@Kidsandliz I use those bluetooth trackers meh keeps selling. If you can keep a full battery charge in them, they are actually good at locating things. If I misplace my phone, I just locate any device with a tracker (such as my keys) and press the button on it to ring my phone.
Both IOS and android have built in “Find my device“ capacities. Both Apple and Google offer native build apps to do this I’m not sure if these apps are pre-installed or if they are to be downloaded by the user.
There may be some small amount of set up with allowing these apps access to GPS data And various other tracking permissions
If the device can be found over the net, then these apps will show you where it is
these apps can also be used by a web browser
If the device has run out of juice or is in a place where it can’t contact Wi-Fi or cell signals, then these apps will show you where the device was when the device last pinged a cell tower or communicated with either Google or Apple.
Also some smart watches and fitness bands can try to locate the phone, if they’re within Bluetooth range of a paired device and the device has power
However, none of this necessarily makes up the difference for a teenage brain
the only thing I really know that works for teenagers is to let them spend their own money to replace things they lose
If kiddo keeps losing the devices and he really really needs one, maybe you can just go get him a cheap one that’s five years old as a temporary backup or a permanent phone
@f00l I have life360 on his phone. It says it’s across the creek in someone’s back yard. It’s most likely not. Maybe in the house. Hopefully in the house.
Whoever’s google account is on the phone will have to login to the browser page using the google account credentials.
Then the phone, if juiced and connected to the net, and possibly if gps it turned on, will show up in a map. Possibly more accurate coordinates than those given by the service you have already used.
The user can also get the phone to make noise, or can erase it.
Re finding his old phone
The android and iOS locators are worth a try. They might do better at a pinpoint location.
Re replacement phone
Tell him that he’s lucky you didn’t get him a phone from 2005. Or from 1905.
Tell him the he can either:
-Pay in advance monthly for insurance on any given phone, plus pay for deductible if a claim is to be made, in order to get an equivalent replacement
-Or buy a replacement phone w his own money
-Or be happy and grateful that someone is willing to give him something.
And he can make sure not to whine about it all. In fact, he can be a little remorseful about losing the phone, and thereby taking up other people’s time, energy, and $.
Or he doesn’t have to do any of that. He can just go sulk.
: )
But, you’re a mom. A mom w teenagers!
You already know way more than all that above.
My sympathies!
I’m kind of in awe of parents of teenagers, people who survive and care and are patient and loving, and do that parent work; and retain their decent and wonderful personas through it all.
@f00l@sammydog01
Don’t forget about all of the accounts that your phone is already logged into should it ever be unlocked (everyone sets their phone dvreen lock to instant, right? or doesn’t have an easy pin like 2222 because it won’t let you pick 1111).
You’ll have to change all of the passwirds on any accounts it was connected to (or the browser logged in) before whomever has your phone does.
@f00l@sammydog01
Well yeah, don’t you know kids gotta have all the bells and whistles on their phones. They have to be cool, so they Snapchat, ticktok, blinknblock, fairy whistle or whatever it is they do on their phones.
Perhaps no one has explained this to you before, but phones (like cats) are shapeshifters. Sometimes they just want to be left alone, so they turn slick and oooooze out of your grip and into some crevice too small for them to fit. Or they subtly shift shade and color to match their background while your gaze passes over them, then shift back. Phones (and cats) are good at gaslighting you into thinking you are going crazy while they sit there looking innocent. It is their mission in life. (Well that, and gathering up all of your personal info to send back to their masters, but that’s a whole 'nother discussion.)
@f00l@RiotDemon Well at least you haven’t lost it while talking on it. That’s a plus. Right? Glasses and keys tend to act the way your/plenty of our phones acts too. They all must have gone to the same school of how to hide from owners. It’s likely a plot to make us all think we have lost our minds. At least with a phone you can call it from something else.
If you don’t want google tracking you, you can use an app like Lookout. It has some additional anti-theft features like a remote alarm, screenshots of attempts to unlock the phone and locate, of course. The basic locate feature is free, the better/advanced features are a monthly fee.
But the cell services all seem to sell tower and wifi loc data as they please. Would I gain that much by putting the brakes on google?
And google already has all the info I just handed over to them without thinking twice, for the last several decades. I just never acted to really stop them. Or to stop self.
And stopping them would mean no google accounts, no g-service domains, no gmail, …
It’s been just way too easy and convenient to give away my daily life to them, and, way way too easy to “forget to notice” i’d done that.
@f00l Lookout isn’t in the business of selling your location data like google is. Remember, this capability means 24x7 tracking of your phone.
If you use Google now, check out your own tracking and see how far back snd how detailed it really is. You would be shocked.
