iPhone owners who don’t PIN-protect their phones risk more than they realise, as app usage grows. The average iPhone owner has downloaded 40 apps, but less than half protect their iPhone with the built-in PIN protection feature, according to Return My Phone, the company behind an iPhone app of the same name.

The app aims to encourage more owners to PIN-protect their iPhones, not only to prevent potential data loss, but also, to save unnecessary worry and expense. When installing Return My Phone, users are encouraged to set a PIN code as the app creates a bespoke Lock Screen image that enables the owner to offer a reward if the iPhone is ever lost.

“Our research showsthat most people would try to return a lost iPhone, but if a reward was being offered they would go to greater lengths to do so,” says Return My Phone founder, Rob Mead. “With Return My Phone, returning lost iPhones is both quick and safe, without the owner having to disclose personal information or arrange anonymous meetings.”

On setting up the app, the owner says how much they would pay as a reward. So should they ever lose their iPhone, the finder is incentivised to return it using a Freepost service. Return My Phone acts as the neutral go-between, managing the reward payment and safe handover of lost iPhones.

The app costs 59p for first 10,000 people who download it. Android and Blackberry versions are due later this year.