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Popular Mobile App Gets Update That Helps Find Phone

lookout app
Ian Bush

Reporting Ian Bush

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By Technology Editor Ian Bush

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A popular security and anti-virus app got an update that could come in very handy if you lose your phone.

There are plenty of programs that help you locate your device, but they don’t work if your battery has no juice.

“We can do the next best thing, which is leave a breadcrumb trail of where your phone last was before it died,” says Alicia diVittorio, consumer safety advocate at Lookout.

She says their Security & Antivirus app grabs info from a phone’s last gasp — which, they found, includes its location.

“Even if you leave it in your couch cushions or it was in the bush outside at your friend’s house, and the battery died overnight, this is the time Signal Flare will be useful,” diVittorio explains.

This feature is available only on Android, though diVittorio says an iPhone version is coming.

The free Lookout app includes Signal Flare and basic security; for a $2.99/month fee, there’s protection against malicious websites, a mobile privacy manager, and backup for photos and call history.

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