Nowadays, there are plenty of ways for loved ones to keep an eye on teens and children when they’re out and about. Ride-sharing apps like Uber let you share your journey with contacts, BlueTooth trackers tucked into bags can beam your location, and iPhones can help you find where a person is at any given time.
Despite all the tracking tools at our disposal, some of us may still want added peace of mind. That’s where family tracking apps like Life360 come in. The service lets parents monitor their kids around the clock. Not only can you use the app to locate where someone is, it can even send an alert if they’re in a car that’s travelling over the speed limit.
Inevitably, the level of insight provided by the app has raised some concerns. Kids have shared tips on how to bypass the tracker on TikTok, parents have been accused of emotional abuse, and there are even allegations of stalking.
What is Life360?
Life360 essentially lets you keep tabs on loved ones 24 hours a day. The app allows you to create a network of family and friends of all ages
It can also send you notifications if the person you’re tracking leaves a designated area (known as geofencing), and can help you find them if they get lost.
The app, which works on iOS and Android, relies on GPS data that’s pinged between satellites and a receiver inside a phone to show you a person’s location. It’s the same technique that powers navigation apps like Google Maps, Waze, and Apple Maps.
The app also requires a Wi-fi or mobile data connection to work, and its accuracy can be affected by tall buildings and bad weather. Therefore, if someone puts their phone on airplane mode or simply turns it off, you won’t be able to track them.
Since launching in 2008, Life 360 has amassed 50 million users around the world, three million of whom are reportedly in the UK. The app currently has a 4.5 star rating out of 5 on Google Play and the iOS App Store.
Is Life360 free?
Life360 offers a mix of free and premium features. The app has three subscription tiers: Silver for £7 per month or £60 per year, gold for £12 per month or £100 per year, and platinum for £20 per month or £167 per year.
Those who don’t want to pay will have to make do with basic tracking functionality over a much shorter period of time.
In a nutshell, free users get two days of location history versus seven days for silver members and 30 days for gold and premium subscribers. The free tier also only offers unlimited geofenced alerts for two places compared to unlimited place notifications for paying users.
Free users also won’t get things like crime reports, individual driver reports, a physical Tile Bluetooth tracker, and roadside assistance. Most of the app’s digital safety features and all emergency assistance features are reserved for the paid versions.
Generally speaking, the free app should be fine for those who use the service often and don’t mind getting fewer alerts.
Is Life360 safe?
Life360 has come under fire over its tracking techniques and handling of user data, enabling controlling and emotionally abusive parents, assisting stalkers, and selling user data to data brokers without explicit user consent.
Earlier this year, the company and its subsidiary Tile were hit with a class action lawsuit by two alleged stalking victims. They accused the firms of failing to implement useful safety features and of producing advertising campaigns that encouraged stalking.
At the time, Life 360 said that using a Tile to track someone’s location without their knowledge is against its terms of service. The company added that it priorities collaboration with law enforcement in cases of misuse, and actively works “to ensure perpetrators are brought to justice".
Last year, Life360 said it would stop selling location data after an investigation found it was supplying data brokers with the whereabouts of millions of its users.
Nevertheless, a proposed class-action lawsuit was filed against Life360 in June accusing it of selling users’ location data without permission. The legal action was made on behalf of a Florida minor and his family.
Life360 said it “remains committed to transparency and choice. We disclose our data practices and give members meaningful choices about how their data is used, processed, and shared, including the ability to opt out of even aggregated data sales".
In a regulatory filing, the company said it “intends to defend against the claim".
