Apps to help find your stolen or misplaced Android smartphone

Smartphones have moved from being a luxury to becoming a necessity. People spend thousands on this hub of personal and professional data, which in the wrong hands could spell doom. So, what do you do if someone has stolen your expensive Android smartphone or the battery is dead and you have misplaced it. High-end Android smartphones come with the encryption option which ensures that an unauthorised SIM cannot be used on the device. By enabling the encryption option, one will need a password before using any other SIM on the device. Besides, there are several apps, which provide further assistance in tracking down your misplaced or stolen smartphone. Let’s take a quick look at some really handy apps.

A simple and fluid layout

Lookout is an efficient solution to help people find their lost or stolen phones. Firstly, the user has to register and set-up an account with Lookout. If your phone is stolen or misplaced, you can log into the Lookout account from a desktop or another smartphone to track your device. The app comes with four key functions - Locate,  Scream, Signal Flare and Lock Cam. Users can log into their account and activate these options. The app will start tracking your phone and point out the device on Google Maps. You will also receive an email (on the id that you’ve registered with Lookout), stating the location of the device. The Scream feature lets out a loud siren from your phone and is really handy if you are running late and have misplaced the device at home. What if the battery is dead and you can’t find the phone? In this case, Lookout’s Signal Flare feature comes to the rescue. Lookout automatically saves the smartphone’s last known location at the Lookout account when your battery is teetering or dying. The app may also end up sending you a picture of the thief or prying eyes who try to unlock your smartphone in your absence. The Lock Cam feature takes a quick snapshot of the person who enters an incorrect password three times into your device’s lock screen, and emails it on the registered id. All this can be done for free, but the premium version lets you further lock your lost device and adds a custom message for the one who finds it. The premium version also lets one remotely wipe off all the important data. It also adds protection against malware and viruses. The app offers a 14-day trial for the Premium version, which will later cost Rs 182/month or Rs 1,832/year (in-app purchase).

There’s always Plan B

While there are many anti-theft apps, what if you haven’t installed any of these and your device is stolen? Well, there is always Plan B if you have a device still running on Android 2.0 to 2.3. Plan B is your last chance to locate your phone using an app. Using Google Play from your desktop, install the app on your phone (obviously, you will have to use the same Google id as on your phone). It will keep updating the location of the stolen phone for 10 minutes, and each time the location changes, it will send an email to the user. Then on, you can ask for the location by  borrowing someone’s phone and texting the word “locate” on the lost phone. However, the location is sent only on the email address. Basically, the app doesn’t require one to configure the settings or create any account. Moreover, it is also capable of turning on GPS for some phones. Obviously, one will require a good data plan/speed to take advantage of the app. In case of US users, if the data connection is not available, Plan B uses mobile-originated SMS messages to send the location to their email address. The app can be downloaded for free.

Simple, efficient and free

It is quite likely that some users don’t use mobile data, and solely rely on Wi-Fi. In such cases, the Anti Theft Droid is a great, free option. This app is currently in beta but works quite well. Users can track their phone by sending messages to their phone to activate an alarm or send back the location. Once the app is installed, the user has to set keywords and passwords for activating the different functions of the app, which they can later use to track the phone. For instance –  Set the keyword “Alarm” for activing a loud signal. Once you text this keyword to your phone, the phone will emit a loud siren, which can be deactivated only by keying in the password that you’ve set. The app can also automatically activate GPS and Wi-Fi for certain phones. One can even hide the app from the phone’s apps list, so that no one will know you’ve installed it. It’s also quite likely that once your phone is stolen or misplaced, someone will try and change the SIM. The Anti Theft Droid app has been designed to track the changes in the SIM card and phone numbers too. The app is easy to configure and one can even lock uninstallation.

Can track your phone using SMS or website

Many users swear by Cerberus, which is considered as one of the best protections for stolen or misplaced phones. The free trial lasts for a week, after which one will have to shell around Rs 230 to buy the license. It works more or less like the above mentioned apps, but comes with some additional brownie points. The app lets you use the same account with up to five devices. Users can track their stolen phone via the Cerberusapp site or by sending “pre-decided” text messages. It also has the SIM Checker function that sends alerts if someone tries to insert another SIM card in your device. You can remotely locate the phone, start a loud alarm, hide the app from your phone’s app list, get the list of last calls made or received, get information about the new network and operator associated with your phone and even remotely wipe off the internal and SD card data. The remote access with SMS sent from other phones ensures that it will work even if your device doesn’t have Internet connection. It doesn’t run in the background all the time, so one shouldn’t worry about battery drainage.

Avoids unauthorised access to your incoming texts

This one may sound clichéd but we just couldn’t keep it off our list. Where’s My Droid is really like old wine that gets better with time. Users can track their phone by sending a pre-defined SMS. You will have to set attention words, something similar to “keywords” in Antitheft Droid. In case you’ve misplaced the phone in your room, simply send an SMS to your phone. In turn, it will increase the volume of the ringer to maximum and the phone will start ringing loudly. If your phone is stolen, then the app can get the co-ordinates of the location, all you need to do is text the attention word.  The app is passcode protected to prevent unauthorized access. Another interesting feature is its ability to hide all your incoming texts. In case your phone is stolen, you can easily deny the thief access to your incoming texts by activating the Stealth mode by simply sending a text. The app also sends a notification if someone has changed the SIM card or phone number. The Pro version (costs around Rs 60; in-app purchase) adds features such as remotely locking the device, wiping off SD/phone data, and activating the app even using a landline.

ControlMe lets you remotely access your Android phone, and you can additionally check out Android Lost , Find My Phone , and Prey Anti-Theft .