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TrackMyPhone - iOS4 location monitoring app
- Thread starter fishkorp
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Seems like Apple doesn't care about junk apps like fake "cell phone trackers" going through by the dozens, but legitimate apps like yours get nitpicked over. What could they possibly not like about the way you were using the camera? Don't you just turn it on, snap a pic and send it? I don't understand why there'd be an issue over that.
It was my implementation. I was trying to take stealth pictures with the front camera with no user interaction.
I'm definitely stoked about this app. Especially the update. Hopefully you can get the snapshot functionality through their approval process. That's one of the cooler features in my opinion. I don't think I'm alone in looking for a cheaper alternative to MobileMe.
Would they allow stealth images to be taken if there was a disclaimer that said entering the wrong code would take a picture? I'm sure there is some sort of loophole to allow for an image to be taken without the user's permission.
So you want to explicitly warn people that the app is going to take stealth pictures?
fwiw, I'm looking forward to this app too. I have no interest in MobileMe whatsoever beyond it's iPhone locating feature.
The developer had posted the following:
Then posted this:
The point of the stealth images is to take a picture if the incorrect password is entered (then it can email you the picture of who entered the wrong password). This would be great if the phone was stolen, and you needed proof of who took it.
Sadly, this caused his app to get rejected because Apple doesn't like that it's taking pictures without the permission of the app owner. That is why I asked if the developer would be allowed to if a disclaimer was first shown when opening the app (for the first time), saying that entering an incorrect password would would take a photo and email it to them. (This could be a toggled setting, perhaps?)
Long story short, I suggested it to explicitly warn the owner of the phone of that it can take stealth images of someone who enters the wrong password (not necessarily the same person, especially if the phone is stolen).
Agreed. I bought MobileMe for the web hosting. Once I discovered I could do better with RapidWeaver & real web hosting, I stopped using iWeb and MobileMe hosting. The only thing I use is Find My iPhone and Mail. I'll be cancelling my subscription before the next billing cycle; too expensive for the little uses I get out of it.
Version 1.1 is now available and I posted 20 more codes in the code forum. The current picture implementation pops up the camera, snaps the picture, then goes away. Not 100% stealth, but gets the job done. It'll continue processing and uploading in the background if the person quits the app after the picture is taken. We'll see how far I can push it in a future update.
Please send any suggestions to support@trackmyphoneapp.com, as I don't get to check this thread as often as I'd like. Thanks.
Please send any suggestions to support@trackmyphoneapp.com, as I don't get to check this thread as often as I'd like. Thanks.
I'm very impressed with this app. It's helping me cancel my MobileMe membership this month, as I finally have a cheap alternative to Apple's Fine My iPhone feature.
The battery life is amazing. This app doesn't eat through my battery at all, yet it still monitors my location. It's great as I can access where my phone is via a web browser, as well as send a message to my phone. It's obviously not as good as Apple's, but for the very affordable price, I'm willing to lose some of the functionality.
For the small price of $3.99, it's worth it. At least now I know that I'll always have a way to track my phone (without needing a subscription to a service).
It differs slightly, but they are essentially the same idea. Each has a few features the other doesn't, but they both seem to offer the same essential things.
You can currently send a message. Sounds coming in next update (not sure how I overlooked that initially).
Account bridging (aka "family tracking") is also currently in beta testing. As well as 1 or 2 more features.