whereareyougps.com

biko

For the parents with young-ish kids with mobile phones.

My friends 12yo just got a HTC Wildfire and I took the opportunity to install software from whereareyougps.com on it.
It runs silent on the phone (without an icon so hard to find for the kid even if they look).

Then added a subscription on www.whereareyougps.com at 13 euro for a year.
The site offers "warning areas" so if the kid sneaks off into town or leaves school during the day you're sent a mail.

Pretty nifty alright and can be used if the phone is lost/stolen too.
Just don't tell the kid about it, they'll not appreciate being monitored...

Out of curiousity, would the child be able to disable the GPS setting and therefore disable this app?

biko

I suppose so, but if they're not aware of the app they wouldn't have reason to.
They might not even know it's on, or that it can be disabled.

Depends on the techy-ness of the child at the end of the day.

biko

biko wrote: »

I suppose so, but if they're not aware of the app they wouldn't have reason to.
They might not even know it's on, or that it can be disabled.

Depends on the techy-ness of the child at the end of the day.

The only reason I'd ask is that battery life with GPS on may dictate that the child might end up looking for how to turn it off. I'm sure that's what I'd end up doing!

Piliger

Dónal wrote: »

The only reason I'd ask is that battery life with GPS on may dictate that the child might end up looking for how to turn it off. I'm sure that's what I'd end up doing!

It will also drain the battery far faster ... increasing the likelihood that they end up with a dead phone when they need it the most or are in a dangerous situations. Apps like this can be useful but are no substitute for knowing where they are at ALL times which is what should be happening at 12. NO offence to the OP.

Setun

Did you read the full Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for this app? I'd be a bit wary of how the data is stored and if it is used for any other purposes. It might sound a bit crazy but having studying various TOS agreements over the last year you would be surprised what allowances they often make for themselves.

That aside, I think that even if GPS was turned off, there is an inaccurate but still somewhat reliable positioning system on smartphones based on mobile phone masts which would still give you an idea where the person is.

biko

There is another app called instamapper that could be useful too, haven't really looked into that. Both log where the child has been so if there is an issue you can "follow the trail".
I noticed that whereareyougps.com is lagging behind 30 mins or so and so isn't really real-time but maybe that's something that can be adjusted in settings.

The wildfire has a pretty good battery life and if the kids are used to charge it every night it shouldn't be an issue (welcome to the life of smartphones in general, battery is always a bloody issue with them )
The software has been on the phone since before I started this thread and apparently the battery isn't empty yet.
Kids that use smartphones usually have lots of games etc so a lot of power drain that way, and the ones I know would charge phone often.

The "phone died because of this and that app running and it left my kid stranded" is of course a valid argument but that can happen to anyone with any app.
Themselves or the parent can just make sure the phone has plenty charge before they head away.


No I didn't fully read the T&C but then again I don't mind the data being logged. They don't have any names or such, just locations of a username.

carolmarx

I dunno how I feel about that to be honest. I mean, I agree that no 12 year old should be somewhere unawares to their parents, but I have issues with that sort of monitoring unbeknownst to the child. It should be explained to her that this is being done, why it is being done, and that Mam and Dad will know straight away if she turns it off. I'd kinda have an issue with a 12 year old having a smart phone too to be honest. A cousin of mine is 12 and joined FB, and has complete free reign of the internet, and he often comes and says things like 'i'm scared after a video that such and such sent me".. Then again, that's a whole other debate!

Orion

carolmarx wrote: »

I agree that no 12 year old should be somewhere unawares to their parents, but I have issues with that sort of monitoring unbeknownst to the child.

I agree. How is a child to learn responsibility and respect if given neither?

Piliger

Well, as a father of a 20 yo. I can say that there was never ever a time before he was about 14 or 15 when I or his mother didn't know exactly where he was. I would have considered that a complete dereliction of responsibility.

Orion

Piliger wrote: »

Well, as a father of a 20 yo. I can say that there was never ever a time before he was about 14 or 15 when I or his mother didn't know exactly where he was. I would have considered that a complete dereliction of responsibility.

And how did you know where he was? Did you chip him or was there some trust involved? Of course you should know where your child is but I would consider this an invasion if privacy which even a child is entitled to and the child would, rightly, consider it a breach of trust when it was discovered - when not if.

Daisy M

It is very difficult as a parent to know what is the right or wrong thing to do. My stance is that until they actually give me a reason not to trust them they (more or less) have my full trust. If I found out they were dossing school or been places they shouldn't be then maybe for their own saftey I would consider something like this.

Orion

Daisy M wrote: »

My stance is that until they actually give me a reason to trust them they (more or less) have my full trust.

I assume you mean "to mistrust them".

I agree. Trust and respect are two-way things. If I was ever to consider anything like this (which is unlikely tbh) I would be upfront about it with the children. There's no way I'd do it behind their backs.

Daisy M

I forgot the not but mistrust will do!!

I agree if I ever did anything like this then I would tell them and explain why I felt I had to do it.