iPhone location as theft deterrent

I 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

Posted by Dan Moren on Feb 22 2008, 12:14 PM ET

• © 2007 Mac Publishing, LLC.
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service
• Community Standards