Apple iPhones - Does Apple have a program to reunite lost ones with their owners?

[britechguy]

I recently had a client call me saying they'd found an iPhone 8 phone while hiking the Appalachian Trail, and wondering if I could unlock it so they could attempt to locate its owner. Based on what I know, this would be impossible even if I wanted to do it.

Given how tightly Apple locks down their devices, and how they're linked to an iCloud account, I'd have to imagine they have some program in place that would allow those who find a device to send it to them so that they can reunite it with its rightful owner. But if they do, I have no details, and I thought I'd ask here rather than trying to rely on what I'd find web searching as I doubt I could come up with the magic search terms to zero in on what I'm looking for.

 

[britechguy]

Actually just tripped over this: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT211231

Has anyone ever tried it? What was your experience?

 

[Markverhyden]

Wasn't aware of it but I've never had a situation where they needed it. To be honest it's just some lip service to complaints about their "locked down" ecosystem. But now that I know about it'll I'll keep that in mind. It'd be interesting to know how many times it actually get used.