Losing your smartphone can happen to the best of us. Sometimes it’s hiding in our cars, our homes, or in the deepest, darkest cavities of our sofas. Luckily, Google and Apple have developed ways to help keep those misplaced phones in their proper place.

The next time you lose your phone, check out these apps to help you find it. Sometimes finding your phone is just a click away.

Android

The latest version of the Google app allows you to find your lost phone from your desktop.

1)      Make sure you’re logged into the same Google account on your PC and your phone. This will only work if you’re using the latest version of the Google app, which can be downloaded here.

2)      Type the phrase “find my phone” into Google’s search engine on your PC. Google will display a map that will eventually indicate the location of your phone.

3)      From here, you can tell Google to ring your phone for you if it’s nearby, lock your phone, or erase its data.  

iPhone

If you haven’t downloaded or heard of it already, check out the Find My iPhone app by clicking here. Using your iCloud account, you can track your iPhone’s location, ring your phone, lock it, or erase its data.  

1)      Make sure you’re logged into the same iCloud account on your PC and your phone. You can check your iCloud settings on your iPhone by going to Settings > iCloud.

2)      Find your iPhone via your iCloud account by clicking here.

3)      After a few moments, a map will indicate where your phone is currently located and let you ring your phone, lock it, or erase its data.

Note: Your GPS on your smartphone must be turned on.

To turn on your GPS, follow these steps. 

Android: Settings > Location > Switch "Location" on

iPhone: Settings > Privacy > Turn "Location Services" on

These same steps also work for Android tablets and the iPad as well. Now when your smartphone goes incognito, you’ll be better prepared to track it down.