LostaFound

How to use LostaFound

Friend-request email notifications

Send a friend request using an existing member’s exact login ID or email. Previously requests were in-app only; the service now attempts a notification to the verified recipient after saving the request. The email links to Friends, where the recipient signs in and accepts or declines. Emails never accept requests automatically or reveal either member’s email to the other. Check Spam as well as Inbox.

Manage hierarchical categories

With Features permission, open Admin > Categories. Select an existing category in the hierarchy to edit it, or choose Add category. Enter a name, parent, order and enabled state. Additions need a unique lowercase ID of at most 32 letters, digits or hyphens; existing IDs cannot change. Saving requires your current password and confirmation.

Recent visitor IP row count

With Security permission, open Admin > Security and scroll to Recent visitor IPs. Enter Rows per page from 1 to 1000, then Apply. The initial value is 25. The same control is available on shared mobile app screens.

Login form and cross-site error recovery

A previous security update incorrectly rejected normal browser form submissions under the no-referrer privacy policy. The compatibility fix accepts Origin: null only when the browser reports Sec-Fetch-Site: same-origin, then still verifies the session CSRF token. Privacy and cross-site protection remain enabled.

Attack defenses, test scores and repair

Open Admin > Security for 16 known attack families and controlled block-test scores. A score is passing assertions divided by attempted assertions, not a real-world block rate, threat coverage or security guarantee. Untested, stale and host-managed defenses have no percentage. The table shows request-guard and abuse-review switch state separately.

Using the cleaner website and app layout

Search controls are grouped into Item and place, Date and distance, and Display options. Every existing field remains available. Expand City & landmark tools beneath Location for city checks and nearby places; typing suggestions and validation still appear outside that disclosure. Apply and Reset filters keep their existing saved-default behavior. Phone location remains optional.

Seven-day monitoring and recent contacts

With Security permission, open IP monitor or Live monitor. Period accepts 1 to 10080 minutes (7 days); the initial period remains 15 minutes. Recent contacts accepts 1 to 1000 rows, default 100. Change either control or press Refresh now. The recent table heading shows the selected limit and actual rows displayed.

Chat catch-up and matching-alert limits

Open a chat with an accepted friend. An initially empty chat now catches up from the first unseen message in batches of 50, even if more than 50 arrive before polling. Latest messages shows the newest 50; Older messages provides retained history. The live display stays bounded to 100 messages. Invalid or mixed history cursors are rejected instead of silently showing a different page.

Monitor refresh and statistics behavior

Choose a reporting period for request and location totals. Active IPs · 5 min always counts the last five minutes, including when the selected reporting period is shorter; it still respects the exact-IP filter. Watch alerts also use five minutes, across watched addresses. All figures use only retained events.

Connection locations and map

Open Admin > IP monitor with Security permission. Top locations defaults to 20; choose any count from 1 to 100. Set Period in minutes from 1 to 10080 (7 days), then Refresh now. Recent contacts defaults to 100; choose any count from 1 to 1000. This caps the newest matching contact rows only, not location/IP totals or their pagination. Changing a control refreshes automatically. The same duration and exact-IP filter apply to the table and map, independently of IP pagination and sorting.

Inbox and abuse queue navigation

Inbox & claims displays 50 authorized conversations per page. Use Previous and Next to reach older threads; inaccessible private reports are removed before counting or paging, so they cannot crowd out eligible threads.

Claims, matching and recovery behavior

An item inquiry can become an ownership claim using This may be mine with new private details. The existing messages and original evidence remain private in the same thread. Closed inquiries can restart while the report remains available; closed claims require new claim evidence. Rejected claims stay rejected, including after report renewal. Block a participant to prevent further contact; closing a thread alone is not a block.

Run individual tests

Open Feature tests and choose Run this check beside a safe automated check. The chosen result has its own timestamp, release fingerprint, failure detail and debug guide. Informational/manual observations remain labeled; compatibility checks share read-only platform prerequisites.

Live traffic, IP alerts and range controls

Open Live monitor for traffic plus hosting usage, or IP monitor for IP-specific statistics. Choose a time period, exact IP, sort and page. Contacts count recorded PHP requests, not people; frequency is per minute averaged across the selected period. City/region (or country fallback) is a local DB-IP Lite estimate, not precise location. Use the Connection locations and map guide for top-count and custom-period controls.

Purge resolved items

Open Posts → Purge resolved items to preview eligible returned/closed records. The schedule is off by default.

Administrator roles

The configured owner keeps full access. Additional assignments are optional and OFF initially; enable Allow assigning administrators in Features to grant approved users a role.

Software Engineer workflow

Approved engineers download the sanitized source archive from Engineering. Production credentials, database backups and deployment/signing keys are not included.

Daily backups and recovery

Open Backups with backup permission. Schedule changes also require Features permission. Daily snapshots run after the configured UTC hour; Run now queues a job for the maintenance worker. Check status and validate artifact checksums.

PHP and database upgrade checks

Open Compatibility to check the actual current PHP/database versions, required extensions, charset, SQL primitives and transactional engines. Web and cron runtimes can differ.

JustHost limits and usage

Open Hosting usage for timestamped account statistics and a current LostaFound database-size estimate. Account totals include all your domains.

Profile, avatar, login ID and password

Sign in → Profile. Enter a display name and optional unique login ID, then Save profile. Changing the ID requires your current password. Email still works for login.

Lost and Found reports

Sign in with a verified account. Choose Lost or Found, category, title and description. Keep phone numbers, emails, private addresses and hidden identifying details out of public fields.

Camera, photo uploads and drawings

In a report, choose a photo, use the camera option on a supported phone, or open Draw and save your drawing. Review the preview before submitting.

Keywords, categories, dates and compact lists

Blank keywords match all items allowed by the other filters. Select Lost and/or Found, category, location and reported UTC dates; Apply filters. Category chips follow the other filters.

Nearby landmarks

Set a city or optional map center, then choose Nearby landmarks and a category. Find landmarks sends the rounded center to the external provider only after your action.

Friends, private sharing and blocking

Enter a friend’s exact login ID or email and send a request. They accept it from Friends. Eligible verified existing members receive a notification email when enabled; unknown addresses are never invited. Delivery is subject to provider and anti-spam limits. There is no public account directory. Both accounts have a combined limit of 200 friends and pending requests. A generic response does not confirm delivery to an unknown, unavailable or full account. Remove or cancel unused connections to free slots. Accepting an existing request at exactly 200 uses its current slot; legacy overflow must be reduced first.

Chat with friends

Open Friends → Chat beside an accepted friend. Write a message and send. Messages refresh while the page is visible; use older messages for history.

Matching alerts

Choose one of your open reports and a radius; save a matching subscription. Opt into matching emails if wanted.

Payments, rewards, Venmo, Zelle and banks

Payments are off by default. When configured and enabled by the owner, a Lost report uses a $1 USD default with optional increase and a 50% conditional finder share. Found reports are free.

Install, refresh and update the phone app

Android: use the download page and follow your device’s installation confirmation. Google Play publication requires the owner’s developer-account setup; do not assume the app is listed there.

Privacy, counters and account deletion

Visitor counts are distinct server-observed IPs per UTC day, not people. Download counts are link requests, not completed installs. Detailed IP records are private and expire after the configured retention period.