BlackBerry Protect: is RIM setting themselves up for failure

A few nights ago I was online at the user web site my.blackberry.com where I was desperately trying to explain to a user (I’ll call him “John”) that his stolen BlackBerry would not be located by the police, or his local phone company, or RIM.  He insisted that one of these groups “should” locate it via the GPS system, and render it useless via the IMEI number or PIN, and not just wipe it of data, and not just disable the SIM card.  He said that if RIM cared about its customers, they would find a way to render a stolen BlackBerry useless, thereby deterring the theft in the first place.  He was so mad that somebody out there stole his phone, and can now walk into any GSM wireless phone store and activate it.  I really couldn’t argue with him.  I’m telling you this to provide some context and background to this announcement about the release of “BlackBerry Protect”.

Earlier today, RIM announced an open beta of BlackBerry Protect for North America.  According to unnamed sources as reported by N4BB.com, BlackBerry Protect will be rolled out by the following schedule:

• Asia Pacific: March 19^th, 2011
• Europe: April 1^st, 2011
• USA: April 16^th, 2011
• Canada/Latin America: May 7^th, 2011

I received an email earlier this week from the BlackBerry marketing machine that was a tease about Protect’s upcoming release.  In the article, I”m going to explore what this really means, what end-users will get, and what they won’t get, as well as whether or not other products might do the same thing better (or just as good).

According to RIM:

“BlackBerry Protect allows you to do the following from any “Internet-enabled computer:

• Lock your smartphone to protect its contents
• Track the location of your smartphone
• Back up your data (contacts, calendar, etc.)
• Erase all data from your smartphone
• Activate a loud ring tone so you can find your smartphone
• Display a message on your Home screen”

It all sounds great doesn’t it.  What’s the one feature that sticks out above the rest?  If you’re like most people, it’s “Track the location of your Smartphone”.

There are two caviats for all of these features:

1. BlackBerry Protect will not function if a user is active on BlackBerry® Enterprise Server and/or BlackBerry® Enterprise Server Express.  (See image at the top of this post – it’s a screen shot of the actual error message when I tried to install it on my BES-connected device, just to be sure.)
2. In order to use BlackBerry Protect functionality to find and/or protect data on your BlackBerry smartphone, you must have downloaded BlackBerry Protect prior to losing your smartphone.

So what does all of this mean to you?  First, if you are a BES (corporate) customer, you can’t use BlackBerry Protect.  I’m not exactly sure why.  Yes, BES-connected BlackBerries can be controlled remotely to a certain degree.  As a BlackBerry Enterprise Admin, I can remotely wipe a device of all data, and I can change what the Home Screen lock message says (e.g. “If found, please call….”).  But from the list of Protect’s features, that’s it.  If I heard news that BES Admins would have access to all of these features on the BES server in an upcoming BES update, I wouldn’t mind.  But I sure would like to be able to locate a user’s lost BlackBerry.

Here’s where we get to “other” products.  There are a few free apps available on App World that will accomplish some of these tasks.  I’ve tried “GPS Tracker”, which I wasn’t too thrilled with and used up a lot of resources, in my opinion.  The other one, however, I do like.  It’s called “Lookout Mobile Security”.  It’s a three part system.  Automatic remote backup, anti-virus, and device location.  Once installed it does all three, but what I really like is that it gives you the options to turn off what you don’t want or need.  Again, on a BES, I don’t need to use automatic backup, and to be honest, viruses aren’t really a problem on a BlackBerry (not yet anyway).  So I can turn those features off and just use the “locator” function.  For Personal BlackBerry users, you can use all three functions if you want.

How does “My Lookout” work?  You create a “My Lookout” account either on the web site or from you device.  Once you log in with that account on your device, it will always run in the background.  And Lookout doesn’t seem to use up much in resources.

From the perspective of your average personal BlackBerry owner, BlackBerry protect may be a good thing.  If you left your BlackBerry at the office, you can log on from home and remotely lock it.  You can set it up to remotely and automatically back up your personal data (keep in mind they say Contact, Calendar, Text Messages, etc. – PROTECT DOES NOT BACK UP MESSAGES other than SMS messages, so NO EMAIL MESSAGE BACKUP).  You can activate a loud ring if you misplace your BlackBerry in your house or under your car seat, and you can erase all of your data remotely, although I’m not sure why you would want to do that unless it has truly been stolen.  Ad if it were stolen, your carrier can do a remote data wipe for you.

Which brings me full circle.  The most dynamic part of any “protection” software for a BlackBerry is its ability to help you find your device if  lost or stolen.  Sure we like the idea of remote backup and sending out a screeching noise because we dropped it the laundry pile and can’t find it.  But what if your BlackBerry is really stolen.

The thought of it brings to light the reality of it.  “John” was right.  I called my AT&T Mobility business account manager.  I also called the regular customer service line that any AT&T customer can call.  Upon receiving a report of a lost or stolen BlackBerry (or iPhone, or any other device), AT&T can and will render the SIM card useless, and they may send out a remote wipe command, and that’s it.  From what I have read and heard, other carriers do the exact same thing.

