Prevent phone loss and theft before it happens. Don't find it—never lose it.
Have you ever walked out of a cafe, hopped out of a taxi, or left a friend's house only to realize your phone was left behind? Tracking apps help you find a lost phone, but Tetherd stops you from losing it in the first place. By creating a secure, invisible Bluetooth link between your phone and a partner’s device, Tetherd acts as an invisible leash. The moment your devices move too far apart, an alarm sounds on both phones—giving you a vital window to turn around.
Tetherd was conceived from real-life situations where phones were left behind and almost lost. Don't let it happen to you.
Preventative Alerts: Instant alarms sound on both paired devices if connection drops.
Zero Internet Required: Works entirely via localized Bluetooth. Perfect for crowded music festivals, remote hikes, international travel, or daily commutes without using data.
Offline Messenger: Need to coordinate? Send quick, data-free text messages directly over the peer-to-peer Bluetooth connection.
Smart Lock Security*: If an alert isn’t muted within your chosen time limit, your phone automatically locks to protect your private data.
On-Demand Proximity Radar*: Lost your buddy in a crowd? Fire up the low-energy proximity screen to actively track if their phone is getting closer or further away, without draining your battery in the background.
Tetherd on each phone is connected together via Bluetooth, which is independent of any Wi-Fi and cellphone connection. It has a short range of perhaps 10 meters or so. If you and your buddy (or more correctly, your phones) separate beyond the Bluetooth range, the connection breaks and Tetherd sounds the alarm.
Tetherd is a peer app, that is, the app on each device acts in the same way. There is no concept of primary or secondary, they are equals. If you stray outside Bluetooth range, the alarm sounds on both. When you get back in range again, both phones “ping” to let you know you are back in contact. Only you know if the alarm is important. If your alarm goes off and your buddy is standing beside you, you know there could be a problem!
If you know that you are going to separate for a short while outside Bluetooth range, you can tap the “Apart” button which will suppress the alarm for a preset time. Whenever you get back in range again, Tetherd “pings” to let you know your phones are together again.
The app has a main screen and a few option screens.
The main screen shows information about your buddy, and the state of your connection. There are buttons:
Apart – if you’re going to be temporarily apart from your buddy, you can suppress the alert alarm by tapping this. The initial ‘Apart’ time can be chosen in the settings, the default is 5 minutes, andy you can adjust this while active by using the "+" and "-" buttons. When you set or adjust 'Apart' the same duration is set on your buddy, keeping you in sync. If you're not in contact with your buddy when the apart time expires, an alert sounds. 'Apart' can be set even when you're out of contact, so you can be alerted if your partner (more accurately, their phone) has not reconnected when expected.**
Cancel apart – Tap this if you’re back together earlier and want to return to normal alert mode.
Mute alarm – turns off the alert alarm, which also stops the phone from locking if the lock option* is enabled. If you don’t mute the alarm when it sounds, the device will lock when the lock delay expires.
Sound buddy's Alarm - sounds the alarm on your buddy's phone. Essential for finding it if you know it's nearby but can't see it.
Show Proximity* - shows the approximate distance to your buddy's phone. This uses the strength of its Bluetooth signal to gauge the distance. (This is easily affected by anything in between e.g. walls, people, and can only be an estimate.) The proximity "radar" can be particularly useful for locating your buddy's phone as it is independent of the Tetherd connection, and just requires the phone to be powered on, with Bluetooth enabled.
**Apart when disconnected - if you set or adjust 'Apart' when connected to your buddy, the alert duration is synchronized. If you do this when disconnectedt, your buddy will not be aware of any changes you make and will continue with its original settings. When you reconnect, 'Apart' is cancelled on both phones.
There a message facility on the lower part of the main screen. Messages to and from your buddy will appear here.
You use the Configure screen to select your partner device. This will initially show currently paired devices. If the device you want isn’t shown, tap "Scan" to discover other available devices that can then be paired with. (Hint: put the partner phone into pairing mode to make it visible to the scan.)
The Settings screen lets you set app preferences, for example the length and the number of repeats of the alert alarm and the choice of screen locking*. If you set your name, it will appear on your buddy's screen.
Offline Buddy needs certain Android permissions to operate. These will be requested the first time Buddy starts. See the privacy policy for details for what permissions are needed, and why.
In order to lock the device*, the app needs special Device Administrator permission, which will be requested only if the lock option is enabled. It is a feature of Android that an app with Devices Administrator permission enabled cannot be uninstalled. If you want to remove Offline Buddy from your phone and the lock option has been enabled, you must disable it first. Alternatively you can use Android Apps settings and turn off the permission there.
When you start up the app for the first time, you will be required to agree to the Terms and Conditions. These are an unfortunate necessity in today's litigious climate!
* not available in Lite version