FMP -> Find My Phone!

App Showcase
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fmpIcon
fmpIcon512×512 101 KB

Overview

  • This app is a demonstration of what can be done with SMS and Location in the background

  • Why not just use Google's Find Hub ? My Pixel phone has GrapheneOS installed, instead of the normal "Googly" Android, meaning that there are no google services on board. This was one of the "must haves" on my list of replacement functionalities for a de-googled phone.

  • This app is designed to help you find your phone (from another phone) should you lose it or mislay it somewhere.

  • Once correctly set up, you can send an SMS to your lost phone with the message "fmp locate", and your lost phone will return an SMS with its coordinates and a map link.

Setup:

  • Permissions
    • all permissions for SMS and Location must be set for the app to work
      • Note: on some phones, you may need to "allow restricted settings" for the app to Allow SMS
  • Manage Numbers
    • the app will only accept SMS messages from a list of trusted numbers that you supply.
  • App
    • once you have permissions and numbers set, you must a) start the SMS Receiver, then b) send the app to the background

The app does nothing in the background until a valid SMS is received, at which point it activates the LocationService, using a fused provider if available, to then send an SMS back with the location. The app then closes the LocationService.

Built using MIT AppInventor Feb 2026

Screenshots

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Core Blocks

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All Blocks

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Example SMS received from app:
Lat/Lon: 54.12158,-3.32551 | OSMUrl: https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=54.12158&mlon=-3.32551&zoom=14

Credits

@Taifun
SMS Receiver extension (paid) - to receive and send SMS messages in the background
Location Service extension (paid) - to get device location in the background

@Kumaraswamy
iToo extension - for background services

@Patryk_F
Keyboard extension - show keyboard when textbox has focus (not touched)

@The_K_Studio
Flags/Codes json - to display and select international country phone codes

and a special thanks to @Taifun for all patience and support in getting everything to work together

Discoveries...

  • SMSReceiver
    • if wanting to compare phone numbers in a list with the phone number that sent the SMS, it is best for your listed phone numbers to be in international format with no spaces. Lots of head scratching on this one at first!
  • LocationService
    • this can be started and stopped in the background, which means you do not have to have it running all the time, chewing up battery power. Very clever!

FootNote:
Before you ask, I cannot provide an aia project given that there are paid extensions involved.

6 Likes
2

I know this is off topic but couldn't you just use automate by llamalab to receive a text from a number then like send its GPS coordinates?

EDIT: I guess if you want it exclusively as an app you could do that

3

Probably.

Looks like it can only be downloaded via Google Play Store. I do not have any Google Play Services on my phone. (Did you read the Overview ?)

The whole point was to make and show an app using AppInventor to do the job without any requirements for actions by external apps.

4

yeah, I use apks from various sources to get apps from play store but not play store, do you have Aurora store?

5

One of the first apps with app inventor, five years ago, was called "I am the coolest!". If my phone were stolen, it was supposed to entice the thief to launch this app. Once launched, it displayed an attractive picture frame with the front camera activated. When the thief pressed the shutter button, a picture of them in this frame was taken with the caption "I am the coolest ever!" Simultaneously, however, both their picture and their current coordinates were secretly sent to me via email.

1 Like
6

That's so funny, did you ever get a theif to open it?

7

No, because it was never been stolen😀 but i bet a dumb thief would have opened it

8

I have used FDroid on the desktop in the past (open source apps), but generally search about for apps that offer apk on github (open source again).