I don't want to be tracked by my husband's ex-wife

The tracker can be switched off and it's not unreasonable to ask for it to be switched off whilst she's in your home.

My ex uses Life360 to track our (older teen) DC and I'm definitely not happy for them to keep it switched on whilst they are with me, but then again there's a history of domestic violence and a restraining order also in play in my case.

No idea tbh but was easier for my sis to go grab him and his friend and drop them to the game. No stress so happy days 😁.

I think you're talking about the black mirror episode where the mum could see what the kid could see and it blurred anything the parent decided they didn't want to kid to see. Fucked up.

I think being able to pinpoint your kids every move and just pick them up wherever they get lost isn't the positive people seem to think it is. When I got lost when I was a kid or got on the wrong bus I'd retrace my steps, ask for directions and worked out how to get to where I needed to be. Swooping in and picking up your kids takes away from them being able to build the skills that will help them navigate their way through life as adults.

If you think your kid's not going to switch off the tracking if they're doing something they shouldn't then you're very naive. And I'm pretty sure most kidnappers would launch the kids phone given how common tracking seems to be.

It's also naive to think that all parents are only concerned about their kids safety and have no interest in intruding on the step parents life. Many posters will have no idea what it's like to have someone's ex in some way having control over your life. When you already have to run holidays past her before you book, ask permission for the child to attend a family party, have the routines in your home reported back, have her stare through your windows at every pick up, comment on the washing detergent you use, yes having her know where you are at any given moment does seem like a big deal.

We actually got DD’s stolen phone back because of the tracker. The thief couldn’t turn it off and it gave a on the dot location, 25 thief house. Was stolen from inside the teachers desk at that too, so wasn’t even child shouldn’t have it at school it’s allowed as long as handed in. Gave the school the address too and they could pin point the pupil for sanctions of stealing on school property.

Cops where useless and said can you go knock and get it back 😂

Saved us the money of a new phone.

But the expensive phone does.

So a mum tracks all is fine, if a ex male partner tried to put a tracking device on their child's phone there is no way this would be considered acceptable, I think the thought of anyone tracking children is creepy

And no my teenager is not tracked by anyone

Sorry keeping someone else's child safe should never involve affecting someone else's rights or privacy though, how would you feel about your partners ex tracking your every move 🤷‍♀️ there's no need for mum to track her daughter when she's with her father, she's safe and if mum has concerns she's not there are more appropriate steps she should take.

As a parent who’s teen went off the rails, eventually going missing regularly, no it doesn’t ‘keep’ them safe, but can definitely reassure you they are safe. But, as I’m sure most teens would if they were doing something they shouldn’t, mine very quickly learnt to turn data off so it wouldn’t update, and eventually just turned find my iPhone off and I no longer had access to the phone to turn it back on.
My youngest has just got a phone at 12 and has it, but doesn’t yet really go anywhere alone. I’m hoping to be able to leave it on there as long as possible but I expect big push back from them soon as they’re big on privacy and asd so very black and white thinking around such matters.

Unless it’s password protected and the child doesn’t know it yes it can

@letstrythatagain "My nephew got completely lost trying to navigate off the train to a football game and had no idea where he was."

Did he not have a navigation app on his phone? No shops to pop in and ask directions?

I have family link on my 10 years old daughter's mobile. The app allows me to put how much time she is allowed on screen, set up downtime. It also have location tracking, I rarely used it but it was useful the day ex husband had an argument with her and she stormed off, would not answer her phone and he did not know where she was.

In fact this reminds me of a programme I watched where the child as a baby was implanted is this what we’ll be doing in the future as most of you think it’s normal to be tracked by phone already. We don’t need monitored 24/7

oh and the nephew why didn’t he phone mum and tell her where he was by the signs and landmarks. I’ve done that with one of mine and we managed to get him to the right place along with a policeman guiding him too.

You can’t just turn it on and off that easily. Better to just have it on all the time.

Read what you have written. Feel yourself going red as you cringe with embarrassment.

I'm sure the child's mother couldn't give a hoot about you.

They can switch it off themselves and most teens I know don’t want tracked step or otherwise

My nephew got completely lost trying to navigate off the train to a football game and had no idea where he was. My sis jumped in the car and used the app to just navigate to exactly where he was. It's really worth having it.

Plus the amount of times my daughter loses her phone means it's invaluable 😂.

The mum can't turn up to wherever we are though if the child tells her afterwards. And yes, some mums are that crazy.

And m, as with everything, there are circumstances which change the perspective. There are children with particular additional needs or health issues where tracking could give more, rather than less freedom. My dd had an activity that was potentially dangerous which she loved to do alone, and tracking meant she could do it and be rescued if she got hurt- it was turned off as soon as she got home.

But for the overwhelming majority of children in the overwhelming majority of circumstances, it's a negative, not a positive.

@Dullardmullard yes but good luck telling a teenage stepchild that you want it switched off. Find My Friends can also be switched off.

"Its easy to get all sanctimonious about being such better parents who don't need to track their kids because it's so rare - until the worst happens and you desperately wish you'd followed trends and track your child."

I'm not sanctimonious. I'm just practical. A child that knows they are being tracked will leave their phone behind if they're doing something risky so won't be able to call for help. A kidnapper will ditch a phone immediately. A "tracking" family are less likely to have plans in place to deal with unforeseen circumstances. And a girl who is used to being tracked is less likely to resist a controlling partner.

I’ve given an example of why my son and I have eachother on find my iPhone thing on the previous page.

He’s very vulnerable but is an adult, he deserves to be more independent but is at high risk of getting lost / getting on a wrong bus / deciding to go off somewhere either alone or with someone and not knowing where he is. He also worries about where I am when I’m coming to collect him and phones me every two minutes which is annoying and dangerous when I’m driving, so with this on his phone he can track me.

"Do kids get their first phone at 8?"

I would assume that any child who lived between two families would have the means to contact their other parent as soon as they were old enough do it?

Yabu, it's not about you, they are keeping track on their child. Where are you planning on going that it bothers you so much?? Presumably your oh can also monitor when she is with mum, but does he?

Personally I've never used tracking apps as my kids are teens and I know that the tracked teens just leave their phones at a friend's house and go out without it, to avoid detection, but that's by the by.

I doubt her mum is spending her free time tracking every movement but suppose for a moment she has nothing better to do...why do you care??

I'm pretty sure the parents of those who went missing would have loved a tracker.

Its easy to get all sanctimonious about being such better parents who don't need to track their kids because it's so rare - until the worst happens and you desperately wish you'd followed trends and track your child. Even if it's possible they don't have their phone on them at the time or someone took it off them. The slight chance for such little inconvenience is worth it if you all agree