iPhone location as theft deterrent

iPhone locationI don’t know if iPhone theft is a huge problem—I’ve had mine for over six months, and the only people who’ve tried to steal it are people I actually know, but I presume that, like any expensive gadget, it’s a tempting target for thieves.

But hey, unlike your average iPod or your fancy Nike sneakers, your iPhone actually knows where it is (if you’ve taken advantage of the 1.1.3 update, that is). Wouldn’t it be convenient if—were your iPhone to get stolen—it could tell you exactly where it is?

iPhone hacker extraordinaire Erica Sadun has come up with just such a solution. Her program, findme, will have your iPhone broadcast regular updates about its location over Twitter. Getting the program installed will take a little work: your phone will need to be jailbroken, you’ll have to set up a private Twitter account, and there’s some Terminal magic required, but hey: that could all be worth it if you manage to actually use this set up to retrieve your stolen iPhone. And hey, it’s probably more practical than setting up your iPhone with The Club.

Category: Software, Tips & Troubleshooting

Comments (5)

This would have come in handy a few months ago,
My iPhone was stolen out of my locker and it was gone for about 2 weeks. Then one night I get a call from an AT&T salesman saying the he had my phone and noticed I reported it stolen recently. So I told him the story and he said ok great come down and pick it up, he took it from the kid trying to activate it and had it waiting for me on his desk.

 

This is available through installer by adding my source http://ride4.org/shai.xml

The package does most of the work for you. All thats left is edditing the tweet fire with your username and pass

 

Perhaps, it is good for parents to locate or check up on
their kids in case they get kidnapped?

 

My iPhone was stolen yesterday! Can any of this help me get it back? And I had the password lock on it, so I know the jerk can't use it... or can they?

 

my iphone was stolen monday so i deactivated it so it can lock the whole phone so what else can i do to get my phone back because life is so hard with out it

 

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