tracking location of fam. members via smartphone

pep.fermi

What tool do you guys use to track location of children (or other fam. members) via GPS-enabled phones?
We've been using Google Family Link. But a huge minus of this is that the location gets updated only when the phone is actually used. If the phone is on, but unused, the location is not updated.
Thanks,
Alberto

phil485

we use life360 as a way of knowing where we all are. It is mutual and useful for all of us though.

Been really handy a few times when I have had a mechanical and needed picking up.

veronese68

Also using Life360 as it works across Apple and Android

MattFalle

We use Snapchat for bambini.

TDV and I don't stalk each other as we aren't weird.

if either of us need picking up we just phone and say where we are.

briantrumpet

The idea of knowing where everyone in the family is at all times seems, well, a bit strange to someone brought up in the stone age, who was sent off on bike rides with a 2p coin. When do you turn it off, at what age can children be allowed not to have parents checking if they're OK, do people panic if they can't see their loved ones at random times of the day or night?

NB - I don't think this is a criticism about caring (which is all right and proper), but I still find it strange.

Munsford0

Although we both grew up in an era where offspring were kicked out the door at 8:30 and not expected back till teatime, my wife starts worrying if one of the kids' WhatsApp profiles says they've not been seen since some time yesterday. I say kids; they are both strapping 30 something young men. I for one don't want to know their whereabouts 24/7 and always just assume no news is good news; if something bad were to happen I'm sure we'd be hearing from them, their other halves or worst case, plod. Callous, uncaring, Aspbergers or just a bloke thing??

briantrumpet

I think part of my concern is that it might actually raise worry levels too frequently, and engender a state of mind that being out of touch is something in itself to worry about, regardless of the risks, which, most of the time are vanishingly small.

I have the same thoughts about parents who walk their children to nearby schools every day even in (say) Y6: again, I hope it doesn't come across as criticism, but an absolutely central part of our brain development is conscious and unconscious risk assessment and mitigation/avoidance, and I wonder if shielding from manageable personal risk (counter-intuitively) actually risks not developing those intuitions as fully as they might be.

All that said, I've not got children, so I probably can't even imagine how deeply parents care about their children and want them to be safe at all times. So I do kind of get it, despite my non-parent concerns.

Pross

Could have done with it a few weeks ago when my youngest had gone out for a liquid brunch and we were trying to work out if she had made it up to my other daughter's where she was supposed to be dog sitting (she wasn't answering the phone). The rest of the family are on Snapchat that apparently shows where everyone is but doesn't seem very accurate. We eventually discovered she'd arrived via the doorbell camera triggering its app on my eldest's phone - the footage is hilarious but I ended up having to drive up there myself to open the door as she was unable to work out how a key works!

singleton

Can I just add into this
If you don't necessarily want to track one another all the time, but want to be able to find one another when required - something like What3Words might be a good option.

briantrumpet

I'll admit I'm probably a bit weird in that I don't want Google knowing where I am all the time, so location is turned off unless I'm using Google Maps.

rick_chasey

briantrumpet said:

I'll admit I'm probably a bit weird in that I don't want Google knowing where I am all the time, so location is turned off unless I'm using Google Maps.

Pretty sure most people do this.

Why would you want to know where your other half is, at all times?

pblakeney

Munsford0 said:

Although we both grew up in an era where offspring were kicked out the door at 8:30 and not expected back till teatime…

Likewise. It was deemed okay for us to cycle 8 miles each way to the beach to swim unsupervised at 13 as long as we were home for dinner.
What is weird is I’m now in my 60s and if my Dad pops out while I’m visiting he’ll always ask if I’ll be okay. I guess you never stop being a parent.

me-109

rick_chasey said:

briantrumpet said:

I'll admit I'm probably a bit weird in that I don't want Google knowing where I am all the time, so location is turned off unless I'm using Google Maps.

Pretty sure most people do this.

Why would you want your other half to know where you are at all times?

FTFY

briantrumpet

That's the thing... once you've started the tracking thing, the inevitable question would be "Why did you turn it off?", whether or not the reason was entirely innocent, and whether the reason for asking was equally so. A minefield, if you ask me. Not that you did...

morstar

Black mirror covered this topic quite well. In more than one story I seem to recall.
I can see the appeal with younger kids but not something we did.
The sister in law roasts her kids if they turn off tracking. 28 and 23.

