Yougetitback.com Launches in North America; Offers Protection for Lost or Stolen Phones, Laptops

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Yougetitback.com today announced the North American debut of its service to help protect, recover and replace mobile devices from theft and loss.

Yougetitback protects and helps recover mobile devices—such as phones, PDAs, cameras, iPods and laptops—while preserving the sensitive information they may contain. The company’s premium service will even replace the device, if it is not recovered.

“People carry a great deal of sensitive data in their mobile phones, PDAs and laptops, such as contacts, credit card numbers, banking details and sensitive business information—not to mention personal mementos like photos of their loved ones,” said Yougetitback.com CEO Frank Hannigan.

“Most people may not give a second thought to the valuable personal information stored in their devices—until they are misplaced, lost or stolen,” he said. “Our service assures that all is not lost in such cases. If their devices go missing, we provide people peace of mind.”

“Think about it: On top of the hassle and cost of replacing your valuables, there’s a personal price to pay,” Hannigan said. “All those contacts in your cell phone. Hours of music on your iPod. Memories in your digital camera. Your whole working life in your laptop or PDA.”

According to industry reports, the number of mobile phones lost each day—in airports, on public transport, at the checkout counter or even from the roof of a moving car—is staggering. (One report called taxis a “black hole” for lost cell phones and PDAs.) Millions of cell phones are lost, misplaced or stolen each year.

Based on its experience, Hannigan said Yougetitback estimates 75 percent of lost or stolen devices registered and tagged with the company’s labels are returned to their owners.

He attributes this high level of success to the ease with which people who find lost items covered by Yougetitback can return them to their rightful owners. Many people who want to return a found item are stymied by their inability to identify the owner. Without revealing anyone’s identity, Yougetitback helps the finder get the item safely back into the right hands.

“Industry research indicates that most people want to do the right thing,” Hannigan said. “And if you make it easy and risk-free for them, as Yougetitback does, they are more than happy to see that a found item is reunited with its owner.”

Other services deal with only parts of the problem, such as lost-and-found, data backups and encryption services, Hannigan continued. But Yougetitback’s patent-pending “Mobile Superhero” is the first truly 360-degree service that addresses and covers the problem comprehensively through its three-step approach: protect recover and replace.

Here’s how Mobile Superhero works for a mobile phone:

Yougetitback software is preloaded or downloaded to the user’s mobile phone; the user creates an account at Yougetitback.com.

If a protected mobile phone is lost or stolen, the user logs into his or her Yougetitback.com account and remotely locks the phone by simply clicking a button. Within seconds, the mobile phone is locked. Now the only thing a finder can do with the device is call the Yougetitback service to report finding the phone.

The finder is prevented from seeing any of the e-mails, contact details, text messages, photos or other personal information like credit card numbers stored on the phone. The finder is also unable to access any of the mobile commerce applications on the phone like mobile banking or mobile payments. No outgoing call can be made from the phone except to the Yougetitback service.

The owner can retrieve contacts from the lost phone remotely by simply clicking another button on the Web site.

Finders can contact Yougetitback by using the found phone to call Yougetitback or going online to www.yougetitback.com and clicking on “I found something.” Yougetitback will then facilitate getting the phone back to its owner, making it extremely easy for the finder to do the right thing. If owners need to replace their lost or stolen phones, their contacts can be restored remotely from the Superhero vault.

Device owners can also purchase adhesive security tags at the Yougetitback Web site for each device to be protected. The tags include a unique number for each device, along with a toll-free phone number and a link to a Web site through which a find can be reported. Protection lasts three years.

Consumers can purchase the software for $20 per year. A current online promotion offers a one-month free trial. Tags can also be purchased separately for $10 for three-year protection.

Yougetitback.com also offers a premium service that provides a full replacement of the device if the software and tag are not successful.

Details on covered devices are available at Yougetitback.com. Phones covered include BlackBerry operating system 4.2 and above, Symbian operating system S60 2^nd and 3^rd editions. A version of Mobile Superhero is currently being developed for the Apple iPhone.

Yougetitback offers a similar service for laptops called “Laptop Superhero,” which can be preloaded on laptops or downloaded from Yougetitback.com. The service initially is available for Windows XP and soon for Windows Vista.

While Yougetitback offers its services directly to consumers through its Web site, the company also provides programs for organizations and businesses that want protection for the assets of their employees, members and customers.

About Yougetitback

Yougetitback.com offers the first comprehensive approach to mobile device security, recovery and replacement. The service protects private and sensitive information on mobile phones, PDAs, laptops and other devices that have been misplaced, lost or stolen. Unique identification numbers are assigned to devices for three years. The owner can use the ID to have a missing device locked down to keep personal data away from prying eyes. A device finder can use the information on the tag to report the find and to arrange to have the device returned. Yougetitback offers a premium service that replaces the device if it is not recovered.