Today's Deep-Dive: FindMyDeviceServer

All right, everyone, welcome back for another deep dive with us today.

We're looking into something pretty interesting, I think.

Yeah, this should be fun, especially for those of you who like to tinker and, um,

you know, like to know what's coming on with their tech. Absolutely.

We've got a great deep dive today, all about find my device.

Ooh, that's a good one.

It is. And a big shout out to safe server for supporting this episode.

They're great. Yeah, they are actually, they can even help you, uh,

host this software yourself if you want. Oh, wow. Yeah, it's pretty cool.

So if you want to find out more about that, you can go to www.safe server.de.

I'll have to check that out. Yeah. So find my device.

It's this open source project, right? Okay.

And essentially it aims to give you more control over your devices,

especially when it comes to like finding them,

if they get lost or, or managing them remotely.

Yeah, that's a big concern for a lot of people these days. It really is.

I mean, we've all been there, right? Oh yeah, absolutely.

Misplaced our phone or, uh, maybe even had a device stolen.

That's a horrible thing. It is. And you know,

we we tend to rely on those like default find my device features that come with

our phones, right? Right. Yeah. From Google or Apple or whoever.

You just kind of assume that's, that's what you got to use. Exactly.

But find my device. This is, this is kind of shaking things up a bit, right?

It's it's offering a different approach. Yeah.

And so we dug into their GitLab page and it looks like there's two main parts to

this. Okay. There's the find my device, Android app,

and then there's this whole other component, the find my device server.

Interesting. So you need both. Well, we'll, we'll get into that, but yeah,

it seems like they work together. Okay, cool. But before we get too far,

I think it's important to really highlight what find my device is all about and

why it's, you know, why it's catching people's attention. All right.

Lay it on me. So in a nutshell,

it's all about taking control of your data and your device security. Okay.

So that's where the, the open source part comes in. Yeah, exactly.

We'll talk more about that in a bit, but it's basically offering an alternative

to those big tech solutions that, you know, we sometimes just blindly trust.

Yeah. You don't always know where your data is going, do you? Exactly.

And that can be a little unnerving, right? Sure. So with find my device,

you have more transparency, you know, what's happening with your information.

So it's kind of like empowering the user to take control of their own privacy.

Precisely. I like that. Yeah. And it seems like they've really thought about,

you know, making it accessible to different types of users. Oh, how so?

So for example,

you can actually connect to your device and manage it in a few different ways.

Interesting. You can use SMS, good old fashioned text messaging. Oh wow.

Keeping it simple. Exactly. And then you can also use instant messengers,

if you prefer. Okay. Or if you're a bit more tech savvy,

you can use their web interface, which I'm guessing gives you more,

more options and features. Right, right.

So there's a range of options depending on, on your comfort level. Absolutely.

So whether you're a tech whiz or just starting out,

there's a way for you to use find my device. That's right.

It makes it accessible for everybody. Yeah.

So no matter which method you choose,

the core function is the same to locate your device and you know,

potentially control it remotely if needed. Right, right. So if you lose your phone,

you can, you can track it down, maybe lock it down.

So nobody can access your data. Exactly. And you know,

wipe the data if you think it's, it's really gone for good. Oh, that's important.

Yeah, it is. It's a great way to protect your sensitive information. Definitely.

Now let's dive into this open source aspect a little more. Right. Yeah.

I'm curious about that because this is really a key differentiator for find my

device. What does it mean in practice for,

for someone using this software?

So open source essentially means that the code,

the actual instructions that make the software run are publicly available.

So anyone can can see it. Yep. Anyone can look at it, examine it,

even modify it if they have the skills. Oh wow. That's pretty transparent.

It is. And that's a big part of the appeal, right? Yeah.

So you're not just trusting a company blindly.

You can actually see what's going on behind the scenes. Exactly.

And it also means that there's a whole community of developers who can contribute

to the project. Oh, so it's constantly being improved and, and updated.

That's the idea. Yeah.

It's like a collaborative effort to make the software as secure and as feature

rich as possible. That's pretty cool. I like that community aspect. Yeah.

And that transparency also has security implications. So, well,

because the code is open for anyone to see,

it means more people can scrutinize it, look for vulnerabilities and report them.

Right. So it's like having a whole army of security experts looking out for you

in a way. Yeah.

And that can be a lot more effective than just relying on one company's internal

security team. Makes sense. So it's like a crowd sourced approach to security,

which can be really powerful. Yeah. I can see the appeal there.

Yeah. We've talked a lot about the app, but what about this find my device server?

Right. That sounds, that sounds interesting.

It is. And it might seem a little daunting at first,

but it's actually pretty cool. So what, what is it exactly?

So the server is essentially the brains of the operation. Right.

It's the central hub that allows the app on your phone to communicate with the

device you're trying to find or control. Okay. So it's like the, the middle man.

Yeah. You could think of it that way.

It sits there listening for commands from your phone and then relays those

commands to your target device.

So like if you're trying to track the location of your, your lost tablet,

exactly. You open the app on your phone, tell it to find your tablet.

That command goes to the server and the server tells the tablet to report its

location. Ah, I see.

So the server is what makes all those remote control features possible.

Precisely. Things like tracking the device location, locking it down,

wiping the data, all those commands go through the server.

So you need the server for those features to work. Yeah.

It's an essential component. Okay. So, so how does this server work? Like,

where is it? Well, that's where things get even more interesting. Oh,

tell me more. You can actually host the server yourself. Wait, what?

Like on my own computer? Exactly.

You can set it up on a computer in your home or you can rent server space from a

provider. Wow.

So it's like having your own little find my device command center right there in

your house. That's the idea.

And that gives you complete control over your data. Right.

So instead of sending your data to Google or Apple or whoever,

it stays within your own network. Exactly. Nobody else has access to it.

It's all under your control.

That's pretty appealing from a privacy standpoint. It is.

And for a lot of people, that's a major selling point. Yeah. I can see why.

Of course. Setting up a server does require some technical know-how. Yeah.

That might be a bit daunting for some people. It can be,

but there are tons of resources available online to help you. Oh, good.

There are guides, tutorials, even communities of people who can offer support.

Okay. So it's not, not totally out of reach for someone who's,

who's not a tech expert. No, not at all. And, you know,

it's a great way to learn more about how servers work and gain some valuable

skills.

And potentially have a lot more control over your, your data and your privacy.

Exactly. So this whole find my device project,

it really seems to offer a different way of thinking about device management.

It does.

And it really taps into that growing desire for more

transparency and control over our digital lives. Yeah.

People are becoming a lot more aware of these issues. They are.

And I think solutions like find my device are going to become increasingly

popular. Yeah.

It'll be interesting to see where this goes in the future. Absolutely.

You know, it makes you wonder,

could open source solutions like this become the new standard?

It's a possibility for sure. I mean, the benefits are pretty compelling.

They are.

So if you're intrigued by this and you want to learn more or even try setting up

your own find my device server, I highly recommend checking out save server.

They can help with that.

Yeah. They're experts in digital transformation and they even offer hosting

solutions so they can help you get your server up and running. Oh wow. That's,

that's fantastic. It is.

And you can find out more about them at www dot safe server dot de.

All right. I'll make a note of that. Yeah. And to all of you listening,

thanks for joining us on this deep dive and to find my device. You know,

it's an exciting project and it's definitely worth exploring further.

If you're looking for a more private and user centric way to manage your

keep exploring and stay curious. See ya. Tarta.

keep exploring and stay curious. See ya. Tarta.