First.Aspect

If you just get your children wear a body cam woth 5g sim, and broadcast straight to one of the screens in your surveillance lounge, you can make sure no harm comes to them.

me-109

You can't, you just get to watch it happening.

me-109

@Pross I believe that on Snapchat you can actually set a location to display, whether or not you are there or move somewhere else.

rjsterry

pep.fermi said:

What tool do you guys use to track location of children (or other fam. members) via GPS-enabled phones?
We've been using Google Family Link. But a huge minus of this is that the location gets updated only when the phone is actually used. If the phone is on, but unused, the location is not updated.
Thanks,
Alberto

You should be able to adjust the location permissions to be 'always on' I think. You can certainly do this in Google Maps.

TheBigBean

briantrumpet said:

I have the same thoughts about parents who walk their children to nearby schools every day even in (say) Y6

A quick google tells me that councils recommend walking on their own from the age of 8. This seems to be at odds with the NSPCC recommendation that children under 12 shouldn't be left at home on their own.

I walked to school from about 6.

rjsterry

Would have thought looking at the particular circumstances and maturity of the child in question is more sensible than some pretty arbitrary age. Given that it's all middle aged blokes here, our memories of school in the 70s and 80s might not be wholly relevant to 10 and 11 year old girls in 2023.

morstar

I was a latch key kid.

Sniff, it sniff, explains, sniff, so much.

First.Aspect

I'm not a parent, okay, but I have to ask - who is the location monitoring for? Is it really a safety thing, or is it an imposition on a child's independence that's more about the parent?

Have you considered there be some lasting damage in doing this. You know, dad was so controlling he could see where I was until I was 12... or my parents were so distrusting they tagged me, like I was on parole or something. Etc.

Makes me think this could be one of those just because you can, doesn't mean you should situations.

rjsterry

briantrumpet said:

I'll admit I'm probably a bit weird in that I don't want Google knowing where I am all the time, so location is turned off unless I'm using Google Maps.

Do you use Strava?

briantrumpet

rjsterry said:

briantrumpet said:

I'll admit I'm probably a bit weird in that I don't want Google knowing where I am all the time, so location is turned off unless I'm using Google Maps.

Do you use Strava?

Fair point - I upload significant rides afterwards from my basic GPS computer, so you can see where I've been.

First.Aspect

briantrumpet said:

I think part of my concern is that it might actually raise worry levels too frequently, and engender a state of mind that being out of touch is something in itself to worry about, regardless of the risks, which, most of the time are vanishingly small.

I have the same thoughts about parents who walk their children to nearby schools every day even in (say) Y6: again, I hope it doesn't come across as criticism, but an absolutely central part of our brain development is conscious and unconscious risk assessment and mitigation/avoidance, and I wonder if shielding from manageable personal risk (counter-intuitively) actually risks not developing those intuitions as fully as they might be.

All that said, I've not got children, so I probably can't even imagine how deeply parents care about their children and want them to be safe at all times. So I do kind of get it, despite my non-parent concerns.

Is this why the clubbie warriors who only do the chain gang and evening rides are such absolute choppers on the rare occasion the go for a ride on their own?

briantrumpet

The question I would ask is how often would knowledge of whereabouts actually bring about a safety benefit for the tracked party that wouldn't be possible with a phone call? If there is, in effect, none, I would suggest that the downsides outweigh the benefits. I genuinely also think it could, unintentionally, raise the stress levels of the tracker, whereas giving someone the trust to "Give me a call if anything crops up" means no news is good news.

Pross

morstar said:

Black mirror covered this topic quite well. In more than one story I seem to recall.
I can see the appeal with younger kids but not something we did.
The sister in law roasts her kids if they turn off tracking. 28 and 23.

Roasting kids, no matter their age, feels extreme. Cannibalism is not acceptable.

briantrumpet

Pross said:

morstar said:

Black mirror covered this topic quite well. In more than one story I seem to recall.
I can see the appeal with younger kids but not something we did.
The sister in law roasts her kids if they turn off tracking. 28 and 23.

Roasting kids, no matter their age, feels extreme. Cannibalism is not acceptable.

Be a bit chewy by that age anyway. Better braised.

surrey_commuter

briantrumpet said:

I'll admit I'm probably a bit weird in that I don't want Google knowing where I am all the time, so location is turned off unless I'm using Google Maps.

What do you perceive to be the downside of Google knowing where you are?

Pross

They’ll be tracking you through the “vaccine” 5G chip anyway so what difference does it make?