Aug 25, 2022

Best Family Tracking Apps to Track Kids

7
Franklin Karter

The current opinions in psychology regarding tracking a child’s phone differ worldwide. Some believe this is the only way to prevent the threats that await the child at every turn. Others see this as an invasion of personal space, which leads to a breach of trust between parents and children.

For example, Lorrie Faith Cranor, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who studies safety in the context of technology, decides against tracking a child’s whereabouts. She thinks children should not feel under round-the-clock supervision even if it’s tempting for their parents or other family members.

But what if kids don’t even know their device is being tracked?

How Do Family Trackers Work?

Now you can explore the capabilities of unique tracker apps and find out what benefits they provide for your child’s safety. Knowing what these tools offer will help you choose the best app later.

  • Real-time location tracking

Location tracking is a cool feature for families who care about their child’s safety 24/7. The option allows you to see where your child is in real-time. Therefore, as soon as a child arrives somewhere or leaves a place, you immediately know about it, right up to the exact time.

All you have to do for this is select the parent control app and install it on your smartphone. As a rule, setting up top programs takes no time and effort.

  • Knowing where your children have been

An equally helpful feature for tracking is the location history. The application provides parents with all the necessary information about where their child was at one time or another. In addition, many people find this feature valuable in testing children’s confidence levels because teenagers do not always tell the truth about the places where they are during the day.

Moreover, the parental control app users don’t have to log in every time to stay up to date. Checking the location history is enough to ensure the child does not visit other places during school hours.

  • Mobile geofencing

In the context of the parental control app, the geofencing feature is an imaginary geographic boundary set by parents to control their children further. So, if the target device crosses the border of a previously set zone, then the application sends a notification to the phone of the one who is tracking.

This feature helps keep track of young children, who may fall for the tricks of criminals on the street, and teenagers, who often have many secrets from family members.

The 5 Best Family Locator Apps for Android and iOS in 2022

Since there are many tracker apps, finding the right one for you can be challenging. Yet, knowing about the best offers on the market and their functionality, you definitely can’t go wrong.

So here is a list of the best location services and parental controls available for Android and iOS devices. It is worth noting that some of the described methods are specially created programs for location tracking with an extended set of various tools, while others offer basic options. Hence, choose what suits your needs the most to ensure your child’s.

  1. mSpy

mSpy is one of the market’s most advanced and sought-after kid tracker apps. It takes a few minutes to install. Besides, this great tracking app runs in background mode, which makes it invisible on the target device.

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mSpy
5 / 5.0
Product:
mSpy
Compatibility:
iOS/Android
Money back:
30 days
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Here is what mSpy offers for phone’s location tracking:

  • REAL-TIME location tracking

An advanced built-in GPS tracker provides parents with information about all their child’s movements up to the last 60 days. So, on a convenient dashboard, you can check the exact address, time, location accuracy, latitude, and longitude. What’s also handy is the map view that users can switch to with a single click.

  • GEO-FENCING

With this tool, you can set forbidden zones for a child’s device. Then, if they have been crossed, mSpy will immediately notify you. In addition, the installation of allowed and restricted zones is possible in a few seconds, thanks to an intuitive interface.

Other benefits of mSpy for parents

This application allows you to track your child’s location and also offers many other valuable options. So, you can monitor all child’s online activity no matter what social media apps are installed on the kids’ devices. Thus, you can:

  • monitor calls
  • view SMS messages
  • keep informed of web browsing
  • limit screen time
  • control each app installed
  • block apps
  • restrict websites with web filtering
  1. Family Locator

Family Locator app is a PTPA award-winning platform used by tens of thousands of families around the world. Although Family Locator does not have many features compared to mSpy, it does an excellent job determining in real-time.

  • Real-time kid’s location

Family Locator allows accurate and timely location sharing as long as family members have their phones with them. This way, parents always know where their children are as if they are always together.

  • Safe and dangerous areas

Like mSpy, Family Locator offers a zone setting feature. In addition, your child may check in to let you know they have arrived safely at school. Another advantage is the SOS button, where a child can report a critical situation with one tap.

  • Location history

You can receive a list of places your child has been in the last seven days. However, you need to upgrade the application to the Premium version to get this feature.

From the name itself, it is easy to understand that the program is designed to monitor the locations of mobile devices. Therefore, one should not expect tools to control the child’s activity online by choosing Family Locator.

  1. Google Family Link

Google family link is a complementary application from Google featuring basic tracking functions. Therefore, a custom-designed tracker app might suit you better if you are looking for more functionality than live location tracking.

Some potential users may be more attracted to Google’s Family Link than other tools. After all, the developer follows a transparent policy and notifies children that they are being watched. Therefore, it is better to choose from other platforms if you want to remain unnoticed.

