Stolen Phone Tracking System?

[ndnjumpman]

This shouldn't be that hard to make.( I don't think ) But how about an app sort of like a stolen phone tracking system? It would be hidden inside the phone so you couldn't see it but if anyone ever steals your phone, you can call the phone tracking systems company and find out where it is/who stole it? I think this would be useful because everyone wants this phone and after 90 days of this phone, you can unlock it so I'm pretty sure everyone wants to keep their phone safe

 

[mckinleytabor]

I think you just gave me a project for the weekend..

So how do you think it should work?

Reporting the phones location back to the owner would not be a problem. GPS coordinates sent back to a predetermined phone number via SMS or email. If this is done at regular intervals, then you could "hunt down" the thief. (.. and break his ankles as punishment for stealing your new phone)

The trick here would be how the phone would know it had been "stolen". A couple of things come to mind...

1. A dead man's switch. In this case the owner would have to confirm that he still had the phone on a regular bases. I.E. open up the software once every 24 hours and tap a button or put in a code. If the button/code was not entered within that time frame, then the phone starts transmitting it's location. This could also work for a "lost" phone, or even an injured/lost owner. The down side is that it could be a pain to have to enter the code in every day.

2. Lock out testing reconnection. Here if the user failed to guess the unlock pattern (those nine dots we've seen demoed), after so many wrong answers the phone starts transmitting it's location.

3. Call Pattern reconnection. If he user of the phone starts to call "odd" numbers, like international ones, or 900 numbers (do they still have those?), or if the users makes say ten calls in a row to people not in their contact list, then the phone could start transmitting it's location.

 

[ndnjumpman]

Oh, sweet; didn't think anyone would try it out but hey I guess its worth a try huh .

I think the third option is best because the first one requires the code everyday and it might get annoying after awhile. I like the second option \ besides that you never know if the person who stole it, also knows the pattern code. The third one is what I think is best because if the phone gives calls to 10 unrecognized people, then it's obvious that someone else has it.

Or maybe,
- when you first download this app, you put in a secret code/password which you can never change again. When the phone gets lost, you sign onto a website that, if you put in your secret password, will show you on Google Maps or wherever the phone is at that point. That way, once you put in the password, there will be a phone signal sent out to the internet, which will then show you where it is.

 

[aad4321]

For a program like that, wont you need a server, which will store gps locations of phones on a regular basis? Mabye you can work with a free cell phone location website like accutracking.com. I dont know if it is free now, but i remember it was years ago

 

[_kweso]

wouldn

 

[mckinleytabor]

For a program like that, wont you need a server, which will store gps locations of phones on a regular basis?

Not necessarily. It could be done using a client/server model, but for the sake of efficiency just having the phone email you a location message seems like the simplest route.

The email it would send out could have a performated Google Maps link in it. That along with a time stamp could let you know where your phone was at that particular moment. There would be some delay, the phone would email out every 15 minutes or so, but that would be fast enough to track it down, but slow enough so as not to drain the battery (and thus lose track all to gather).

wouldn

 

[_kweso]

This touches on a good point about privacy. Having a phone always publishing your position might not go over to well with some users.

this is an issue which concernes me as well. and it

 

[OrganizedFellow]

this is an issue which concernes me as well. and it

 

[ljjk5]

i just found a chinese app.but it's not free

 

[OrganizedFellow]

i just found a chinese app.but it's not free

can you provide a link?

 

[rev616]

it would be nice also,in case you lose your cell phone somewhere.i mean,it does happen.

 

[rev616]

also,could it be a widget that runs idle in the background and maybe turns gps on when you recieve an email from a certain address or get a txt with a certain string? or is that way too far fetched?

 

[droid]

We are developing an application like this. We hope it will be available at the end of october.
It will have some nice features for those who whish to know where their cellphone was and also for those who lost or got stollen.
It will have a server to store all the gps coordinates.

 

[ndnjumpman]

sweet! can't wait!

 

[OrganizedFellow]

We are developing an application like this. We hope it will be available at the end of october.
It will have some nice features for those who whish to know where their cellphone was and also for those who lost or got stollen.
It will have a server to store all the gps coordinates.

@droid
Can you provide a mailing list or some reliable way to alert many people of this application?
I too would jump at this app, it seems like something worth developing. And depending on the features, worth some good money too!

 

[radrat]

if you find your phone missing you could have the option to send it a SMS with a specific string of characters that will activate GPS sending to either phone or email.

or use the biowallet function of scanning iris dailey, weekely, or randomly to verify user.

just a couple of thoughts

 

[grahamsz]

I think the third option is best because the first one requires the code everyday and it might get annoying after awhile. I like the second option \ besides that you never know if the person who stole it, also knows the pattern code. The third one is what I think is best because if the phone gives calls to 10 unrecognized people, then it's obvious that someone else has it..

The most obvious approach I see would be to set up a broadcast receiver to snag the "connected to wifi" notice. If the phone doesn't see my home AP in a day then it's likely stolen.

Obviously when i'm out of town that'd be a minor issue, but the worst that will happen is that it uses a little more battery sending out information about where it is.

 

[killer3160]

my only question is if someone steals the phone they can turn the phone off or throw the original owner sim card out how would the tracking work then?

 

[grahamsz]

my only question is if someone steals the phone they can turn the phone off or throw the original owner sim card out how would the tracking work then?

Services on the android still run fine when the phone is locked, but i'm not sure what will happen if they replace the sim card.

Does anyone know if the phone retains their google account information when the sim is changed?

 

[SirFenwick]

I think this would have to be embedded into the Android OS for it to actually work.

Thus you should be able to get onto your GMail account online and be able to track it if needed to. Even possibly locking it down completely so the thief has no way of using it.

 

[sidkapur30]

my only question is if someone steals the phone they can turn the phone off or throw the original owner sim card out how would the tracking work then?

Is there a way to track it using the IMEI number??

 

[DarkTLRrider]

I want something like this! Read the features, it is awsome.
http://www.conveniencesoftware.com/getitback.html

 

[DarkTLRrider]

I sent Dan Shipper an email at Convenience Software last night and this was his response to me this morning.

We are definitely looking into an Android version, which should be available within the next few months.- Show quoted text -

On Dec 11, 2008, DarkTLRrider wrote:

I have seen your product on Crackberry.com and thought it was very interesting. I recently bought a Tmobil G1 and was wondering if you were going to come up with a similar product for the Android OS?
​

Dan Shipper
CEO
Convenience Software
admin@conveniencesoftware.com

So if you are interested in this product give him a shout, it may speed thiings up if they see a lot of interest.

 

[Wendee]

I sent Dan Shipper an email at Convenience Software last night and this was his response to me this morning.

We are definitely looking into an Android version, which should be available within the next few months.- Show quoted text -

On Dec 11, 2008, DarkTLRrider wrote:

I have seen your product on Crackberry.com and thought it was very interesting. I recently bought a Tmobil G1 and was wondering if you were going to come up with a similar product for the Android OS?
​

Dan Shipper
CEO
Convenience Software
admin@conveniencesoftware.com

So if you are interested in this product give him a shout, it may speed thiings up if they see a lot of interest.

thats good news cant wait for it..

thanks

 

[KMitchell]

They already have a program that can track your phone using SMS; its www.instamapper.com - they even have it on the Android Market. I had it earlier on my old G1 but formatted the phone to try to get the tetherbot to work and unfortunately lost the program (and of course had my phone stolen that day). But it works pretty good and will log where your going and you can trace it if you have lost it