Android users who have ever stood at a baggage carousel watching everyone else retrieve their suitcases will soon have a more powerful tool in their corner. Google has begun rolling out a significant update to its Find Hub platform that allows travellers to generate a secure link to their bag's live location and hand it directly to their airline, giving ground staff the information they need to track down missing luggage.
The feature works through any compatible Find Hub tracker tag attached to checked or carry-on baggage. From within the app, users select their lost item, tap "share item location," and copy a unique URL that can be pasted into a participating airline's app or website. The airline's customer service team can then view the bag's position on an interactive map as it updates in real time.
As reported by The Verge, more than ten major airlines support the feature at launch, including AJet, Air India, China Airlines, Saudia Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and the Lufthansa Group, which encompasses Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Swiss International Air Lines. For Australian travellers, the relevant headline is that Qantas is confirmed to join the programme in the near future, though no specific date has been given.
Google has also done the unglamorous but important integration work behind the scenes. The company partnered with SITA and Reunitus to connect Find Hub with WorldTracer and NetTracer, the two dominant baggage-tracing platforms used by hundreds of airlines at thousands of airports worldwide. That back-end compatibility matters: a consumer-facing feature is only as useful as the systems it can actually talk to.
Privacy protections are built in. Location data is encrypted, users can stop sharing at any time, links expire automatically after seven days, and tracking disables itself once the phone detects the item has been returned. Google spokesperson Sofia Giovannello confirmed to The Verge that the company is "actively working with additional airline partners" to extend the feature's reach, including to US-based carriers.
The update closes a meaningful gap with Apple. Apple's AirTag gained a comparable Share Item Location feature in late 2024 via iOS 18.2, and by early 2026 Apple had partnered with more than fifty airlines globally, including Delta, United, Singapore Airlines, and Lufthansa. Android users have had access to Bluetooth tracker tags for years through the Find Hub network, but the direct airline integration was missing. That asymmetry gave iPhone users a practical travel advantage that Google is now addressing.
There is a reasonable question about how much difference this makes in practice. Bluetooth-based trackers, on both platforms, rely on nearby devices to relay location data; coverage can be patchy in airport cargo areas and during international transfers. The location shown to an airline is the last detected position, not necessarily a continuous GPS feed. Travellers should treat the feature as a useful supplementary tool rather than a guarantee, particularly on routes with limited network density.
Google is also working with luggage manufacturer Samsonite to embed Find Hub technology directly into its newest bag designs, which would remove the need for a separate tracker tag altogether. That kind of hardware integration, if it reaches Australian retail shelves, would lower the barrier to entry considerably.
The Find Hub update is part of a broader March Android feature drop that also introduces real-time location sharing within Google Messages, custom Calling Cards, and new features for Android Auto. But the luggage-tracking capability is the most practically significant change for frequent travellers, particularly those flying on routes where Qantas and its partner carriers operate. The technology is sound; the proof will be in whether airlines staff their baggage recovery desks to actually use it.