Tablif TownWhy the usual way fails
A locked phone doesn't show you whether it was picked up while you were away. Home-made tricks, like noting the exact angle or lining the phone up with the edge of the table, are fiddly and easy to misread. Pointing a camera at your own desk is a lot of setup for a short absence, and it records far more than you need. What you actually want is small: a note of whether the phone moved, and when.
How MotionGuard helps
When you arm MotionGuard before you leave, it watches for movement during that session and can sound a local alarm if the phone is moved. Afterwards, the trigger history shows when the phone was armed, what triggered the alarm, the sensitivity you chose, coarse movement evidence, the charger state and when you disarmed it. That history stays on the phone and can be cleared in the app, and continuous raw accelerometer traces are not kept. If you have Pro and a paired Wear OS watch, a trigger can also send an alert to your wrist when the connection allows, so you may hear about it before you are back.
“Review when the phone was armed, what triggered the alarm, selected sensitivity, coarse movement evidence, charger state, and disarm time.”
“Detailed history stays on the device and can be cleared in the app.”
Step by step
- Before you leave, put the phone where you want it and run the sensitivity test if the surface is new to you.
- Pick a settle delay, tap Arm and let the phone settle.
- Go. If someone moves the phone, the alarm sounds on it.
- When you are back, disarm from the app or the ongoing notification.
- Open the trigger history to see whether anything set it off while you were out, and at what time.
- Clear the history in the app once you no longer need the record.
Tips
- Arm it every time you leave the phone, even on days when nothing feels off. The history covers armed sessions, so a session you didn't arm is a gap in the record.
- Read the record for what it is. It tells you that a trigger happened and when, with coarse movement evidence. It has no camera or microphone access, so it can't tell you who moved the phone.
- Leave the phone on the charger if you also want to know about the cable. With Pro, a pulled charger is a trigger of its own, and the charger state is part of each history entry.
- Rule out the dull explanations. Housekeeping tidying a nightstand counts as movement, and so does a desk someone bumps into. If small knocks keep setting it off, run the sensitivity test again, or try the Low preset if you have Pro.
Questions
Where is the trigger history kept?
On the phone. Detailed history stays on the device, and you can clear it in the app.
Source: play.google.comCan it show who moved my phone?
No. It records when a trigger happened and what caused it, but it doesn't use the camera or microphone and doesn't track the device.
Source: play.google.comWill I get an alert on my watch?
With Pro, a paired Wear OS watch and watch notifications on, it can send a wrist alert after a trigger. Delivery depends on the connection.
Source: play.google.com