AppleInsider Staff
A new feature added to iCloud's Find My iPhone in iOS 8 passes along an iPhone or iPad's geolocation data to Apple just before its battery completely dies, boosting the chances of finding the device.
Appropriately called "Send Last Location," the new capability will automatically send an iOS device's last known location to Apple when its battery drains to a predetermined point, giving owners one last chance to find it before it disappears from the grid.
At this stage, the threshold at which location data is sent and stored is unknown, but the current iCloud standard is to log a device's last known location for 24 hours. The extra time could be vital in finding a stolen iPhone or iPad.
Existing protection assets already allow users to track, send messages to, lock and wipe a lost or stolen device via iCloud. These features can be thwarted to some extent by turning the iPhone off and isolating it from a data connection, but a thief must break a user's passcode to gain functional access to the device.
It is unknown how the "Send Last Location" system will work when iOS 8 is released this fall, though it can be speculated that Apple will store a device's last known whereabouts and possibly make that information available to the user through the Find My iPhone tool. While the feature's toggle switch can be activated in the iOS 8 beta, the corresponding service may not yet be up and running.
Andrew Orr
Amber Neely
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
28 Comments
Any word on a "Passcode Required to Power Off" setting?
When I steal someone's iPhone, the first thing I do is power it down. With this feature, my business would be crippled.
Regards,
iPhone Thief*
*I am joking about being an iPhone Thief.
[quote name="macinthe408" url="/t/180453/ios-8-ups-chances-of-recovering-lost-or-stolen-iphone-with-send-last-location-feature#post_2545360"]Any word on a "Passcode Required to Power Off" setting? When I steal someone's iPhone, the first thing I do is power it down. With this feature, my business would be crippled. Regards, iPhone Thief* [SIZE=8px]*I am joking about being an iPhone Thief. [/SIZE] [/quote] Touch ID would be good for this Slide to power off or inserting a SIM removal tool could also be used as a trigger to fire off a location .
[quote name="macinthe408" url="/t/180453/ios-8-ups-chances-of-recovering-lost-or-stolen-iphone-with-send-last-location-feature#post_2545360"]Any word on a "Passcode Required to Power Off" setting? [/quote] http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphone.html
Anyword of having it take a picture of the thief? Tracking its location is nice but when you can just give a photo to the police its makes the process SO much easier.
This would be great for being turned off at all, turn iPhone off is first thought of a stolen device as well maybe passcode feature as well.