inclined, a couple of even “deeper dive” technical description articles begin here:

https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/security/sec6cbc80fd0/web

IOShell wrote:

The other "solution" suggested by Apple is to use the same Apple ID on each phone.

Apple specifically advises against multiple people using the same Apple ID.

Don’t share your Apple ID with other people, even family members.

Security and your Apple ID - Apple Support