What would you do if you lost your smartphone? While some might do their best to keep their composure and work to find it, there’s no mistaking the amount of data stored on our favorite mobile devices. Today, we want to walk you through some strategies for finding your misplaced or stolen device.

Try Retracing Your Steps

More often than not, your phone is misplaced and not stolen. You can retrace your steps to find out where you left it. Look in places you have visited lately, or ask coworkers, family, or friends if they have seen it. If you find it, great—you can skip to the end of this blog. Otherwise, get ready for a much different experience.

Consider the Find My Phone Feature

Most smartphones have features built in that you can use to find them. iPhones, for example, have “Find My iPhone,” whereas Android devices have “Find My Device.” These services use the phone’s built-in GPS functionality to deliver a noise of some sort, indicating if it is nearby.

Keep Your Personal Data Safe

In the event you can’t find the device, you’ll want to take measures to protect the data it could possibly contain. Change any passwords for apps like email, social media, banking, and so on. If you use your device for payments, you’ll want to take steps to turn off this authorization as well.

Notify Your Service Provider

If you contact your carrier, they can disable your phone’s SIM card so that no one can make calls, send texts, or use its mobile data for their purposes. They can also direct you to resources that could help you get your device back, or at least mitigate damage done by lost or stolen data.

Get the Police Involved

If you think your phone has been stolen, you should tell the police and file an official report. While they probably can’t find your device, you’ll want the report on file just in case you need to file an insurance claim.

Consider a Third-Party Device Location Service

Third-party phone location services can also help you find a device, but they are not typically built into your smartphone’s operating system. They might help you by taking pictures of someone when they try to access your device. It’s neat, at least on paper, but we recommend you conduct a thorough vetting of any solution you decide to implement.

If you keep these approaches in mind, there is a solid chance that you can locate, or at least neutralize, the threat of a misplaced, lost, or stolen device. The important thing is to keep calm and act quickly to ensure that you’re not putting your data at risk.

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