Police said a 55-year-old man who allegedly stole a mobile phone last Saturday has been charged after he was photographed by a security application installed on the handset.

The Chifley man is alleged to have stolen the phone from a car parked off London Circuit, near the ACT Magistrates Court, about 7pm on Saturday. The owner of the car reported several items stolen, including a mobile phone.

An application on the phone discreetly takes a photo of any user who incorrectly enters the security pass code three times in a row. A photograph of the alleged thief was sent to the owner of the phone via email.

An ACT Policing spokeswoman said: "Investigations by police led them to the 55-year-old man in his Chifley home.

"He was arrested and taken to the ACT Watch House where he was later bailed to appear in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday, September 5."

The man has been charged with property damage and minor theft.

The charges come after the ACT Magistrates Court ruled last September that using tracking applications to recover devices was legal.

In that case, a Canberra man had a tablet computer stolen and tracked it to a property before calling police. The property was searched and numerous stolen goods were seized.

The ACT Policing spokeswoman could not confirm which application was used or how investigators had traced the man.