I tested two of the best location-sharing apps for a month - this one was most accurate

Charlie Osborne/ZDNET

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Most of america present person a smartphone, and successful the involvement of safety, immoderate parents are providing their children with devices astatine a young age.

Location-sharing apps person risen successful popularity arsenic a mode to way the determination of household and friends, pinpoint wherever your loved ones are connected a map, and person alerts erstwhile circumstantial destinations are reached. They whitethorn besides supply features specified arsenic SOS alerts, exigency calls, and operator behaviour tracking.

However, these apps tin besides rise privateness concerns. They whitethorn person processes moving softly successful the background; they whitethorn request persistent GPS access, and immoderate apps, portion masked arsenic parental power software, could beryllium utilized successful home maltreatment and for coercive control.

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The question is: should location-sharing apps beryllium based connected consent? This is the thought down HeyPolo, a caller Surfshark-owned location-sharing app that aims to separate itself successful this abstraction arsenic a "privacy-first" alternate to others connected the market.

Let's research HeyPolo's claims and whether this caller location-sharing app tin vie with Life360's established technologies and idiosyncratic base.

You should bargain HeyPolo if...

HeyPolo/ZDNET

1. Consent matters astir

Many location-tracking and parental apps necessitate GPS determination to beryllium continually active, and it mightiness beryllium hard to untangle users from surveillance.

If you are utilizing a location-tracking oregon parental power app to support your young children safe, it's understandable that you wouldn't privation them, oregon anyone other with entree to their smartphone, to disable location-tracking features, rendering the app powerless. However, arsenic children turn up, they privation independence, and a 24/7 tracker connected their telephone could pb to tension, arguments, and a feeling of being stifled oregon spied upon, which does not lend to a affirmative household environment.

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"We wanted to physique thing different: a merchandise that gives parents reassurance and gives teenagers a grade of independence, without anyone's privateness being compromised successful the process," HeyPolo says.

You tin either make a radical for household and friends oregon articulation 1 for free, arsenic agelong arsenic you person an invitation code. Adding caller members to immoderate radical is free, arsenic agelong arsenic 1 idiosyncratic successful the radical has an progressive subscription.

HeyPolo is built connected consent, alternatively than surveillance. Users of the app tin alteration the grade of tracking astatine immoderate time, ranging from "more precise," which reveals your nonstop location, travel history, and coming and going alerts, to "more private," which turns each determination services disconnected and doesn't let anyone successful the radical to spot wherever you are.

In addition, erstwhile you instal HeyPolo, the permissions it requires are intelligibly displayed: location, inheritance location, motion, propulsion notifications, and artillery optimization, the past of which is designed to halt an operating strategy from deep-sleeping the app and to forestall precocious artillery usage.

2. You privation an app to boost spot with your family, not erode it

One of HeyPolo's wide benefits is however transparent the app is concerning however determination tracking works, however you appear, and wherever your information goes.

When you instal the app, you tin take however you look connected the map, and the wide process is cleanable and wide and asks for your support astatine each stage, which for immoderate users should summation their assurance and the spot indispensable to let a location-tracking app connected their smartphone successful the archetypal place.

HeyPolo engineers accidental the app has been built arsenic a supportive tool, alternatively than a replacement for the "conversations families request to person astir spot and responsibility."

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To trim the feeling of perpetually being watched, the app includes features that springiness each idiosyncratic greater power implicit what they stock and when. This includes changing your visibility, turning disconnected determination tracking astatine immoderate time, and choosing erstwhile to stock your determination based connected scheduling, oregon conscionable arsenic a one-off alert.

In addition, users tin acceptable exceptions and rules for each radical member: turning disconnected determination sharing entirely, providing nonstop locations, oregon restricting it to a wide area.

Regarding idiosyncratic privateness and trust, HeyPolo doesn't merchantability idiosyncratic data, and the enactment says it ne'er will. When you motion up for the app, you are shown a abbreviated data-sharing argumentation that is casual to read, which is besides acold clearer than Life360's novel, and you tin take whether you are blessed for the app to cod aggregated idiosyncratic information for analytics oregon to usage information for selling purposes.

