Leading manufacturers of smartphones (e.g., Apple) offer services that have the ability to remotely delete all personal data on a lost phone and keep track of its location. But it is not very effective, because in order to sell the gadget, thieves need to simply reset all settings to the defaults. According to a survey conducted by “Kaspersky Lab” last year, 14% of respondents faced the problem of theft or loss of a smartphone. As it turned out, this figure is quite high among young people: 45% of young people in the 18-24 age group lost their phones at least once.
However, to take care of your smartphone, in case it is stolen, it is usually enough to install the appropriate application in advance. Thank God, there is plenty of such apps in the market. In this article, we chose six of the best which (in our opinion) protects personal data on your smartphone if indeed it is lost or stolen.
1. Find My Phone
This application provides the ability to track the iPhone location remotely. All you need is to install the application on the iOS- device and confirm your Apple ID.
iPhone coordinates are stored in the cloud, and in case the device is lost, it can be traced from another device. Besides, thanks to the app, your phone can play a sound, send a pop-up message or lock itself. If you still cannot find the gadget, it is possible to erase all its data.
2. SeekDroid
This program has the same functionality as Find My Phone, but it is developed only for devices running on Android OS. Location of the stolen gadget will be monitored through the site seekdroid.com.
It is possible to turn on a loud signal, even if the sound is turned off on the device, lock the device and delete personal data. Among other things, the application displays the most recent calls. SeekDroid also has the ability to send data on the location even if the SIM card was removed.
3. GadgetTrak
The application is developed for iPhone, tracking its movement and taking pictures of whoever holds the gadget in their hands. If your device has been stolen, then this app is the perfect solution.
Knowing the thief’s face as well as being able to keep track of its location gives the smartphone owner a good chance to find the stolen gadget.
4. Plan B
This Android application provides a unique opportunity to take action after the device has been stolen or lost. It can be installed from the web version of the app store .
As a result, information about the gadget location will be sent to the Gmail account of the owner. To continue to receive updated information about its location, it is usually enough to send the message ‘«locate»’ from any phone.
5. Cerberus
This is an Android application that offers a number of possibilities in addition to other standard features. For example, if the SIM card is replaced, the owner of the device will receive an automatic notification and then will be able to send an SMS- message to the device’s new number .
The application itself cannot be removed from the gadget. Furthermore, it allows you to record sounds from the phone’s microphone.
6. Anti Theft Alarm
Finally, this Android-based application allows you to prevent loss of your cellphone. The program is the equivalent of a signal which will not allow a thief to steal the device.
In addition, this application warns children and curious people who attempt to touch your smartphone without permission by reacting very loudly to their every move, even if it is in silent mode.
20 Comments
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qaziar
September 16, 2013 at 3:01 am
A very informative and useful article indeed.The topic is hot these days and many will benefit from it.
Sudipto
September 16, 2013 at 11:56 am
Hey Katerina,
Nice post and Thanks for sharing these apps with us. At this time large section of people are using smartphone and these apps really help us to get back our smartphone if any one stole it.
Katerina
September 16, 2013 at 12:08 pm
You’re welcome, Sudipto! I wish you’d never need these apps in real life.
Stephan
September 16, 2013 at 5:26 pm
Hello Katerina,
Very nice tips. I think those days we should have some solutions for lost phones.
IN my opinion, Apple have really good way to protect their users that’s iCloud.
There are some cases that thieves stole their phones but they still upload image on iCloud so that we can easily track them.
But for Android. i hope we can have the same tools so users can have easier way to get their phone backs.
Samantha Vermillion
September 17, 2013 at 1:29 pm
Thank good, my iPhone has GPS tracking feature which allows me track the location. It also has a system that alerts me if the smart chip is switched or changed.
Savanth Mishra
September 17, 2013 at 1:36 pm
Cerebrus looks like a great app. Because thieves are smart enough to power off the Smartphone (so that it won’t connect to GPS or internet) and switch the SIM cards.
Katerina
September 17, 2013 at 2:03 pm
Yes, it is, but unfortunately I haven’t found alike apps for iOS…
Samantha Vermillion
September 30, 2013 at 2:54 pm
Yes, i agree with you too kat
Ella Rich
September 18, 2013 at 7:54 am
Really post is very helpful these days and very helpful for everyone because of increasing number of smartphone users around the world. Thanks.
Alon Alexander
September 27, 2013 at 7:37 pm
Great informative blog.Thanks for sharing this blog.
Katerina
September 30, 2013 at 3:25 pm
You’re welcome ))
Perez
September 30, 2013 at 9:17 am
Thanks for the info, Google also helps in this with your mobile locator tool.
Rohit Dubey
October 2, 2013 at 9:30 pm
That is not very helpful, there should be a much more secure app for this because when i lost my phone non of these apps worked.
alan
October 5, 2013 at 1:05 pm
hello Katerina,
thanks for this very informative share. i was not aware about any of these apps except seekdroid. I’ve heard of it but never tried it with my phone.
i am impressed with GadgetTrack feature more than “seekdroid” & “find my phone” feature. its quite an innovative idea where we can see picture of the person who has stolen our phone or who is the present owner of our device. Its really an innovative feature from Apple. I love it.
daksh
October 10, 2013 at 10:01 am
You should also contact your network provider and inform them that your smartphone has been lost/stolen, by doing this you’ll limit the chance of incurring any additional charges on the usage. If your smartphone has been lost then tell your network provider to put a hold on your account so that if it is stolen you can stop any unauthorized usage.
Peter
October 15, 2013 at 4:25 pm
I guess that there isn’t any safe way to find your phone if it was stolen… unfortunately, the statistics can tell you that most phones don’t find the way back… iPhones have a great function if you only have lost it, but if it has got stolen, you only can believe in your luck… but there are a lot of dumb thieves, who don’t check the settings and just start to take photographs with the stolen device, sometimes in the cloud folder of the original owner. In this case, you are lucky, just like the guy who already created a tumblr blog about the pics of the thief who has stolen his phone, I just couldn’t stop laughing when I’ve found those pics:)
Katerina
October 16, 2013 at 8:16 am
Of course, such apps don’t guarantee that you will find your phone if it is stolen. But they give you a chance to…
Anetta Bursh
November 7, 2013 at 12:33 pm
Whoever came with the idea of trackers did a great thing. I kinda agree with the percentage of stolen smartphones since I hear of it almost every week and it is good that you have actually listed some of the most helpful apps to us. Now it is easy to know who has stolen your phone or where it is. Great post. ~ Anetta
Fred
January 19, 2015 at 5:04 pm
If your smartphone has been lost then tell your network provider to put a hold on your account so that if it is stolen you can stop any unauthorized usage.
Akanksha Shrestha
March 24, 2019 at 3:14 am
Great content and super helpful. Thanks for sharing these information with us. You can also easily track your lost phone with gmail id.