Comment: retrouver un smartphone perdu ou volé

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Étant donné que les smartphones modernes ont longtemps été plus qu'un simple appareil de communication, avant d'envisager des moyens de retrouver un téléphone perdu ou volé, nous devrions dire quelques mots sur les précautions qui minimiseront la probabilité que vos informations personnelles tombent entre de mauvaises mains.

Il est donc très important d'avoir une protection fiable sur votre smartphone. Assurez-vous d'activer l'authentification par mot de passe et empreinte digitale sur votre appareil. De nombreux experts en sécurité de l'information ne recommandent pas d'utiliser la fonction de reconnaissance faciale car elle peut être contournée avec votre photo. Il convient de noter que l'amélioration des algorithmes de reconnaissance faciale est en cours et que les derniers appareils sont moins sujets à ce problème. Si vous êtes sûr que la personne qui trouve votre appareil perdu ne pourra en aucun cas mettre la main sur votre photo, vous pouvez utiliser cette méthode d'authentification en toute sécurité. Cependant, l'authentification par mot de passe ou par empreinte digitale est encore plus fiable. Il est clair que scanner une empreinte digitale ou entrer un code PIN chaque fois que vous souhaitez utiliser votre téléphone peut être gênant, mais pensez au fait qu'une personne qui ne vous connaît pas peut avoir accès à vos photos, applications bancaires, e-mail et le reste de Vos informations personnelles.

Finding a lost or stolen smartphone will be much easier if appropriate applications are installed and correctly configured on it. It is also important to note that you should always have the IMEI and serial number of your phone written down (not on that smartphone). You will need these data if you have to contact your service provider or the police. You can easily find out the IMEI number of your phone by dialing *#06#.

How to find lost or stolen iPhone

To pre-configure your iPhone, you should do the following:

• open settings;
• click on your name at the top of the screen;
• click "iCloud";
• scroll to the item "Find my iPhone" and turn it on;

You should also enable the option "Send last location", which will send the location of the iPhone until the battery of the smartphone is depleted.

Now, if you lose your smartphone, you will need to go to iCloud.com and log in to your Apple account. Next, open "Find iPhone" and you can see the last location of your smartphone on the map until the battery is depleted (or the current location if the battery is still charged).

In addition, this Apple's service allows you to:

• make your iPhone play sound — this function will be useful if you know for sure that the phone is somewhere nearby, but forgot where exactly it is;
• block the phone;
• send a message to your iPhone, can contain, for example, a contact phone number to call if the phone is found;
• completely delete all your data from the iPhone, so that the smartphone would be more difficult to sell or use in case of theft.

How to find lost or stolen Android device

To pre-configure your Android smartphone, you should do the following:

• open Google Play Store;
• find and install "Find My Device" app from Google (or you can follow the link https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.adm to download this program)
• open this app and log in to your Google account.

Now, if you lose your Android smartphone, you will have to open https://myaccount.google.com/find-your-phone in your browser, log in to your Google account, select the missing device from the list and click "Find", and the phone will appear on the map. In addition, the Google service allows you to:

• check the system for suspicious logins;
• lock the phone;
• make a remote call on the phone;
• remotely log out of your Google Account;
• contact your operator;
• remotely delete all your data from your Android device.

Important notes:

In order to correctly detect your smartphone, the location function should be enabled on it.

If your phone is stolen and you find out its location, but don't know exactly what kind of place it is, you had better report the theft to the police rather than take a risk. Don't act on your own – pass the info about location of your device to the police.