If you only need your phone tracked, you don’t need to save the history when you didn’t use the tracking service. You have s choice in who you give uour location data to for the service of tracking your phone. I choose to give it to Lookout.com, because that’s all they use it for, nothing else. unlike Google (or worse, facebook)
Think of it in terms of why a no-logging VPN is an important privacy tool.
You only need to know where your phone is. Not where it was, forever searchable and usablr for whatever Google wants, including selling or giving it to the government without a warrant or for political purposes.
@f00l@mike808
There are actually some cool stats that have been generated by the phone location data concerning the effectiveness of stay at home orders, shifts in compliance etc. They are also being used in some places for contact tracing…
@f00l@mike808
My issue with data sweeps is that if I want something for free (search engine, news feeds, youtube videos etc.) I should be willing to supply something for that service. In this case data or being subject to ads. Kind of like commercials on OTA TV, that’s the “price” you pay for getting the shows for free. If the station is getting a fee from the cable provider (which you are paying each month) to supply their programming I think there should be a commensurate reduction in the number of ads you have to sit thru.
All those server farms and employees etc Google has don’t run on nothing. It’s sort of like having a loyalty card for Winn-Dixie, CVS or wherever. They give me a discount in exchange for my shopping data. I am aware of that. Using a VPN is a great solution, but you are paying for that normally, so that’s the trade off you choose to make.
@chienfou Yeah, that would be great if there was an “opt out for a fee” (or lose the discount) option, but the only choice you get is use the service or don’t.
The thing is, we don’t know or understand when we sign up for something what rights and what data we are handing over; and they retain the capacity and “legalese protection“ as to be able to just change their minds or their tech and further erode our privacy in the future, in ways we can’t anticipate, using data they already gathered.
The process is impenetrable, and they (the large corps) want it that way. And their privacy policies are also impenetrable, to anyone who isn’t a “specialist privacy rights lawyer”.
I don’t mind giving something up in exchange for a free service.
But … I think they should have to spell out exactly (in full detail) what rights I am forfeiting - in large font, a few bullet points to a page. With hard limits on those rights.
… in the same size font and with the same linguistic and explanatory clarity that they use when they try to get us to sign up. No “legalese”, unless the meaning of the legalese is spelled out clearly in elementary school language, point by point.
Yeah that would slow down the signup process a bit.
Ok no one held a gun to our heads etc. I get that. I could have not signed up with all sorts offerings from google, or other services.
So I’m culpable.
But … you got time in your life to understand all the legalese you prob just go along with? Free services, necessary utilities and medics/legal situations, etc?
Know anyone who does have time? I don’t. And I’m related to all sorts of lawyers. Who don’t personally have that time either.
that legalese exists for the purpose of hiding/cloaking/protecting unfair advantage and unethical conduct, and screwing the person or smallish biz that doesn’t have their own private legal dept or seriously deep pockets.
What these data-vacuum companies do, is, while possibly legal, completely unethical.
Not much is going to happen about this tho, until voters start to actually care about facts/consequences, and stop buying into feel-good, emotional slogans and myths leftover from centuries of pop culture.
Anyway: we are a long, long way down the road from the now abandoned slogan ”don’t be evil”.
I hate when that happens. For me I think it’s my eyes though. Was supposed to see the eye doc in March. Then everything closed. I’ve got another 3 weeks if all goes well. My astigmatism has probably gotten worse which is why things are blurry. I’m also afraid he’s going to say it’s bifocal time. Not looking forward to that. I’m not even 44 ffs!
@remo28 Progressive lens work well for bifocals as long as the frame is big enough (eg top to bottom) so that you have enough area for clear vision in each part.
I feel that
In the future get a free one time call internet number and then you can call your phone to find it.
@Kidsandliz
I have other devices that can used to contact this phone; I know how to do that. In fact, I do that embarrassingly often.
it’s just this time my eyes worked; my brain just didn’t connect to my eyes.
@Kidsandliz I use those bluetooth trackers meh keeps selling. If you can keep a full battery charge in them, they are actually good at locating things. If I misplace my phone, I just locate any device with a tracker (such as my keys) and press the button on it to ring my phone.
@Kidsandliz I use my Apple Watch’s “ping phone” feature almost as much as I check the temperature.
@f00l @cengland0 @curtw4 now if we could just use these methods for glasses!
@cengland0 @curtw4 @f00l @Kidsandliz
there is no reason you can’t attach a pixel tracker to your glasses. Of course, you might get some weird(er) looks…
@cengland0 @chienfou @curtw4 @f00l And it would be uncomfortable.
Swing on over and find my son’s phone please? I have stroopwafel.
@sammydog01
Both IOS and android have built in “Find my device“ capacities. Both Apple and Google offer native build apps to do this I’m not sure if these apps are pre-installed or if they are to be downloaded by the user.
