Tracking app for kids phone

[Iremembertheelderlykoreanlady]

Does anyone use a tracking app on their children's phones?

Ideally one that shows a little map of their location?

Any recommendations? This is following on from another thread of mine re child walking home (which is on hold for now)

Life 360

I looked at that one but a lot of reviews saying it's rubbish

Oh!

I like it! I'll expand for you!

I use the free version. I have DD, DS and me linked on it. I can see where we all are on the map. It gives the speed when traveling in a car (so I know DD isn't speeding!)

On the free version you can set two locations and get alerts so I get a ding when DS arrives at school and leaves school. Ditto home.

If you pay for more stuff you can have more location alerts so you could add other schools, work places, bus stops etc.

I think there's the rapid deceleration alert too which would be triggered in cases of a car crash.

I've not tried any others so can't compare. I don't know why reviews would diss it. I've never had any connectivity issues or glitches.

Me and DH used Life360 before he got an iPhone and it worked ok. It does tells you their battery percentage as well though which was somewhere between useless and a privacy invasion for us but probably quite useful for DC.

Oh yes, the battery thing is quite useful.

You also get (but you can only go back a couple of days on the free version) a map of where they've been with time stamp waypoints.

There's a 'get directions to their location' and 'time to get to them' too, which I use in reverse so I know how long until they'll get home.

What a disgusting attitude to have, needing to constantly track your kids.

If you trust them enough to be out on their own, then surely you should let them have the independence that comes with this. If you can't handle the idea of not knowing where they are or trust them to stay safe, you shouldn't be letting them out.

This is the sort of thing kids hold against their parents for years, knowing that they were always there, hovering over them and not letting them grow.

It's not a matter of trust. I trust them both to go to school, work etc. It's just useful to know where they are sometimes and reassuring that they've got there safely. It saves on phone calls!

I probably only check it once every few weeks. For example, I used it last night. DD went to Tesco and I wanted to add something to the list. Rather than phone her in case she was already driving and I'd disturb her, I just checked the app and saw that she was already half way home, so I left it.

Yep, it's not about trust. You sound ridiculous frankly @jizzle. Assuming that I would want an app because of lack of trust probably says more about your relationships with your children than it does mine

I have them on Find My Friends as we all have iPhones. I only ever use it to see how soon they'll be home. Obviously they are fully aware I can see this and they can see me.

Find my kids.

My whole family are on it. We don't 'track' each other but it's there if we need it. It has practical use for us, as well as security if, god forbid, we ever need it. Dd can see where I am if she wants a lift and often just walks home if I'm miles away shopping or whatever.

We all use Life 360, none of us feel checked up upon or spied on.

Life 360. A game changer!

We use Life360, it's great.

It mostly gets used by me to see what time DH leaves work and when he's going to be home. Saves the "what time will you be back" texts. I also like that I can feel safer when running or walking the dog alone, someone always knows exactly where I am.

The teens have long-since learnt ways to bypass it (we've been using it for 2 years with teens who are now 16 and 15). So I routinely won't know where they are (they switch location permission off for the app).

But it being on their phone means that if they are going somewhere I feel slightly risky about, I can insist that they are tractable for safety sake. Example would be DS15 did a very long 30 mile bike ride with his mate. I needed to ensure he was safe a d if he got lost I could help him. Another example, DD16 went into the local city centre late-ish (home 9.30pm). A condition of her being somewhere risky later than I liked was that tracking was on so I knew her exact location if she needed me.

But most of the time I now turn a blind eye to tracking permission for Life360 being off on their phone (because I trust them). It's useful to have the immediate option there to insist tgey switch it on though. Plus the threat that Mum/Dad might make me switch on tracking at any time (even if we don't) keeps them mindful of being honest.

I use Find My Kids. It costs about £50 a year but I find it really good. It show's how much battery is left, has a loud ring option if their phone is on silent, has an option to hear their surroundings.

I feel much better knowing I can always know where my kid is - he is only 11 and is travelling to school by himself. Many times, when he is a bit late coming home from school - instead of panicking and imagining all kinds of scenarios, I can just look at the app and see that he left school late or has popped into a shop on the way home. I can see in the morning if he made it to school on time - his travel takes about 45 mins.
I used to check him more often at the beginning of the school year. Now I very rarely do so, but I am happy I have an option.

We all use Find My Friends. I rarely use it unless they’re late for something and I need to collect them though they use it a lot for me. My DD (pre COVID) used to go to her hobby every night at 6pm and I left work at 5pm. She’d use it to track me so she could jump in the car as I pulled up to the house to get her.

We use Life 360 and have always found it useful and easy to use.

It was also useful when my OH was based on an office because I often work in the evening and I and my teenage children could see when he was on his way back.

Also useful at the weekend when we go for a walk - my son will always have a coffee ready for when we get home!

I've found it accurate and helpful.

We have Life 360 and I have to say I've been disappointed in it, but the problems may be fairly specific to our particular situation. Predominantly I got it to track my teenage DS when he is out on his bike. He is a serious cyclist and goes on long training rides so I like to be able to see where he is. The idea was that if he stopped moving for any length of time I'd know to go and find him. However, we are in a rural and very hilly area with limited phone signal in some areas so actually when he doesn't seem to have moved for ages its almost certainly because he has lost signal. And worse than that, it doesn't consistently find him again when he moves back into an area with signal. So actually it sometimes worries me more than if we didn't have it. There has been more than one occasion when it's been telling me he hasn't moved for an hour and I've said "right, he should be back by now" and have set out to look for him, only to meet him on our drive coming back in. But according to the tracker he is still half way up a mountain miles away.
This probably doesn't happen in urban areas but I have found that having an unreliable tracker is sometimes worse than having none.

Life360 here as well! Use it for the whole family and super handy for picking up for lifts. Not intrusive as it runs in the background and you don’t need to have the notifications on.

I’ve got Family Link which does have a tracker, although I’ve never used it.

I live in an urban area. Been using Life 360 for over a year. It's never let us down.

I find the idea of tracking where they are very wierd as well to be honest. Kids dawdle and take their time my son can sometimes take half an hour to get home from school which is about a 5 minute walk. I never worry that much now and again I go and have a look to hurry him up

@JackieTheFart

I’ve got Family Link which does have a tracker, although I’ve never used it.

I have this too. I don't use it because DS never has his data on

I can see where dd is as she has Google locate I think it is on her phone, but would never dream of tracking her she and her friends all have it on their phones for safety (students). My other dd has an iPhone so I can locate her via find my iPhone in emergency, but again wouldn't deliberately do so

I use life360 in a family group with my husband daughter and granddaughter. I have another app for tracking and my husband myself and adult son are in a group. It is absolutely nothing to do with trust or lack of it

I find life360 is easy to use and saves a lot of phone calls to see where people are and more importantly when to put the kettle on or have supper ready