Getting lost things home,
without giving anyone away.
Recup is Cameroon's lost and found. Whoever finds something posts it; whoever lost it proves it is theirs by answering questions only the owner could answer. No photo, no description and no phone number is ever exposed to a stranger.
- Free for finders and owners
- In French and English
- Built for the phone in your pocket
Mission
Make giving something back the easy choice, and make asking for it back safe.
Vision
A Cameroon where losing something is an inconvenience instead of a disaster — and where the first thought, in either language and on whatever phone you own, is to come here.
Today, doing the right thing costs you your privacy.
Cameroon is full of honest people who would happily give back what they find. What is missing is a safe way to do it.
- 1
A public post gives everything away at once
A clear photo, the place it was found and a phone number, in front of everyone — including people who never lost a thing.
- 2
Anybody can say it is theirs
Whoever answers first sounds convincing, and the finder is left judging a stranger with nothing to go on.
- 3
So most found things are never posted at all
Between publishing your own number and sorting through a queue of claimants, doing nothing is the easy option — and somebody out there stays stuck.
Prove it is yours, then talk.
One idea holds the whole thing together: the details that identify an item are the same details that prove who owns it. So we hide them, 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.
The owner answers the finder's questions
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
Passing unblurs the photo, restores the full description and opens a way to reach the finder. One attempt per person, so guessing is expensive.
Two ways to hand something back
The finder decides how much contact they want.
Giving back a wallet should never oblige anyone to meet a stranger. There are two ways, 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 pledge; 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 pledge moves directly by mobile money, between two people who have already met or agreed.
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.
- 1
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.
- 2
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.
- 3
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.
How it started
It started with no budget, and that shaped everything.
Recup was built in Cameroon, for Cameroon, and it charges nobody — not the finder, not the owner. It is being registered as a company funded by donations rather than fees, so that somebody who has just lost their papers never has to pay to get them back.
Building with no budget 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 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.
We are early, and we would rather show you a real number than an impressive one. Every figure on this site is counted, never invented — so the day it is big, it will be big for a reason.
Free, and not just free for now.
Recup takes no commission, charges no listing fee and carries no advertising. There is no paid tier planned and nobody's data to sell — 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 an item is free. If an owner offers a finder a pledge, it passes directly between them by mobile money. The platform is not in the middle, and could not take a share even 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 room to grow — comes from people who choose to give. If this platform got something back to you, that is how to pass it on.
Donations here do not just pay for servers — they pay the pledge somebody cannot afford, so a recovery is never 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. You only need an account to post something or to claim it.
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.
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 pledge, 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.