Realizing that your precious Apple gadgets are lost or stolen can be a devastating experience, but a woman's testimony shows that the "Find my Phone" app can be your best friend in such circumstances.
The woman, who recently shared her story on MacRumors' forum under unsername "Txcallahan," explains.
As she was on her way to work, she noticed that both her Macbook Pro and her iPad were missing from her bag.
After checking whether or not her son had her gadgets, she concluded that they must have disappeared from her car while it was parked.
As Txcallahan notes, even if her Macbook was password-protected, the iPad was unlocked when it disappeared from her possession. What is more, she had purchased the iPad through her wireless carrier, which gave her a brilliant idea.
She logged into her AT&T account and observed that the mobile data usage on her iPad had increased during the last day. This meant that the person who took the device used it to stream content on it.
Since Txcallahan had the "Find my phone" app installed, she immediately reported the iPad as lost. "Find my phone" is an app that tracks a device whenever it goes online, and it did so in the woman's case.
With the pinpointed address in hand, she was able to get the phone number from the place where her iPad was detected by the app. She decided not to call the number herself and instead turned to the police in order to investigate.
Txcallahan's enthusiasm dropped to a halt when the cops informed her about legal procedures. Apparently, the residents from the address have to invite the police officers inside, meaning, they cannot search the place just because an app claims that a device is inside.
However, she agreed to go with the policemen and check things out. She waited for the policemen to return, remaining parked a few houses down the road. At first, she was dismayed as it seemed that the officers found nothing, but then one of the policemen asked her if the Macbook and iPad that he carried were hers.
According to her recollection, she burst into tears of joy and gratitude, hugging the policeman.
She further points out that thanks to the "Find my phone" app, she was able to retrieve her items only three hours after she noticed their disappearance. Pointing out that she read about other cases that were less happy than her own, she highly recommends mobile device users to install the "Find my phone" app.
It is not the first time when the app proves to be helpful for law enforcement officers and regular users alike. Not long ago, a woman found the body of her deceased husband by using the GPS location from the application.
Last year, a Canadian teenager used the app to track his stolen device in Ontario. Sadly, he was shot dead by the thieves while trying to retrieve his device. In another case, two British women managed to apprehend a bag thief thanks to the use of "Find my phone" app, as the police responded with great delay.
