Getting lost things home,
without giving anyone away.
Find-It CM is a lost-and-found platform for Cameroon. Whoever finds an item posts it; whoever lost it proves it is theirs by answering questions only the owner could answer. Along the way, no photo, no description and no phone number is exposed to strangers.
- Free for finders and owners
- In French and English
- Built for cheap phones on 3G
Mission
Make returning a lost item the easy choice — safe enough that one person's honesty is not also a risk to them.
Vision
The first place people in Cameroon think of when something is lost or found: in either of the two languages they speak, on whatever phone they already own.
Right now, returning something means exposing yourself.
There is no shortage of honest people willing to return what they find. What is missing is a safe way to do it.
- 1
A public post reveals everything at once
A clear photo, the place it was found and a phone number, visible to everyone — including people who never lost anything.
- 2
There is no way to tell a real owner from an opportunist
Whoever answers first sounds convincing. The finder is left judging a stranger with nothing to go on.
- 3
So a lot of found items are never reported
Between publishing your own number and sorting through a queue of claimants, doing nothing is the easy option — and the item stays lost.
Prove it is yours, then talk.
One idea holds the whole product together: the details that identify an item are the same details that prove who owns it. So we keep them hidden, and use them as the test.
Everything identifying starts hidden
Photos are published blurred. The description is cut back to its first two words. The finder's number is not in the page at all — not hidden with styling, not sent to your browser and covered up.
The owner answers the finder's questions
The finder writes questions only the owner could answer: a scratch on the case, what was in the side pocket, the name written inside the cover. Answer enough of them and the claim passes.
Only then does contact open
A passing claim is what unblurs the photo, restores the full description and opens a way to reach the finder. One attempt per person per item, so guessing is expensive.
Two ways to hand something back
The finder decides how much contact they want.
Returning a wallet should not oblige anyone to meet a stranger. There are two models, and the finder picks one when they post.
The finder keeps it
They hold the item until someone proves it is theirs, accept that claim, and arrange the handover between themselves. The owner may offer a voluntary thank-you; that stays between the two of them.
Drop it and walk away
The finder leaves the item somewhere public they trust — a filling station, a hotel reception, a shop — and never meets anyone. A verified owner receives the place, the instructions and a recovery code to collect it. The finder's number stays private unless they choose to share it.
Whichever model is used, the platform never touches money. A thank-you moves directly by mobile money, between two people who have already met or agreed.
A dispute does not just stop there
Answering the ownership questions is not a risk you take alone. If a handover goes wrong — someone who never shows up, someone claiming an item that is not theirs, someone demanding money — you report it from inside the claim, and a person deals with it.
- 1
You report it from inside the claim
Not a blank form on a contact page. The report starts from the claim it concerns, so it arrives with the item, the claim and both parties already attached.
- 2
A person reviews it
An admin reads the case and settles what can be settled: cancelling a claim, putting the item back in browse, or suspending an account that is working the system.
- 3
What cannot be settled peacefully goes to the police
When the two accounts cannot be reconciled, the matter is escalated to the police, who settle it by law and their own investigation. That is their role, not ours: we hand over what we hold — the listing, the quiz answers, the dates — and they decide.
What we do not promise: a response time, or an outcome. What we do promise is that there is a next step, and that it does not end with us.
How it started
It started with one developer and no budget.
Find-It CM was built by one developer in Cameroon, and today it is still a small operation — no investors, no office, nothing raised. It is being registered as a company, and it will grow into a small team paid for by donations rather than by charging the people it serves.
That constraint shaped the product more than any design decision did. Everything runs on free infrastructure, so there is nothing to bill anyone for. There is no chat system and no payment processing, because both cost money to run and neither is needed to get a wallet back to its owner. Every page is built for a cheap Android phone on a slow connection first, and made to look right on a laptop second.
It also means the platform is young. The numbers are small and the feature list is short. The honest position is to say so, rather than to advertise a network that does not exist yet — which is why you will not find an invented count of recoveries anywhere on this site.
Free, and not just free for now.
