Life360, a safety net for the whole family

The age in which the little ones enter the web decreases and parental concern rises. Their geolocation through “parental control” applications is becoming a staple among families. At the same time, not all applications are created equal and it is essential to choose a reliable, safe, and complete service. Life360 helps families stay together through a private digital network.

Life360, a secure network

The app Life360 is a great resource for keep track of family members: offers a range of interesting features, is available on multiple devices and in most cases, the free version is more than enough.

Tracking function

Life360 allows you to create a “Circle”, which is a private network with family members. Each user who is added to the circle will share the location with others, via the GPS signal of their device. It’s possible to set up alerts called “Place Alerts”, which signal when a member of the circle arrives or leaves a specific position.

Life360, a safety net for the whole family

Chronology

Each move is recorded in one personal chronology, also shared with others. The free version allows everyone to view the last two days, while any Plus subscription (the cheapest costs only € 2.99) unlocks information for the previous 30 days.

Additional reports

With a premium membership, you can too access extra reports, such as the “Driver Report”: communicate to family members the car ride, speed, and risky actions (if you brake suddenly, or accelerate too quickly).

life360 driver report

Chat

The feature that frames Life360 as a “social network” is the chat, which allows messages to be sent between members of the circle. Beyond the GPS tracking, the app can in fact replace the “family chats” that are usually created on WhatsApp.

Install Life360

The application is downloadable for free from the Google Play Store. Just install it, create an account and form a “Circle” to which family members can be added. Then you can choose between the various subscription plans, which unlock the history of 30 days (instead of the 2 of the free version) and some extra features. However, in most cases, the free version is already sufficient and many users prefer to upgrade to the cheaper premium plan, at € 2.99, just in case of need.

Why Life360 is better than other apps

Once installed, it is impossible to escape Life360’s control. History cannot be deleted or hidden, geolocation always works, and disabling the data connection or turning off the phone is signaled to the other participants, as well as leaving a member from the Circle. Furthermore, the app keeps track of the battery status and notifies family members when the charge is about to run out. As a result, it’s pretty tricky to get away with simply saying the phone is dead.