BlackBerry Protect App Now Widely Available

The beta version of the new BlackBerry Protect application is now in wide release, providing BlackBerry phone users with a way to protect their data and keep track of their hardware.

The BlackBerry Protect app helps safeguard devices in a variety of ways. The primary one is its ability to locate missing phones using GPS and cell tower triangulation. Users can then log-in online to see the current location of their phone.

There are also options to remotely initiate an extra-loud ring, which will go off even if a phone is in silent mode, lock the phone and set a password, and display a custom home screen message, providing return instructions to Samaritans who might find the device.

Aside from tools to locate missing phones, BlackBerry Protect offers a number of other useful mechanisms for ensuring the safety of devices and information. There is a tool for securely wiping all data from both phone and SD card for truly dire situations. The app will also periodically wirelessly backup contacts, calendar appointments, memos, tasks, browser bookmarks, and text messages for users.

The BlackBerry Protect app is currently available in the BlackBerry App World, free of charge. North American and many Latin American users currently have access to the app, and developers promise coverage in more countries over the next two months.

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