Editorial: Avoid not so smart phone plan

If you were to lose your smartphone, how would it impact on your life?

I recently realised how important it is to back up my smartphone after someone picked it up and pocketed it for themselves at the supermarket.

I was gutted. Most of my life is featured on my phone. I had lost all my contacts, all my videos and photos, notes, my applications and the information on them, messages, details of appointments, music and more. I wished they had taken my wallet instead because it would have been easier to deal with.

I was a little nervous whoever had taken it would be able to figure out my pattern password and invade my privacy by viewing or using my information stored in my phone. Luckily my phone provider was able to block the number and block the phone so they couldn't use it even if they replaced it with a new SIM card.

I also remembered a plan I had when I bought my phone - to back up everything on it so that if something ever did happen, I'd still have access to everything.

Regrettably, I didn't do that.

I replaced my smartphone and to my delight I still had all of my contacts because I had (unwittingly) synced them to Google. I also had all the photos and videos I had taken with my phone ... what a huge relief. But the rest, including my 700 songs, were lost.

I refuse to be in this position again. I have taken extra measures to ensure my phone is safe. I've also downloaded software which links to it and backs up everything. If anything should happen again, everything is covered.

If you use your phone for everything and haven't backed it up, do it now. Don't forget or tell yourself to do it later because anything may happen.