There may be some small amount of set up with allowing these apps access to GPS data And various other tracking permissions
If the device can be found over the net, then these apps will show you where it is
these apps can also be used by a web browser
If the device has run out of juice or is in a place where it can’t contact Wi-Fi or cell signals, then these apps will show you where the device was when the device last pinged a cell tower or communicated with either Google or Apple.
Also some smart watches and fitness bands can try to locate the phone, if they’re within Bluetooth range of a paired device and the device has power
However, none of this necessarily makes up the difference for a teenage brain
the only thing I really know that works for teenagers is to let them spend their own money to replace things they lose
If kiddo keeps losing the devices and he really really needs one, maybe you can just go get him a cheap one that’s five years old as a temporary backup or a permanent phone
@f00l I have life360 on his phone. It says it’s across the creek in someone’s back yard. It’s most likely not. Maybe in the house. Hopefully in the house.
@sammydog01
If his phone is android
https://www.google.com/android/find
Whoever’s google account is on the phone will have to login to the browser page using the google account credentials.
Then the phone, if juiced and connected to the net, and possibly if gps it turned on, will show up in a map. Possibly more accurate coordinates than those given by the service you have already used.
The user can also get the phone to make noise, or can erase it.
If phone is IOS
Similar functions are at
https://www.icloud.com/#find
@f00l He waits to tell me it’s missing until the battery is dead. And he gets upset when I buy the cheapest phone at the store.
@sammydog01
Re finding his old phone
The android and iOS locators are worth a try. They might do better at a pinpoint location.
Re replacement phone
Tell him that he’s lucky you didn’t get him a phone from 2005. Or from 1905.
Tell him the he can either:
-Pay in advance monthly for insurance on any given phone, plus pay for deductible if a claim is to be made, in order to get an equivalent replacement
-Or buy a replacement phone w his own money
-Or be happy and grateful that someone is willing to give him something.
And he can make sure not to whine about it all. In fact, he can be a little remorseful about losing the phone, and thereby taking up other people’s time, energy, and $.
Or he doesn’t have to do any of that. He can just go sulk.
: )
But, you’re a mom. A mom w teenagers!
You already know way more than all that above.
My sympathies!
/image “Victorian cell phone”
@f00l
@sammydog01
I’m kind of in awe of parents of teenagers, people who survive and care and are patient and loving, and do that parent work; and retain their decent and wonderful personas through it all.
@f00l @sammydog01
Don’t forget about all of the accounts that your phone is already logged into should it ever be unlocked (everyone sets their phone dvreen lock to instant, right? or doesn’t have an easy pin like 2222 because it won’t let you pick 1111).
You’ll have to change all of the passwirds on any accounts it was connected to (or the browser logged in) before whomever has your phone does.
@f00l @sammydog01
Well yeah, don’t you know kids gotta have all the bells and whistles on their phones. They have to be cool, so they Snapchat, ticktok, blinknblock, fairy whistle or whatever it is they do on their phones.
Perhaps no one has explained this to you before, but phones (like cats) are shapeshifters. Sometimes they just want to be left alone, so they turn slick and oooooze out of your grip and into some crevice too small for them to fit. Or they subtly shift shade and color to match their background while your gaze passes over them, then shift back. Phones (and cats) are good at gaslighting you into thinking you are going crazy while they sit there looking innocent. It is their mission in life. (Well that, and gathering up all of your personal info to send back to their masters, but that’s a whole 'nother discussion.)
@rockblossom
/giphy “I believe”
The amount of times I’ve said, “hey Google, find my phone.” is a little ridiculous.
Never lost it outside of the house.
Most common place that I’ve lost it: wrapped up in my comforter.
@RiotDemon
I tend to “lose” mine when it’s on the counter, desk, table, or dashboard, right in front of me.
Or when it’s on the bed or chair right beside me.
Or it’s in my pocket.
At absolutely stellar moments, I’ve lost it when it was in my hand, right in front of my face.
I think I get extra points for that last. It’s a sort of speciality.
@f00l @RiotDemon Well at least you haven’t lost it while talking on it. That’s a plus. Right? Glasses and keys tend to act the way your/plenty of our phones acts too. They all must have gone to the same school of how to hide from owners. It’s likely a plot to make us all think we have lost our minds. At least with a phone you can call it from something else.
If you don’t want google tracking you, you can use an app like Lookout. It has some additional anti-theft features like a remote alarm, screenshots of attempts to unlock the phone and locate, of course. The basic locate feature is free, the better/advanced features are a monthly fee.
The web portal is lookout.com.
@mike808
Yeah. But I use the gps a fair bit.
I could use another gps service. I spoze I could.
But the cell services all seem to sell tower and wifi loc data as they please. Would I gain that much by putting the brakes on google?
And google already has all the info I just handed over to them without thinking twice, for the last several decades. I just never acted to really stop them. Or to stop self.
