How to prepare myself & smartphone/tablet in the event it goes missing or is stolen?

Question

I would like to know what measures or steps etc that should be performed, in order to protect & safeguard whatever "data" is on my Android Smartphone or Tablet, and indeed the device itself, in the event it goes missing or is stolen. So that if it were to happen "all data" would hopefully still be preserved remotely, e.g., via online login - if possible (furthermore if the data cannot be preserved, it can be wiped before it is utilized in every manner possible to access confidentiality by "the wrong hands"). Also give me the best chance of getting my device back (or in the event of theft, that the perpetrator can be photographed & hopefully apprehended as well).

(I am not merely looking for a list of anti theft apps to be named, but a comprehensive step by step instruction to what should actually be "applied" to the device and how to prepare it, before the event occurs and then exactly what should be done by myself immediately after the event occurs, as I believe this to be of grave importance, that applies to everyone who owns an Android device, be it a smartphone, tablet or indeed the new range of Android powered cameras that have recently come onto the market.)

Answer 1

There are multiple things which can be done:

• Device encryption (to assure all your data is stored encrypted)
• Install anti-theft software (to track and, if necessary, remote-wipe a lost device)
• Activate Google's Device Manager on your device (and make sure it works, as it not always does)

To photograph the "perpetrator", you might want to take a look at ☆ GotYa! Face trap !, which fires at failed logins (but requires a front-facing camera to do so):

One of the most well known anti-theft solutions is e.g. included with Lookout Security & Antivirus, but the playstore offers a lot of alternatives to this.

For keeping a copy of your important data off-device, you might use some cloud synchronization service (or a similar thing to sync with your own machine(s) at home). When storing data in the cloud, you might prefer using encryption; Wuala is one possible solution which encrypts your data before it is transfered into the cloud.