Recover what's yours.
Return what you've found.
Somebody finds your CNI and posts it here. You answer a few questions only you could answer, and it comes home — photos blurred and details hidden until the moment you prove it is yours.
- Every photo blurred
- Only the owner can answer
- Free, and always will be
From lost to back in your hands
Two sides of the same story. Pick yours.
I found something
Somebody out there is looking for it right now.
- 1
Post what you found
A few photos, where and when. Every photo is blurred automatically before anyone else sees it.
- 2
Choose how to give it back
Meet the owner yourself, or leave it somewhere public and never meet anyone. Your call, made when you post.
Keep it and meet the owner
You hold it, you see who claims it, you hand it over yourself. Your number reaches only the person you accept.
Leave it somewhere public
Drop it at a petrol station, a hotel reception or a shop. The owner collects it with a code. You never meet anyone, and your number stays yours.
- 3
Set the questions only the owner can answer
We suggest the wrong options; you set the right ones. That is what keeps an impostor out.
- 4
Hand it over
You see who passed and how well. Nobody gets your number until you say so.
I lost something
It may already be waiting for you.
- 1
Find it
Search by title, category, city or quarter. Photos are blurred, so look for the shape of your item.
- 2
Prove it is yours
Answer the finder's questions about details only you would know. One attempt, so take your time.
- 3
Take it home
Meet the finder, or collect it at the drop-off point with your recovery code. Then confirm you have it.
You cannot take the quiz again for this item.
Your details never go on display
A lost ID card in the wrong hands is worse than a lost ID card. So the world sees as little as possible until the real owner proves it is theirs.
Photos are blurred
Every photo is blurred in full before it is published. Only the owner ever sees it clearly, and only after passing the questions.
Details stay hidden
The description is masked in public listings, and search never looks inside it — so nobody can guess their way in.
Phone numbers stay private
No contact details appear anywhere until a claim is accepted, and the finder decides whether to share theirs at all.
Every dispute has a next step
Answering the ownership questions does not leave you on your own. If a handover goes wrong, you report it from inside the claim and a person handles it. That covers the one who does not come, the one who claims an item that is not theirs, and anyone who asks you for money.
- 01
You report it from inside the claim
It is not a blank form on a contact page. The report starts from the claim it concerns, so it reaches us with the item, the claim and both parties already attached.
- 02
A person reviews the case
An administrator reads the case and decides what is ours to decide: cancelling a claim, putting the item back on the site, or suspending an account that is abusing the platform.
- 03
What cannot be settled goes to the police
When the two accounts cannot be reconciled, the case goes to the police, who settle it according to the law and their own investigation. That is their role, not ours. We provide what we hold: the listing, the quiz answers and the dates. They decide.
We do not promise a response time, and we do not promise a particular outcome. What we do promise is that you are never left without a next step.
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.
I passed the quiz. Does the finder have to give me the item?
No. Passing the quiz is what earns you the meeting — the finder still satisfies themselves in person. They may refuse and put the item back on the site if you cannot show it is yours, or if you do not keep to what you agreed. Bring something that proves it and turn up where you said you would, and this will not come up.
Why only one attempt?
Because with several tries, guessing would be enough. One attempt is what makes passing mean something — and it is the same rule that protects you when somebody else tries to claim your item.
What happens if I fail the quiz?
Nothing is taken from you. There is no penalty, nothing recorded against you, and your contact details were not shown to anyone. If you missed by exactly one answer on an item the finder is holding, you can ask them to review your answers. The finder decides, and it is not a second attempt.
Why are the photos blurred?
So that nobody can identify a lost item — or its owner — just by browsing. The photo is blurred **entirely**, not only faces or numbers: there is no automatic detection of sensitive areas, the whole image stays blurred until somebody proves the item is theirs.
Why is the description cut off?
A public listing shows only the first two words of the description, then “•••”. The mask is always the same length, so it does not reveal how much text was hidden either. The description is where the details that would let someone guess the quiz answers live.
What does search actually look at?
The title, the category, the subcategory, the city and the quarter. Never the description. A search that read the description would let someone find an item by typing a detail the quiz is supposed to verify.
Will my phone number be visible?
No. No number appears on a public listing at any point. Contact details only pass between the two people involved in a verified claim, and the finder of a dropped-off item additionally decides whether to share theirs at all.
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 the recovery code?
It is the code you show at the place the item was left, to prove to whoever is holding it that you are the right person. It appears only after you pass the quiz, and only on items dropped at a public location.
Will I get the finder's number?
If the finder is keeping the item: yes, once they accept your claim. If they dropped it somewhere: only if they chose to share it — many drop items off precisely so they never have to meet anyone, and that choice is respected.
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.
What is the AI actually for?
One thing only: inventing the three wrong options shown next to the right one, so the finder does not have to make them up. It receives the category name, the question the finder wrote, and the correct answer. Nothing else — no photo, no name, no number, no description.
What about a bag, an umbrella, a bunch of keys — nothing with a number on it?
Those are exactly why verification is a set of questions rather than an ID-number lookup. A wallet, a satchel or a keyring has nothing to type into a field, but their owner knows what is inside.
Could someone else claim my item before me?
They can try, once, and they will face questions they do not have the answers to. On an item the finder is keeping, the finder also has to accept or refuse — a passed claim alone does not make them hand anything over.
Who can see my name?
The name and reputation of whoever posts a found item are visible: that is what lets someone decide whether to trust them, and it is intended. Your email address and phone number are never shown, and a claimer's name is only shown to the finder concerned.
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
Recup is free for everyone, and stays free because people choose to keep it that way. Keep it free