And stopping them would mean no google accounts, no g-service domains, no gmail, …
It’s been just way too easy and convenient to give away my daily life to them, and, way way too easy to “forget to notice” i’d done that.
@f00l Lookout isn’t in the business of selling your location data like google is. Remember, this capability means 24x7 tracking of your phone.
If you use Google now, check out your own tracking and see how far back snd how detailed it really is. You would be shocked.
If you only need your phone tracked, you don’t need to save the history when you didn’t use the tracking service. You have s choice in who you give uour location data to for the service of tracking your phone. I choose to give it to Lookout.com, because that’s all they use it for, nothing else. unlike Google (or worse, facebook)
Think of it in terms of why a no-logging VPN is an important privacy tool.
You only need to know where your phone is. Not where it was, forever searchable and usablr for whatever Google wants, including selling or giving it to the government without a warrant or for political purposes.
@f00l @mike808
There are actually some cool stats that have been generated by the phone location data concerning the effectiveness of stay at home orders, shifts in compliance etc. They are also being used in some places for contact tracing…
@f00l @mike808
My issue with data sweeps is that if I want something for free (search engine, news feeds, youtube videos etc.) I should be willing to supply something for that service. In this case data or being subject to ads. Kind of like commercials on OTA TV, that’s the “price” you pay for getting the shows for free. If the station is getting a fee from the cable provider (which you are paying each month) to supply their programming I think there should be a commensurate reduction in the number of ads you have to sit thru.
All those server farms and employees etc Google has don’t run on nothing. It’s sort of like having a loyalty card for Winn-Dixie, CVS or wherever. They give me a discount in exchange for my shopping data. I am aware of that. Using a VPN is a great solution, but you are paying for that normally, so that’s the trade off you choose to make.
@chienfou Yeah, that would be great if there was an “opt out for a fee” (or lose the discount) option, but the only choice you get is use the service or don’t.
@chienfou @macromeh
The thing is, we don’t know or understand when we sign up for something what rights and what data we are handing over; and they retain the capacity and “legalese protection“ as to be able to just change their minds or their tech and further erode our privacy in the future, in ways we can’t anticipate, using data they already gathered.
The process is impenetrable, and they (the large corps) want it that way. And their privacy policies are also impenetrable, to anyone who isn’t a “specialist privacy rights lawyer”.
I don’t mind giving something up in exchange for a free service.
But … I think they should have to spell out exactly (in full detail) what rights I am forfeiting - in large font, a few bullet points to a page. With hard limits on those rights.
… in the same size font and with the same linguistic and explanatory clarity that they use when they try to get us to sign up. No “legalese”, unless the meaning of the legalese is spelled out clearly in elementary school language, point by point.
Yeah that would slow down the signup process a bit.
Ok no one held a gun to our heads etc. I get that. I could have not signed up with all sorts offerings from google, or other services.
So I’m culpable.
But … you got time in your life to understand all the legalese you prob just go along with? Free services, necessary utilities and medics/legal situations, etc?
Know anyone who does have time? I don’t. And I’m related to all sorts of lawyers. Who don’t personally have that time either.
that legalese exists for the purpose of hiding/cloaking/protecting unfair advantage and unethical conduct, and screwing the person or smallish biz that doesn’t have their own private legal dept or seriously deep pockets.
What these data-vacuum companies do, is, while possibly legal, completely unethical.
Not much is going to happen about this tho, until voters start to actually care about facts/consequences, and stop buying into feel-good, emotional slogans and myths leftover from centuries of pop culture.
Anyway: we are a long, long way down the road from the now abandoned slogan ”don’t be evil”.
Ok I’ll shut up now. : )
/rant OFF
This is brilliantly phrased. Maybe it’s not just me. I blame it on ADHD.
@DrWorm has no idea why they’re being tagged here.
I hate when that happens. For me I think it’s my eyes though. Was supposed to see the eye doc in March. Then everything closed. I’ve got another 3 weeks if all goes well. My astigmatism has probably gotten worse which is why things are blurry. I’m also afraid he’s going to say it’s bifocal time. Not looking forward to that. I’m not even 44 ffs!
@remo28 Progressive lens work well for bifocals as long as the frame is big enough (eg top to bottom) so that you have enough area for clear vision in each part.
I once head my earbuds plugged into my phone listening to an audiobook when I headed for my car. I went back into the house to search for my phone.
It took way too long for me to realize that not only that I had it all along, but that I was actually using it to listen to the audiobook.
@jst1ofknd
I’ve done that.
And I’ve lost my phone while I was holding it to my ear and in the midst of a conversation.
I bitched about having lost my phone to my friend on the call.
I was momentarily (and v briefly) somewhat annoyed at the laughter i got in response. Then I figured out “why”.