  1. Find My Kids

Find My Kids is a program with over 45,000 reviews on Google Play. It determines the target device’s location with an accuracy of several meters. Since the tool is designed specifically for caring parents, it has everything you need to find the target device quickly.

Like all the apps designed specifically for kid’s device monitoring, Find My Kids offers real-time tracking and a list of visited places.

Also, like the Family Locator Find My Kids, it has an SOS button; when a child presses it, parents get the exact location.

As for additional features, there are tools for listening to your child’s surroundings and checking screen time. But note that these options are only available for Android devices.

  1. uMobix

uMobix is another location tracking app to help parents stay on top of the risks. Specifically, uMobix offers a wide range of functions for keeping up with the child’s location and other multiple functions that give parents peace of mind.

uMobix
4.9 / 5.0
Product:
uMobix
Compatibility:
iOS/Android
Money back :
15 days
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  • GPS Location and history

uMobix provides accurate target device coordinates and a map view for user convenience. The function works so smoothly and quickly that you can find out the whereabouts of the child in one second. And of course, detailed information about the last visited places is also available.

  • Geofinder

It is a unique offer from uMobix to track devices without installing a program but only using a phone number. You can learn more about this later in the article.

Finally, uMobix is another brilliant tracker app that allows parents to keep their kids safe. Here are some additional features that you may find helpful for parental controls:

  • social media monitoring
  • web content filtering
  • phone calls and text messages tracking
  • video and audio stream
  • access to deleted information
  • app usage viewing
  • screen time restrictions

Free apps for real-time child’s phone tracking without installation app

If you want to find an app to control a child’s phone location without installing the program on a smartphone, then the following offers may be of interest to you.

Geofinder

You may not be sure you want to control everything on a child’s device, including Facebook activity, call logs, or messages, but you certainly care about the child’s location.

In that case, GeoFinder is your perfect choice among the various apps on the market. Here are some simple steps to quickly activate the application:

  1. Go to geofinder.mobi
  2. Enter the phone number of the person you want to track and click Find
  3. Once the website takes you to the next page, click on Create Account
  4. Pay for the application to complete the order
  5. Your account is now ready, and you can access it through the uMobix website or the GEOfinder site

Now that your account is ready, you can start tracking your child’s location:

  1. Select one of the three SMS options offered
  2. If you decide to change the content, then be careful not to remove the % link% part in the message
  3. Enter your kid’s phone number and make sure it is correct, as the program generates a tracking message every three hours
  4. Send this message from the GEOfinder app to the target device
  5. Once the target user clicks on the embedded link, you can track the location

As you can see, the activation and setup processes are simple and do not take time.

Localize

Localize works similarly to Geofinder, using a phone number. Again, the software sends a message to the target iOS or Android devices from an anonymous sender. However, you can change the content of the message to your liking.

Localize supports all phone numbers and smartphone types. Moreover, you can track an unlimited number of people and get their location information immediately.

So, the above solutions always let customers know where their children are. Even though the applications do not require installation, GPS tracking works smoothly and delivers only accurate information.

It is important to note that if you are looking for a free app, these products are unsuitable. Yet, potential users should know that free solutions are almost always a threat, but GeoFinder and Localize justify their cost.

How to Use a Parental Control App?

As already mentioned, Family Locator is a good tool featuring everything families need to stay connected.

If you have chosen this GPS tracker software, follow a couple of easy steps to install the application. It’s equally easy for the owners of Android and iOS devices.

How to activate THE Family Locator App on Android devices?

  1. Make sure you have a good internet connection, preferably Wi-Fi
  2. Find Family Locator in Google Play Store
  3. Click Install and wait for the download to complete
  4. Launch the application and fill out the registration form
  5. Once logged in, you can add family members and start tracking

How to activate THE Family Locator App on iOS devices?

  1. Find Family GPS Locator in iTunes
  2. Enter your Apple account password to confirm your purchase
  3. Download the app after making sure you have a good internet connection
  4. Click Create a new account on the welcome screen
  5. After successful authorization, add children and start tracking

Final thoughts

Many people doubt whether it is worth tracking their kid’s location or online activity in general. In any case, the choice is up to each parent. But at the same time, you must be aware of the risks and threats to your child.

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For example, the bad example of friends can provoke your child to act rashly. In addition, online predators can damage children’s mental state, and even unlimited screen time and access to Internet content can corrupt them.

Therefore, leaving children alone with these risks, parents can unconsciously shift the responsibility onto them. But by choosing reliable and user-friendly specific apps for parental controls, you can avoid many unpleasant consequences.