Find-It CM takes no commission, charges no listing fee and carries no advertising. There is no paid tier planned and no intention to sell anyone's data — not as a promise about the future, but because the platform deliberately holds almost nothing worth selling.
No fees, on either side
Posting a found item is free. Claiming one is free. If an owner offers a finder a thank-you, it goes directly between them by mobile money — the platform is not in the middle and could not take a cut if it wanted to.
It runs on free infrastructure
Hosting, database, image storage and email all sit on free tiers. The running cost today is close to zero, and that is what makes free sustainable instead of temporary.
Donations cover maintenance
What the free tiers do not cover — a domain name, and headroom if usage outgrows them — comes from voluntary donations. If this platform got something back to you, that is how to give something back to it.
Donations do not just pay for servers here — they pay the thank-you somebody cannot afford, so a recovery is not lost over money.
See how to support usDeliberately not built
Some things are missing on purpose.
Every feature that is not here is one less thing that can expose you, cost money, or need policing.
No in-app chat
Conversation happens on WhatsApp, after a claim has passed. A chat system would be one more channel for a stranger to reach you, and one more thing to moderate.
No payments
The platform never handles money. Nothing to charge, nothing to refund, and no dispute over a transfer we would have no way to verify.
No advertising, analytics or trackers
Three cookies: two to keep you signed in, one to remember your language. Nothing follows you off the site.
See the cookie policyNo account needed to look
Browsing and searching are open to everyone. An account is required only to post an item or to claim one.
What people ask before they start
The points that stop people most often, answered from what the platform actually does.
Is it actually free?
Yes. Posting something you found is free, recovering your own is free, and we take no commission on anything. The platform runs on donations rather than fees — because a charge, even 500 FCFA, would shut out exactly the people it exists for.
How do I prove an item is mine with no receipt?
By answering questions only the owner could answer. The finder writes them from the item in their hands: four or five questions, and you need 67% right. No receipt, no paperwork, no photo to produce.
How does an item actually get back to me?
One of two ways. Either the finder keeps it and hands it over in person once they have accepted your claim. Or they leave it somewhere public — a filling station, a hotel reception — and meet nobody: passing the quiz then gives you the location, the instructions and a recovery code directly.
What is a “pledge”, and how much?
A voluntary thank-you, between 1,000 and 100,000 FCFA, that you can offer someone who kept your item safe. It is settled directly between you, by Mobile Money or hand to hand: the platform never touches the money and takes nothing from it.
Do I have to pay to get my own property back?
No, never. The pledge is voluntary, and nobody may demand payment for returning something that is not theirs. If you cannot give anything, just say so — plenty of finders ask for nothing.
Someone is asking me to pay before handing the item over. Is that normal?
No, and it is the most common scam on a platform like this. Never pay before the item is in front of you. If you are asked for money to “release”, “unblock” or “guarantee” a handover, stop and report it from the claim.
Do you handle online payments?
No. There is no card, no wallet and no balance to top up here. Nothing passes through the platform: if there is a pledge, it goes straight from one person to the other.
Is there a chat on the site?
No, deliberately. Conversations happen on WhatsApp, with a link prepared for you once contact details are released. Running a chat would be expensive to operate and would ask you to learn one more tool, when WhatsApp is already on your phone.
How long does a listing stay up?
Sixty days after it is posted, then it is retired automatically. And as soon as an item reaches its owner, its page goes with it — which is why a link shared three months ago may show nothing at all.
Is there an app to install?
The site installs itself onto your home screen from your browser's menu — there is nothing to download from a store, so nothing takes up tens of megabytes on your phone. It does need a connection to work.
Is the site in both French and English?
Both, fully, and you can switch at any time without losing the page you are on. The language is part of the address, so a shared link opens in the language it was copied in.
Which cities does this cover?
Everywhere in Cameroon. Listings carry a city and a quarter, and search filters on both — that is how you find something lost near where you lost it.
Do you deliver the items?
No. We do not transport, store or handle any item. The handover happens between the two people, in person or through the drop-off point the finder chose.
Not seeing your question? Write to us
Found something? Lost something?
Both start in the same place.