Categories: Mobile

Lookout Mobile Security for iPhone: An alternative to iOS5’s iCloud?

Apple products have a hard earned reputation for being secure so if you have an iPhone you might think that you don’t need a security app.  But you might want to consider having a look at Lookout.

Credit: Lookout

Android users will be (or should be) familiar with Lookout, the company’s eponymous app is one of the highest rated security apps for the operating system with 4.5 stars from 244,000 votes and has been downloaded over 12 million times.  Lookout is a freemium service which offers a decent set of services for free with additional features for a price.

So, if you don’t want to update to iOS5 (We’re looking you jailbreakers) then Lookout’s free iPhone app could be for you.

Lookout operates as a cross-platform iCloud-type system which can be managed between a standalone app, which monitors your smartphone’s settings and a web app which allows you to operate some of your phone’s settings remotely.

On the software side Lookout will inform you if your iPhone’s firmware/software is up to date or even jailbroken.  It will also warn about unsecured wireless networks your phone may be trying to access. With the app iPhone users can backup their data to the Lookout website, the company reports that about over 33% of iPhone users don’t regularly sync their phone with their computers.  These backups can then be downloaded onto other smartphones and tablets (and not just iOS devices, unlike Apple’s iCloud).

The app’s security features are not just preventative; if your iPhone is lost or stolen the app’s website can locate it, using Google Maps, to within a few meters of its location.  The site can also set off an ear-piercing ‘scream’, even when the device is on silent, which is handy if you have lost your iPhone and annoying if you have stolen it.

For those whose phones have been stolen or completely lost (i.e. not just down the back of the sofa) Lookout allows you to operate the device remotely.

We’re big fans of Lookout and while we haven’t yet needed to use the phone location features in an emergency the app’s backup and system monitoring services make it worth downloading alone.

If you operate multiple smartphones or tablet devices Lookout can form the perfect bridge between these; or if you can’t or don’t want to update to iOS5 Lookout can give you many of the same features without the hassle.  Where the app falls down is its space, Android users alone are limited to 1.5GB for free accounts.

Ajit Jain

Ajit Jain is marketing and sales head at Octal Info Solution, a leading iPhone app development company and offering platform to hire Android app developers for your own app development project. He is available to connect on Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

View Comments

Recent Posts

This AI Copilot Doesn’t Wait for Prompts — It Thinks Like a Hacker

Hey HackerNoon, it’s Kuwguap again. A while back, I wrote about building RAWPA, my AI…

3 days ago

How Humanity Engineered Thought: From Ancient Fire Circles to ChatGPT

Delivering truth was never about facts. Throughout history, from traditions to search engines and now…

3 days ago

People who grow up around robots may develop feelings for them, lose ability to socialize: WEF ‘Summer Davos’

Will we merge ourselves so intimately with technology that it becomes so much a part…

4 days ago

City of Seville welcomes the return of Techstars Startup Weekend

Techstars Startup Weekend Seville has announced that it will celebrate its 29th edition this June…

5 days ago

Meet agentic AI: Your AI agent just leveled up to teammate (Brains Byte Back Podcast)

You’ve probably been coming across the term “agentic AI” a lot more recently, and in…

6 days ago