Find my iPad app helps 8-year-old catch burglars and $350,000-worth of stolen property
An eight-year-old kid from Tennessee was able to track down some burglars that had broken into his home and stolen his iPad by using an Apple-made location-tracking app. The Find my iPad app helped police locate the hotel where these thieves were staying, and their stash of $350,000-worth of stolen loot amassed over other break-ins. The kid, Landon Crabtree, is going to get the key to the city for his help.
We hear stories like this every so often, but I think the real news here is that apps like Find my iPad and Find my iPhone are still a surprise to a lot of people. Google has a similar system in place with Latitude, and BlackBerry has a security suite called Protect that not only can track down via GPS, but also remotely lock and wipe devices, much like Find my iPad. For those of us steeped in mobile tech, the fact that location of your phone or tablet can be remotely pinpointed is kind of old hat, but I know plenty of late adopters that are freaked out by the idea. Stories like this definitely serve to combat those Big Brother anxieties.
Apple's products tend to be hot commodities for muggers... Have any of you new iPad owners had to deal with theft? Is there really anything to worry about if you've got Find my iPad or Find my iPhone installed?
Add your experience to our True tales of Find my iPhone in the iCloud Forum.
There are 16 comments. Add yours.
Am I crazy, or eventually are bad guys going to figure this out and simply turn off the device until they can wipe it? You can't find it if it's off, right?
You have to turn it on to activate it. Not sure why you would give them ammo nontheless..
I have wiped my phone and restored it using my brothers apple ID and when i logged into icloud and find my iphone it still found the device even though it was logged in under another Apple ID.
In Las Vegas someone's iPad was stollen and they used the Find my iPad to find it. They went to the police with the information and the police refused to help them. It was sad really. Not sure why they wouldn't help them. It's always great though when it works out for people.
proof?
Where's your proof?
What about the burglar's right to privacy? Did they give permission to have their location shared?
LOL!!!
That guy also robbed our apartment complex
While it is great to have the ability to track your lost/stolen iDevice, its not so great that you can be tracked all the time even when the device is turned off by big brother. Its a tough to decide which is more precious, your iDevice (covered by insurance) or your right to privacy while going about every day life.
Its called a necessary evil. Even if it's a little unsettling that your location is being tracked, the end justifies the means because there is no proof (as of yet) that "big brother" is tracking your location for evil. There are, however, many stories of people tracking down their stolen iDevice with the service. I am one of them and am very grateful for that the service is available, it's free and it works well.
Smaller battery and packing the iPad with c4 would be cooler.
Criminals are not the smartest lot. They will steal things, go into a pawn shop, and use their real ID to sell the stolen property. Must be genetics.
Cute little guy. Great story!
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