Choosing an anti-theft app for Android in Kenya

Most apps in this category do one of three things. Knowing which you are buying saves disappointment at the worst possible moment.

Finders

Google Find Hub and the manufacturer equivalents. Free, worth switching on, and dependent on the phone being powered and online. Strong for a phone left behind; weak against a deliberate theft.

Alarms

Apps that scream when the phone is moved or unplugged. Useful in a hostel or an office; useless on a street where the noise is irrelevant once the thief is running.

Evidence capture

Apps that photograph and record at the moment of the attempt. This is the category that produces something the police can act on, because it identifies a person rather than a place.

What to check before you pay

Does it work with no internet? Does it survive your handset’s battery killer? Does it email the evidence off the device, or only store it on the phone that was just stolen? Is it a subscription? Guard Eye is a one-off KES 999 for Android. No subscription.

More guides

What to do when your phone is stolen in Kenya How to find your IMEI number (and why to write it down now)How to catch whoever is unlocking your phone Phone snatching: how protection actually works Why Google Find Hub often will not find your phone Buying a second-hand phone in Kenya without buying a stolen one Protecting M-Pesa and your bank if your phone is taken How to block a stolen phone by IMEI in Kenya Is your phone genuine? Checking a handset in Kenya Phone specs that actually matter (and the ones that do not)

Setting it up on your phone

Anti-theft for Samsung Anti-theft for Tecno Anti-theft for Infinix Anti-theft for itel Anti-theft for Xiaomi / Redmi Anti-theft for OPPO Anti-theft for realme Anti-theft for vivo Anti-theft for Huawei Anti-theft for Nokia Anti-theft for OnePlus

Common questions

Do I need a paid app if Find Hub is free?

If your worry is leaving the phone in a matatu, no. If your worry is it being taken from your hand, Find Hub cannot tell you who took it.

Does an anti-theft app drain the battery?

A well-behaved one is event-driven rather than polling, so the cost is small. The bigger practical problem is the opposite: the handset killing the app to save battery.

Guard Eye is an Android app made in Kenya. Procedures on this page follow the national process — police OB number, IMEI, operator SIM block — and the details operators ask for do change, so confirm with yours. Back to Guard Eye