Lookout Mobile Security and T-Mobile have teamed up to make it easier to find your lost phone — by letting the device literally scream for help.
In the time since the two companies entered a partnership in 2011, T-Mobile Android devices have come preloaded with the Lookout Security & Antivirus app. Now, T-Mobile customers have access to a custom line-up of “Scream Tones” to help find a lost phone or tablet. Users can choose from six loud sounds including a wolf howl, train whistle, euro siren, a “beam me up” tone, the T-mobile jingle and Lookout’s original siren.
“We wanted to provide a fun and unique way for T-Mobile customers to locate their phones,” Alicia diVittorio, mobile safety advocate at Lookout, told Wired via email. “People have personalized ring tones, so it made perfect sense for us to extend the tone customization to the Scream alarm that a Lookout user sounds when trying to find their phone.”
If (or when) you lose your Android device, you can go to mylookout.com to locate it on a Google map. Then you can force your phone or tablet to play the blaring siren — Lookout’s website warns, “Caution: it’s very loud” — for 60 seconds or until you find it. Lookout hopes to roll out even more Scream Tones in the future, says diVittorio.
If you aren’t a T-Mobile customer but still want the benefits of Lookout Mobile Security, you can find the company’s Lookout Mobile Security and Lookout Labs apps available on Google Play.
Here are samples of Lookout’s train whistle and wolf howl Scream Tones — just imagine them playing much louder and longer.
