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

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

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

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

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

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Ooh, that's a good one.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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especially when it comes to like finding them,

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if they get lost or, or managing them remotely.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Lay it on me. So in a nutshell,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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So for example,

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

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

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

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

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

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more options and features. Right, right.

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

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

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

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It makes it accessible for everybody. Yeah.

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So no matter which method you choose,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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device. What does it mean in practice for,

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for someone using this software?

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So open source essentially means that the code,

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

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

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

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

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So you're not just trusting a company blindly.

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

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

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

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That's the idea. Yeah.

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

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

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

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because the code is open for anyone to see,

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

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

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in a way. Yeah.

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

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

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

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

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Right. That sounds, that sounds interesting.

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

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

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

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

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

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Yeah. You could think of it that way.

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

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commands to your target device.

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

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

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

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location. Ah, I see.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Like on my own computer? Exactly.

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

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provider. Wow.

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

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your house. That's the idea.

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

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

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

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It's all under your control.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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skills.

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

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Exactly. So this whole find my device project,

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

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It does.

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And it really taps into that growing desire for more

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transparency and control over our digital lives. Yeah.

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

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

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popular. Yeah.

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

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You know, it makes you wonder,

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could open source solutions like this become the new standard?

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

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They are.

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

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

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They can help with that.

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

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

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that's fantastic. It is.

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

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

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

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

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

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devices. It's been a fascinating discussion. It have. And until next time,

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keep exploring and stay curious. See ya. Tarta.