We have information on a new app that will make it easier for you to find your missing iPhone.
Apple’s existing solution, Find My iPhone, allows the user to send a ping to said phone and locate it. It does not, however, allow for the iPhone to communicate back to you, even though it has the technical capability to do so.
Assuming a good Samaritan finds said phone, they can go through the phone’s contacts to get it back to the original owner, but this is an unnecessary burden, again, given of what the phone is capable of. Of course, in addition to that, contacts have been passcode enabled since iOS7.
And so, a group of devs have come up with a Good Samaritan feature. This project pitch allows these proverbial Samaritans to find iPhone owners easier, and in fact gives them three ways to do so. This would have to be enabled by the owner, with options to add the authorized contact. It can also be modified to allow this exchange to take place without the phone finder getting any information about the owner.
Via option one, the Samaritan can try to call the authorized contact. In case he or she can’t get through, he or she will get a prompt to leave a voicemail. Via option two, the Samaritan sends a message to the authorized contact. Apple will add a preset message to that so that said Samaritan won’t have to explain all the details. Finally, via option three, the Samaritan can email the authorized contact. Under these circumstances, the Samaritan can communicate with the contact as many times as he or she wants. Regardless of the option, it will allow communication without having to share any of the owner’s, authorized contact’s, or Samaritan’s personal information.
As indicated above, this is a project pitch for now. If you would like to see it become reality, make sure to contact Apple and let them know about this.