If the phone is “unlocked”, the thief can walk into any GSM wireless provider and purchase service for it.  If unlocked, the perpetrator can purchase a SIM card at an airport gift shop, or anywhere else that sells “pay for use” SIM cards.  And if the phone is LOCKED, then the thief is limited to buying a SIM card from the original carrier.  And they can do that over the phone and never have to walk into a store.  The reason thieves can do this is because neither the PIN nor IMEI number is BLACKLISTED when the phone is reported as stolen.   And the “locator” functionality will not be used by the police, the mobile phone providers, or RIM to help you get your stolen phone back.  I’m not saying they CAN’T.  I’m saying they WON”T.

Why?  Some say it’s all about money.  If nothing is done to recover a stolen smart phone, the victim will buy a new phone, possibly under warranty to defray part of the cost.  If the victim was under contract, that contract remains intact.  So the victim either pays full price for a new phone and stays with their original contract, or may get a discount if they have insurance on the phone.  Either way the MUST fulfill their contract and continue to pay the monthly fees  (or the termination fee).  The carrier may offer the victim a reduced-priced phone with an additional 2 or 3 year contract if they are not close to renewal time.  Financially, the possibilities are endless and they all spell “nightmare”.

From RIM’s perspective, and from the mobile carrier’s perspective, they both make money.  They could quite literally end up with a new customer because “thieves needs phone service, too”.  That’s in quotes because it belongs on a T-shirt.

I hate to be so cynical about a BlackBerry app.   I am trying to figure out another way to look at this.  But I’m not having much luck.  I’m sure the police don’t want to get involved because to them, not only is a cell phone considered “small potatoes” in the list of thefts they need to worry about, but what real proof do they have that the phone was stolen.  I suspect that the amount of leg work and the gathering of supporting documentation (not to mention hunting down the low life on Google maps) doesn’t meet the cost/benefit requirements.

The situation is even worse if you purchase a BlackBerry from a private third party.  Typically, someone buys the phones from an eBay reseller or their brother-in-law.  Then. they get phone service from a company other than the original provider.  This makes their current provider even less likely to care what happens to this stolen phone.

Just like Interpol keeps an international database of finger prints for any country to use, I believe that a database of stolen PIN and/or IMEI numbers should exist so that stolen phones simply can’t be re-activated.  If such a database existed, would thieves bother stealing phones?  I doubt it.  What would be the point?  I agree with “John” – I don’t understand why “The International Database of Stolen Electronics” (or IDOSE) doesn’t already exist.

With the advent of BlackBerry Protect, both mobile carriers and RIM are putting themselves in the unenviable position of having to explain the limitations of BlackBerry Protect (not to mention the limitations of police departments) to the public.  Do you realize how many phone calls, forum entries, and blog posts will start popping up regarding stolen BlackBerries?   I can see it now.  “I can track my phone, why can’t Blackberry track it”, or “They gave us this software to track our phone but now they won’t help me find it”, and “My phone was stolen and nobody will help me”.  The underlying conditions will be no different than they were before BlackBerry Protect.  The difference will be that the public will have a false sense of security, and more importantly, a false sense of the possibility of PAYBACK if someone steals their phone.   The public will believe that they someone will find their BlackBerry if it is stolen and someone will pay.   Who is that someone? – the police? RIM? BlackBerry? the mobile Carrier?   Not only is this not true, the person who stole the phone will activate it and start using it, and the victim will blow a gasket.

In conclusion the functionally of BlackBerry Protect is commendable; but, in no way ground-breaking.  Other products do similar things.  If RIM intended to use the “locator” function to its full potential, then we’d have something to talk about.  Hell, we’d have something to celebrate.  But that is not what RIM is doing. They aren’t starting a network of concerned mobile phone providers and law enforcement agencies that consider smartphone theft a real problem.   You can’t even get a police report for a stolen smartphone.  If it were a laptop, you could, but the police won’t do one for a cell phone.  If users install an app FROM RIM that helps them locate a stolen phone, then Damn It – they want to get their phone back.

The ultimate slap-in-the-face comes when the victim of a BlackBerry theft goes online and can watch their $500 dollar phone “walk” around New York, or LA, or Cleveland, or London, or Podunk; or wherever the little puke is that stole it, and won’t be able to do a thing about it – except send the thief a message that shows up on the lock screen that says “You little &%^$*, you stole my phone and I want it back”.   What if the device is a PlayBook?  Worse yet, ”John” might locate the device right in his home town (which is the most likely place to find a stolen phone or PlayBook) and he’ll take matters into his own hands.   How angry do you think BlackBerry owners will be when the “locator app” on their device does nothing to help them get it back if it’s stolen; but the owner can find the thief on a map.  How is this going to play out?  This is what RIM is creating.

Related posts:

1. BlackBerry Protect Comes out in Open Beta