Another point for Android?

[mikedt]

Point for Apple right there!

Even an Android as a Wi-Fi device, that's a good enough reason for a thief to take one, even if it can't be used as a phone. Than Note 3 I mentioned above, my brother uses it as a gaming device. There's also an iPod and an iPhone 5 in his room that people left at the theaters (but didn't come claim after 90 days, he get's to keep it, so it's not theft). I tried to unlock both of them. Spent a few hours trying to learn how, but I can't bypass the
"Please enter your Apple ID" after completely wiping the device using iTunes.

It sucks that iCloud was hacked for those celebrities, I didn't get the full story, but I think Apple does a better job at security than Android. It's probably because they own both the device and the Operating System, it's easier for them to take greater control over their device.

I believe that was social engineering or phishing, rather than Apple's servers themselves being compromised(pwned)....unlike Sony Pictures.

"Dear customer,
During our regular update and verification of iCloud accounts, ...."

However I'm still loyal to Android for the time being.

I'm still loyal to Android, and unlikely to change for the foreseeable. Although for most people I know, what Google does is neither here of there...LOL In this country, any kind of remote kill would have to be implemented by the manufacturers themselves AFAIK.

 

[dan330]

blacklisting is only good for that carrier....

as I understand it.. stolen and found phones can still be used as phones with carriers that don't care how you got it.

 

[Slug]

Apple does this by default, the user does not need to "Remotely" do it themselves, and they SHOULDN'T!

The "Find My iPhone" feature is NOT enabled by default, and afaik that's required for users to lock/wipe their phones remotely. Sure, Apple themselves can do it.... once the user has (a) managed to contact them and (b) convinced them of their status. It's not exactly the "magic bullet" you're making it out to be.

I hope Google decides that theft of phones is important, and does something similar to this.

See above - it's being introduced in Android 5.x. Furthermore, Samsung and Sony (and perhaps other OEMs) have been including such a feature in their devices for some time. Plus Android Device Manager is available as a free install from the Play Store and does the same job.

Than Note 3 I mentioned above, my brother uses it as a gaming device. There's also an iPod and an iPhone 5 in his room that people left at the theaters (but didn't come claim after 90 days, he get's to keep it, so it's not theft)

Maybe not, but it's certainly morally dubious to knowingly retain someone's personal and valuable property without making any attempt to return it.

as I understand it.. stolen and found phones can still be used as phones with carriers that don't care how you got it.

That depends on where it occurs. European networks, for example, share blacklisted IEMIs. Insurance companies, police forces and retailers also do so, making it very difficult to use or sell stolen devices.

 

[mikedt]

Maybe not, but it's certainly morally dubious to knowingly retain someone's personal and valuable property without making any attempt to return it.

Don't know how this applies in law IANAL, but many places such as theatres, will display a disclaimer stating something to the effect that any lost property will be kept for 90 days, 180 days, etc, and after that it will be disposed of. How they actually dispose of lost property might be their business, such as passing it onto staff, or they may even destroy it. Public transport in some places has auctions of unclaimed lost property, that have kept for over 6 months, which could be anything, umbrellas, phones, bags, coats, etc. Transport for London does that. The Beijing Subway's lost property dept. has hundreds of lost mobile phones handed-in every month.

They have to make reasonable efforts to make the situation known, like an official lost property department, as well as publicly displayed notices. So if anyone has actually lost a valuable phone and they think they know where they might have left it, like on a bus or in a theatre, they can make an effort to retrieve it. It's not just common things like phones and umbrellas, some people have even forgotten and left their prosthetic limbs on London buses and the Underground. There was a documentary about it some years ago.

Lost property depts. don't usually make any efforts to actually try and find the rightful owners and return things. They'll write out a ticket for item with a description, and then it might sit on a shelf for six months, until it's either claimed or is disposed of AFAIK.

If I go finding a mobile phone on a bus seat or something, don't go handing it in and keep it for myself, that's wrong IMO. But then they might state, if it's unclaimed after six months, I can come and claim it as I found it. And I've done that, a cassette Sony Walkman I found years ago on a bus in Bristol. Handed it into the bus company's lost property, they gave me a ticket, and six months later it was unclaimed.

 

[bjacks12]

I can understand the 90 day rule for property that would be otherwise impossible to return to the owner(due to it not being identifiable).

Phones can be tracked to the owner. Whether they leave it unlocked or you take it to the carrier.

 

[mikedt]

OK yeh, phones can be tracked to their owners, like if it's on a contract, and they have the owner's address etc., and could depend on where you are. Yeh, so it's worth trying of course. But on the other hand, I've bought plenty of phones over the years, along with pre-paid SIMs in the UK, and they've never taken contact details from me. In China they always take full name and address, and you must have proof as well when you buy a SIM. So if a phone is found and it still has the SIM in it, there's a good chance they can find the rightful owner.

I've lost a phone myself a few years ago, a Nokia 6100 fell out my pocket while cycling, I wasn't expecting it to be returned TBF, but I reported it missing and the carrier to IMEI blacklist it. So it would be rather useless to anyone who found it anyway. And when I reported it missing, I did leave contact details of course.

AFAIK a lost property department isn't going to go trying to contact whatever carriers, and finding the owners. A phone is just like any other piece of lost property to them, it just sits on a shelf, until it's claimed or disposed of. They take some notes as to what the item is, its condition and serial number, if that's visible, and with iPhones there is no printed serial number on them.

 

[EarlyMon]

There's a world of difference between a business going to the trouble and expense of tracking down phone owners and somebody young and privileged enough to own a ton of devices just throwing lost, expensive phones in the trash because he can't break into them.

Finder's keepers, losers weepers - meet your first cousin - an eye for an eye.

And as a great man once pointed out, if we all did that, the whole world would be blind in no time.

This did not get brought up over something in some hypothetical business.

I find the entire sidetrack disgusting.

 

[boyo1991]

See I think it'd just be easier if you didn't take nude pics in the first place if you don't want them getting out. Its a piece of data, data is easily copied.. And of course as been pointed out.. What if you accidentally forgot you have some "auto share" feature on? Lol then that's just straight up your own fault!