LOFO is a new Australian app to provide a centralised platform for people to post missing items and connect with finders anywhere in the world.
Importantly, LOFO (Lost & Found) enables people to offer rewards with their posts and buy and sell LOFO unclaimed items in ‘the marketplace’ using PayPal.
“We’ve worked with PayPal to create a seamless system for those wanting to accept or send payments. It all happens on the one platform, so there’s no need to switch in and out of other websites or third parties,” developer Scott Boocock said.
Boocock is the creator of the HEGS Pegs. He and Raelene Ohlson came up with the idea and co-founded LOFO with Joel Walkenhorst (head of design and user experience) and Prabin Gautam (digital entrepreneur and app developer).
“We wanted something that would make a posting, searching and communicating easier for the end user. And so LOFO was born,” said Boocock.
LOFO fast facts
- Australians lose over 78,000 items per day
- Until now there has been no centralised tech solution for lost items and animals
- It uses an intelligent, active matching algorithm to match lost items with found ones based on the information provided: such as location, colour etc.
- It is the first app of its kind in the world
- LOFO is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play store
And if there is not a match – finders keepers!
The app’s main wall shows all posts with an optional reward. Users have the option of paying a ‘bump up’ fee to keep their post in a prominent position. Apparently, the service is free unless you post a reward.
A feature that is sure to appeal is the marketplace, it is a legal platform for finders to sell unclaimed items after a certain time. The finder can choose to keep the profit or donate it to charity.
GadgetGuy’s take – LOFO is what lost and found should have done years ago
We sincerely wish LOFO success. It depends on market penetration and LOFO becoming a household word like 000. In other words, it needs to become the default for any lost or founds items. Or as we like to say, “Vision without execution is a hallucination.”
Its Terms and Conditions mention a fee for service, and as long as that is reasonable and protects the user’s privacy, then it serves its purpose.
Google app here and iOS app here here.
