Lookout Security & Antivirus, a world leader in mobile security, has updated its app for Android by integrating a new feature that takes a photo of an individual who has “been snooping in or has stolen your phone” and then sends the phone-owner an email.
The new feature, called Lock Cam, alerts the owner of a smartphone as to who stole the phone or who has been prying into his device.
The feature, which works in Android devices, makes use of the front-facing camera to snap a photo of the perpetrator who tries to break into a tablet or smartphone.
If the culprit tries unsuccessfully to crack the smart device’s password three times, a photo is taken and the image emailed to the owner of the device along with other information such as the GPS location of where the gadget is currently located.
Lock Cam also provides the user with the ability to log into the Lookout website and view the device’s location history.
“You can then use this information to take steps to further protect your device, like changing or strengthening your password,” Lookout Security & Antivirus said in a blog post, further commenting that people lose a phone “on average once per year and many don’t get it back”.
An Android 2.3 or higher is required to use the updated app. The Android lock screen must also be engaged and the device has to also possess a front-facing camera hardware.
Additional features such as an ability to lock the phone remotely and to add a customised message to notify anyone finding a lost phone how to return it to its rightful owner are also available to users who opt into the Premium version of the app.
Lookout Security & Antivirus made the updated app available last week.
