How scaniflost works

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You put a scaniflost key tag or sticker on something you'd hate to lose. If it goes missing, whoever finds it scans the QR code with an ordinary phone camera, sees what the item is and your first name, and sends you a message through scaniflost. You're emailed straight away and reply from your dashboard. Neither your phone number nor your email address is ever shown to them.

Setting it up

Your key tags and stickers arrive in the post, each with its own QR code, and the codes are already in your account by the time they arrive.

  1. 1Stick it on. Put a sticker on a laptop, case, bottle or suitcase, or a key tag on your keys or a bag.
  2. 2Name it. In your dashboard, say what each code is protecting, like “house keys” or “grey cabin suitcase”. You can change it whenever you like.
  3. 3Get on with your day. There's no battery to charge and nothing to keep updated. The code works until you deactivate it.

When somebody finds it

There's no app to download and nothing to sign up for. The finder points their phone camera at the code and it opens a normal web page.

  1. 1They scan the code. The page shows what the item is, your first name, and whether you've reported it lost. You're emailed that it's been scanned.
  2. 2They send a message. There's a box to say where they found it. Leaving their own name or contact details is up to them, and they can share their approximate location if they want to.
  3. 3You reply. Their message is emailed to you and you reply from your dashboard. They read your reply from a private link, without an account.
  4. 4You get it back. Arrange a handover somewhere public, then mark the item returned.

What stays private

A tag carries a random code and nothing else: no name, no phone number, no address. The page behind it shows only your first name and what the item is.

Messages are relayed through scaniflost in both directions. If you'd rather swap numbers to arrange a handover, that's your choice to make in the conversation.

Kept safe from scams

Anyone holding your tag can write to you, so messages that push you towards paying somebody or opening a link are flagged automatically. You'll see a warning on the item and in the email, and you can close or report a conversation at any time.

Finders in their own language

The finder's page follows their phone's language: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish, Simplified Chinese or Japanese. Handy for a suitcase that ends up abroad, or a tourist who picks up your keys.

What it isn't

scaniflost doesn't locate anything. It relies on the honest person who already has your things, and makes it easy for them to give them back.

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