How these guides work
Each guide starts with the action that matters most. If your phone has just been stolen, the first checklist tells you what to do in the next ten minutes, on any phone you can borrow. Everything is written to be useful whether or not you use Alert24.
Where Alert24 helps, we say so and link to the feature. Where it cannot help, for example when a phone is switched off, we say that too.
If your phone is lost or stolen
- Phone stolen: what to doAn ordered first-hour checklist for a stolen Android phone, usable from a borrowed device.Read
- Find a lost AndroidRing, locate and photograph a lost Android phone with Google Find My Device or Alert24.Read
- Report a stolen phoneFind the IMEI, block the SIM and IMEI, file the police report and hand over evidence the right way.Read
- Stolen abroadRing, locate, lock, report, claim and stay connected when your phone is stolen on a trip.Read
- Alert24 vs Find My DeviceWhat Google's Find Hub does better, what Alert24 adds, and why you should run both.Read
Who touched my phone
- Who tried to unlock my phoneSet up a front-camera photo on wrong unlock attempts, and read what it tells you.Read
- Stop people touching your phoneFive practical ways to keep hands off your phone, including a motion alarm and an intruder photo.Read
- Check for stalkerwareSigns, manual checks in Android settings, what Alert24's scan can and cannot find, and how to remove stalkerware safely.Read
Prevent theft
- Pickpocket preventionHow phone pickpocketing works, where it happens, and twelve habits plus one alarm that make you a bad target.Read
- Charging in publicThe real risks of public charging, a charger removal alarm, your own cable, and trusted places so it stays quiet at home.Read
- Alarm vs Theft Detection LockTheft Detection Lock protects your data after a snatch; an alarm app fights the snatch itself. Set up both.Read
- Choosing a touch-alarm appEight criteria for a touch-alarm app, from PIN-only stop to privacy, and where Alert24 stands on each.Read
Set up and use Alert24
- Getting startedThe first-run walkthrough: language, permissions, lock, first alarm, trusted places and Remote Access.Read
- Permissions explainedEach permission Alert24 asks for, the feature that needs it, and what happens if you refuse.Read
- Battery and backgroundWhy the persistent notification exists, which features cost battery, and how to stop your phone killing the app.Read
- TroubleshootingFixes for alarms that do not ring, missing intruder photos, and remote commands that never arrive.Read
Set up Alert24 before you need it
The alarms, intruder photo and app lock are free. Remote ring and locate are part of Premium. Install it, set your PIN and arm your first alarm in about five minutes.