--- description: But not with an iPhone. title: Your Phone Will Power Stephen Hawking's Search For Aliens image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte58b55d34abd934e/69885be02dce014fe19e4bb9/ap_750997563154.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Your Phone Will Power Stephen Hawking's Search For Aliens by [Benjamin Snyder/Fortune](/author/benjamin-snyderfortune/) ## Benjamin Snyder/Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 22, 2015 8:41 PM CUT  Russian tech entrepreneur Yuri Milner, left, speaks next to renowned physicist Stephen Hawking during a press conference in London on July 20, 2015 Russian tech entrepreneur Yuri Milner, left, speaks next to renowned physicist Stephen Hawking during a press conference in London on July 20, 2015Matt Dunham—AP by [Benjamin Snyder/Fortune](/author/benjamin-snyderfortune/) ## Benjamin Snyder/Fortune Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 22, 2015 8:41 PM CUT To help Stephen Hawking’s $100 millions search for extraterrestrial life with Yuri Milner, smartphones will prove key. On Monday he and Milner, a billionaire, [announced](http://time.com/3967126/stephen-hawking-seti-extraterrestrial-life-breakthrough/ "undefined") Breakthrough Listen, an initiative to find life beyond Earth. By using the Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing app, which can be downloaded to Android phones, a user can help power the search for alien life. The app, according to [Forbes](http://www.forbes.com/sites/leoking/2015/07/22/breakthrough-listen-stephen-hawking-android-extra-terrestrial/ "undefined"), is powered via Wifi and won’t use a person’s data. The phone app works like this: Data from two massive telescopes scan the universe for signals of alien life. By powering on the app, you allow the telescope’s collected data to be analyzed via crowd-sourcing. “BOINC computes only when your device is plugged in and charged, so it won’t run down your battery,” according to the app’s Google Play [site](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.boinc&hl=en%5FGB "undefined"). But quite notably, the app can’t be used for iOS devices. So, sorry, iPhone users. “We believe that life arose spontaneously on Earth,” Hawking said during the announcement. “So in an infinite universe, there must be other occurrences of life.” “I don’t have high expectations, but the search itself will teach us quite a bit,” Milner told [_The Washington Post_](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/07/20/stephen-hawking-announces-100-million-hunt-for-alien-life/ "undefined"). “We could find something we’re not even looking for.” [_Click this link_](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.berkeley.boinc&hl=en%5FGB "undefined") _to download the Android app._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3968680/stephen-hawkings-aliens-smartphone/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3968680/stephen-hawkings-aliens-smartphone/"},"headline":"Your Phone Will Power Stephen Hawking's Search For Aliens","datePublished":"2015-07-22T20:41:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:06:08.588Z","description":"But not with an iPhone.","url":"https://time.com/3968680/stephen-hawkings-aliens-smartphone/","keywords":["Tech","Space","Smartphones","Stephen Hawking","Outer Space","aliens","pubdesk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte58b55d34abd934e/69885be02dce014fe19e4bb9/ap_750997563154.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Benjamin Snyder/Fortune","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/benjamin-snyderfortune/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte58b55d34abd934e/69885be02dce014fe19e4bb9/ap_750997563154.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Britain Extraterrestrials","caption":"Britain Extraterrestrials","creditText":"Matt Dunham—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3968680/stephen-hawkings-aliens-smartphone/","name":"Your Phone Will Power Stephen Hawking's Search For Aliens"}}]}] ```