• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechAmazon

Amazon Alexa Can Now Track Your Phone to the End of the Earth

Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
Barb Darrow
By
Barb Darrow
Barb Darrow
Down Arrow Button Icon
January 24, 2017, 10:21 AM ET
Amazon.com Inc. Launches Its Echo Home Assistant In The U.K.
Amazon will now let you order Wingstop through its Alexa devices.Bloomberg via Getty Images

If you’re an absent-minded smartphone owner, here’s a good reason to get an Amazon Echo. TrackR just updated an app that promises to find your misplaced (or stolen) phone no matter what (or where).

The new app runs on Alexa, the voice-controled virtual assistant that runs on Amazon Echo.

TrackR’s first release, as shown in a widely televised Echo ad, lets you ask Alexa to ring your phone. And, your phone will ring, no matter where it is, even if it is silent mode. (The commercial implies this will work even if your gorgeous Golden Lab eats the device in question.)

The updated version of the app, or “Skill” in Amazon (AMZN) speak, goes further. The new edition of TrackR will provide Alexa (and you) with the last-known location of your phone whether it’s right next to you, in your office 10 miles away, or, conceivably, thousands of miles distant. That assumes, I guess, that it still has battery power and a cellular connection.

From the press release:

Once the skill has been enabled, customers can simply say, “Alexa, ask TrackR to find my phone,” and Alexa will provide the last known address of the phone–no matter where it is in the world.

Of course, if your phone rings in Japan and you’re in Boston, it’s unclear what you will do but at least you know it’s out there. To be fair, Apple iPnone and Android phones also offer “find my phone” features but the growng popularity of the Echo/Alexa tandem, makes this news worth noting.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily tech newsletter.

The new TrackR Skill is available now, free of charge. TrackR also sells small widgets you can attach to your keys or other valuables to make them more findable; no additional hardware is needed for the phone version.

Santa Barbara, Calif.-based TrackR received an unknown amount of investment from Amazon’s Alexa Fund, which provides up to $100 million annually to companies developing cool apps for the personal assistant.

For more on Alexa, watch:

While Alexa focuses on the home front, it also competes with smartphone-based virtual personal assistants like Apple (AAPL) Siri and Google (GOOGL).

About the Author
Barb Darrow
By Barb Darrow
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

China stopped issuing new robotaxi licenses over a glitch. America can’t stop them from rolling into active shooter situations
LawChina
China stopped issuing new robotaxi licenses over a glitch. America can’t stop them from rolling into active shooter situations
By Catherina GioinoMay 4, 2026
4 hours ago
David Sacks
EconomyEconomic growth
Trump’s former AI czar says the quiet part out loud on the economy: ‘Stopping progress in AI would be equivalent to halting the U.S. economy’
By Tristan BoveMay 4, 2026
4 hours ago
A farmer in a field plowing with a horse
Economydisruption
BofA throws cold water on AI apocalypse panic: 60% of today’s jobs didn’t exist in 1940
By Nick LichtenbergMay 4, 2026
7 hours ago
doctor
AITech
A Harvard study just found AI can now out-diagnose physicians in the ER: ‘We’re already at the ceiling’
By Jake AngeloMay 4, 2026
8 hours ago
dario
AIAnthropic
Anthropic takes shot at consulting industry in joint venture with Wall Street giants
By Nick LichtenbergMay 4, 2026
10 hours ago
Frustrated job seeker on laptop
NewslettersFortune Workplace Innovation
Nearly 4 in 10 job candidates have bailed on a hiring round because it required an AI interview
By Emma BurleighMay 4, 2026
12 hours ago

Most Popular

As economic despair mounts, Russian official admits the country has had enough of Putin's war on Ukraine. 'We can’t even take one region'
Economy
As economic despair mounts, Russian official admits the country has had enough of Putin's war on Ukraine. 'We can’t even take one region'
By Jason MaMay 3, 2026
1 day ago
Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
Success
Diary of a CEO founder says he hired someone with 'zero' work experience because she 'thanked the security guard by name' before the interview
By Emma BurleighMay 3, 2026
2 days ago
America got rich and got sad. A top economist says 2020 broke something that hasn't healed
Economy
America got rich and got sad. A top economist says 2020 broke something that hasn't healed
By Nick LichtenbergMay 3, 2026
2 days ago
Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
Personal Finance
Scott Bessent on financial literacy: 'it drives me crazy' to see young men in blue-collar construction jobs playing the lottery
By Fatima Hussein and The Associated PressMay 1, 2026
3 days ago
I spent a decade selling homes to the ultra-wealthy. What I saw explains the housing market's nepo problem
Commentary
I spent a decade selling homes to the ultra-wealthy. What I saw explains the housing market's nepo problem
By Blake O'ShaughnessyMay 3, 2026
2 days ago
Sam Altman says the quiet part out loud, confirming some companies are ‘AI washing’ by blaming unrelated layoffs on the technology
AI
Sam Altman says the quiet part out loud, confirming some companies are ‘AI washing’ by blaming unrelated layoffs on the technology
By Sasha RogelbergMay 3, 2026
2 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.