What kind of thing should I tag?

Obviously, it’s a good idea to tag any expensive gadgets, your bag, purse, wallet etc.

But what about the things that aren’t as valuable but would still cause you no end of havoc if you left them somewhere?

Here’s a list to get you thinking…

– your sports bag
– your tennis racket
– your watch (mini label / engrave back)
– your tools, especially if you need them for your trade
– other professional equipment
– college / university books and workbooks
– business equipment taken out of the workplace
– children’s favourite toys, bikes, etc.

…

It’s a long list. Basically the rule of thumb is:

If you’d hate to lose it, tag it!

How to Protect your Smartphone

Take a moment to imagine how losing your smartphone would affect your day.

First of all, it’s probably full of data, so unless you’re a prolific backer-upper, you’ve probably lost some messages, photos, contacts, game progress and more.

Then there’s the question of what to do now? Spend the day retracing your steps in the hope of finding the missing gadget? File a police report and claim your insurance? Is losing your phone even covered? (In many cases its not – might be a good idea to check now!)

Here’s a cheap and easy way to seriously boost your chances of getting your mobile back if the worst should happen.

Get WhosMyOwner for less than £20 per YEAR, then – as well as labelling everything else you care about – make a cute lock screen image with your tag clearly showing.  That makes you easy to contact, but keeps all you personal details private.

People are nice anyway, but who could resist helping you get your phone back when it’s labelled, and amusing too?

What if I change email or mobile providers?

If you label your valuables with your phone number, home address or email address, you’re left with the problem of replacing all those labels if you move home, switch email or mobile providers.   If you’ve permanently marked something, or already lost something and it hasn’t been reported yet, it’s even more complicated.

With a WhosMyOwner tag, your tag never changes – it stays the same for as long as you’re a member.   If you change mobile number, or email address, just log in and update your account, and you’ll still be notified if a tagged item is found.  You never have to change label details on your stuff, and finder reports can reach you whether it’s been a few minutes or a few years since you lost the item.

Simple is best, and this couldn’t be simpler.

What happens when someone finds something of mine?

They will see your label, visit our site and enter your tag in the “contact owner” form.

They use the form to enter a message, which we send to you instantly by SMS (you’ll have registered your mobile number when you signed up).

In case it’s your phone that’s gone missing, we send you a backup copy of the message as well.

The message might be simply “Found your wallet – it’s at Newtown Police Station”.   Or it might be “You left your Kindle at Starbucks.  It was handed in – come back in with this message and reclaim it.”

It’s up to you and the finder to arrange return of your item.  We strongly recommend that if you’re meeting someone to recover your item, you do so in a busy public place.  If in doubt, just ask them to drop it off at a Police station and let you know which one.  Or send them a reply-paid padded envelope.

Any rewards offered are entirely up to you to arrange.

If the finder has left us an email address, we’ll include a link to let you send a reply.   (If nothing else it’s only good manners to say Thanks!)  We won’t show you their email address or any other contact information, unless they also entered it in the message.

What kind of things can I protect?

Your WhosMyOwner Tag is yours for as long as you’re a WhosMyOwner member.

There are no costs other than your annual subscription, so feel free to use it on anything and everything you would hate to lose. And not just your  stuff – your whole family’s stuff too!

Our members are tagging the things they’re most likely to lose: mobile phones, spectacles, umbrellas, laptops, tablet computers, student notebooks, study textbooks, backpacks, children’s toys (often tossed from a stroller!)

You can even tag your pet: put your WhosMyOwner tag on a pet collar, and you’ll never need a “Have You Seen My Cat?” sign again.

Tag your favourite designer jacket, gloves, shoes, sports equipment.

Tag your children’s school uniforms, and anything else they take to school.  (Replacing just one blazer, tie, or other badged item during the school year will likely cost more than WhosMyOwner!)

If you have several school-age children, and use your WhosMyOwner tag on school clothing and equipment, you only have to label things once – you don’t have to update their Year / Class details on labels, or update them when items are handed down through the family.

To tag clothing, you can buy custom inexpensive iron-on or sew-on labels online, or for speed just write your WhosMyOwner tag on garment labels using a laundry marker.

What’s a Tag?

When you join WhosMyOwner, you get a unique, personal “tag”, which is a short sequence of letters and digits, like “AP14X”.

You keep the same tag for as long as you’re a member.  Its purpose is to let anyone who wants to get a message to you (to return something you’ve lost) do so without knowing your name, or any personal details.

Unlike key replacement services, we don’t provide you with physical tags – just these characters.  You can use your tag on printed or hand-written labels, get it engraved on your tablet or your dog’s collar.  You can use it on as many different items as you like.

To get a message to you, all someone needs is your tag.  We keep everything else private – your name, email address and phone number are securely held by us, and not shared with anyone else.