If you’re anything like Lady Gaga on a Friday night [and let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to channel Lady G? – Ed], you’ll be all too familiar with the following verse:
“I’ve had a little bit too much, much
All of the people start to rush, start to rush by
How does he twist the dance? Can’t find a drink, oh man
Where are my keys? I lost my phone, phone.”
Well, ok, perhaps not all of the above, but the last phrase translates into a fairly common phenomenon and one which makes the Saturday morning hangover all the more painful.
But there to take the headache out of a stolen or lost phone situation is Irish based company Yougetitback.com – a veritable knight in shining armor of the telecom world.
As technology advances, the phones, computers and mp3s we use every day are not only massively expensive, but are now also storing huge amounts of our personal data.
A lost or stolen device can consequently send a person into a blind panic; €300 down the drain and some stranger probably browsing through those dodgy Mauritius bikini photos. Yikes.
But fear not; because Yougetitback.com can recover not only some of your dignity, but also your data and possibly even your phone, with an ingenious service that protects content from thieves and offers rewards to the kind folk who find your lost item and return it to you.
Paul Prendergast, co-founder and head of global sales for the firm, told RCR that while much of the smartphone security industry was focused on anti-virus development, smartphone viruses were not necessarily the consumer’s main worry.
“The key concern is if a device is stolen because of the cost of it and the information stored on it,” he said adding, “we not only help to protect that information, we also help to recover the device itself.”
As well as working on operations in South America, Asia and all over Europe Paul’s team is also actively working on anti-theft solutions for the UK; “It’s a major issue; over 50% of assaults in London involve a phone being stolen; and we are working with them to tackle this. If, for example, the thief puts their own SIM card in the stolen phone, we can still track it afterwards”.
Key features of the service include being able to perform a remote phone lock to protect your phone and data, phone contact backup, allowing for the restoration of your data, automatic locking of the device after an unauthorized SIM card change or “unusual usage” and even a nifty little feature called “device siren.”
While making your stolen phone scream blue murder might not ensure the safe return of it, per say, it will give you comfort to know that the thief probably got a substantial fright.
This works on both the mobile and PC version of the software, with the PC version – ‘Laptop Superhero’ – going a step further and taking a photo of anyone who tries to use the machine after it has been reported stolen.
“It’s all about piece of mind,” says Prendergast, because if you lose the device you can still have control over it.
To help get the device back into the hands of its rightful owner, Yougetitback.com allows incoming calls to lost or stolen handsets, as well as calls to the company itself from the device to encourage returns.
So hopefully no more random 10,000 Euro phone bills when you misplace your phone after a heavy night out. Unless you have an iPhone, which Yougetitback doesn’t yet support.
In terms of pricing, a phone tag costs €10, while ‘Laptop Superhero’ is a mere €29.99 a year; relatively small change to keep your data away from prying eyes.
Mobile Superhero also allows you to map your phone’s location using either GPS or from identifying the Cell ID towers the phone is currently using.
All in all, the system is a low cost, innovative idea that helps keep your prized material possessions safe, while ensuring the protection of your personal information. It certainly has this device hoarder mightily impressed.
