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GPS tracker and/or LOST PHONE thread

insaneoctane

Newbie
Dec 6, 2010
16
0
After reading TOO much about many apps, and trying to find the right one for me, I chose to start this thread. I'm looking to the forum to help weed out the garbage and suggest the best FREE "lost phone" and/or tracking app. I've read about so many. I REALLY want one that does NOT alert the potential thief that I'm tracking them (certain people will assume I'm trying to track a spouse and/or child- fine). A lot of people suggested LOOKOUT, but I read many people say it was malware/spyware and that "VIRUS" protection isn't needed on android. Lookout seems great, but it scares me now. Here's what I've figured out by myself:

Mobile Defense - no longer beta, can't download- but looks good
Prey - sounds almost too good to be true, but not too many users?
Instamapper - intresting, but only finds phone
WaveSecure - $20/year; NOT free
Tasker - sounds powerful; NOT free (but only $6 one-time I think); not transparent either
Lookup - Contains unecessary virus protection; maybe spyware?

And there's more, LOTS more...
Where's My Droid
Theft Aware
Pintail
EasyRecover
PhoneSecurity
WatchDroid Pro
UninstallProtection
PhoneLocator
phone finder
FindMyPhone
Phone Finder Pro
Stray Phone Finder
Protect
Protect Basic
Locate Your Phone
Child Safety Monitor
Locate Your Phone PRO
Phone Finder Donate
PhoneLocator Pro
Phone Finder Gold
Protect Premium

I can't image the work to install and try all these...I'd really like to hear what you guys are using and maybe we could get a useful thread here!
PS- My new phone (and first android) is the MyTouch 4G
 
Will tasker run without notification?

I am using instamapper and i m pretty satisfied with it, however i have never lost my phone but i m sure it shall help incase,
GPS Tracker can be activated remotely by sending an SMS message to the phone. The message should contain the string "GPS_TRACKER_START device_key". To look up the 13-digit device key for your account, login and click on "Devices".

To stop an instance of GPS Tracker that's already running on a phone, text "GPS_TRACKER_STOP device_key". If all you need is a single location, text "GPS_TRACKER_FETCH device_key. This will cause the app to upload a single location, then exit.

SMS activation is disabled by default. Click on "Remote activation via SMS" in settings to enable it.
 
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I have used all the apps in your list. I'm super picky about this particular ability. I can tell you that reading the descriptions is not enough. Some of these apps are just not reliable and poor and or slow to remotely connect in order to enable tracking. Very few allow for a tracking without notifying the phone user/thief.

I settled on Lookout. You can disable the anti-virus should you not want to use that function of the app. Its free and you can turn off the device notification. Its the most reliable and the fastest to connect and track. I like Mobile Defense and I used it primarily until Lookout came along but it had occasional issues.

Here is the review I wrote on Mobile Defense some time ago.

Here is the review I wrote on Lookout a few months ago.
 
Upvote 0
I have used all the apps in your list. I'm super picky about this particular ability. I can tell you that reading the descriptions is not enough. Some of these apps are just not reliable and poor and or slow to remotely connect in order to enable tracking. Very few allow for a tracking without notifying the phone user/thief.

I settled on Lookout. You can disable the anti-virus should you not want to use that function of the app. Its free and you can turn off the device notification. Its the most reliable and the fastest to connect and track. I like Mobile Defense and I used it primarily until Lookout came along but it had occasional issues.

Here is the review I wrote on Mobile Defense some time ago.

Here is the review I wrote on Lookout a few months ago.

do not be moved or overly impressed with what u read all the time on the forums or on net as whole. I have also used prey and its not bad. It is good that u put 2 or three trackers simultaneously to reduce the chances of failure. Look out and tasker are good too will tell u more later as I m planning to use them, as of now i m using instamapper and prey for my phone as well as for my Laptop.
 
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