3. You privation to backmost developers focused connected preventing maltreatment

I tested the app during development, and I was capable to supply suggestions for betterment anterior to its release. One of my concerns was the imaginable for abuse, arsenic stalkerware installation and determination tracking are communal methods for radical conducting home maltreatment to power others.

Every caller exertion tin beryllium abused, but fixed that location-sharing bundle uses GPS to pinpoint your location, it is important that information measures are successful spot to astatine slightest mitigate the risk.

When I caught up with the engineers down HeyPolo and asked astir the anticipation of aboriginal updates including measures specified arsenic blocking ellipse members oregon softly pausing tracking, they said that ways to forestall maltreatment successful home unit settings are "something we've continued to deliberation cautiously about, and it's firmly connected our roadmap."

While the squad is presently moving done improvements to the app to see driving behaviour monitors, presumption updates, and in-app calling, "protecting users from coercive oregon abusive usage of the merchandise is simply a halfway portion of however we deliberation astir HeyPolo, and it volition beryllium reflected successful the merchandise arsenic we physique it out."

You should bargain Life360 if...

Life360

1. You privation always-on connectivity

You tin articulation groups with an invitation codification oregon commencement your ain groups with household and friends. The required permissions are: determination (precise, each the time), carnal activity, notifications, and Bluetooth. The app is wide and transparent astir the smartphone functions it needs entree to. However, you person to crook disconnected artillery optimization for determination sharing to work, oregon the app's inheritance processes won't enactment properly.

Life360's attack to determination tracking is much accepted than HeyPolo's. When the app is installed and you've entered a circle, determination tracking indispensable beryllium on, and determination are nary scheduled oregon timed tracking sessions.

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An vantage of Life360 that I similar is the enactment to adhd pets to your radical by registering pet-appropriate GPS tracker collars. You tin besides adhd Tile devices to way the determination of objects similar your wallet, keys, oregon luggage.

While children, oregon different big users, tin disable the determination services connected their smartphones to debar being tracked oregon log out, changes are flagged to different radical members. Alerts tin besides beryllium sent erstwhile there's a "no-show," a ellipse subordinate has not arrived astatine a acceptable destination erstwhile they are expected.

2. You request precocious features, including operator monitoring

Life360's extended database of further features can't beryllium ignored. Simply put, the scope is impressive.

There is simply a standout database of features included successful paid subscriptions that has transformed the app from conscionable determination sharing to operator monitoring, exigency response, and adjacent ID theft protection, making Life360 much of a idiosyncratic information app than a standalone determination tracker.

Among Life360's features are:

• Location tracking 24/7, determination history, spot accomplishment alerts, and real-time updates
• SOS exigency assistance and catastrophe response
• Pet and entity GPS tracking
• No-show alerts
• Crash detection
• Driver monitoring
• Credit monitoring
• Weather alerts
• Stolen telephone reimbursement, ID theft protection, and transgression reports

One of the cardinal benefits of Life360 is the app's operator features. It tin beryllium a worrying clip erstwhile your teen archetypal starts driving, which is wherefore the enactment offers a afloat acceptable of options designed specifically for these scenarios.

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It's similar a achromatic container for driving, successful a way, arsenic the app provides reports and summaries connected driving habits, including telephone usage ("distraction"), speeds ("rapid acceleration"), and hard braking. However, it's not conscionable astir monitoring: there's besides 24/7 roadside assistance, positive collision and dispatch crews successful emergencies.

3. You privation a escaped location-sharing app

While HeyPolo allows unlimited guests to articulation existing groups, astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic successful the radical has to person a paid subscription. Life360, however, offers a free, afloat functional app for iOS and Android.

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The escaped program provides the aforesaid basal functionality arsenic paid plans, but it is constricted to 2 days of determination history, 2 registered "place" alerts, household driving summary only, and Tile tracking support. To entree precocious features, you volition request to wage for a subscription.

If you conscionable privation a location-sharing app for usage betwixt friends, for example, Life360 could beryllium the champion option, particularly arsenic you don't request to wage for the service.

Writer's prime

My idiosyncratic prime would beryllium HeyPolo. As I was capable to supply immoderate feedback during the improvement of this app, I admit that this whitethorn power my position connected existing determination tracker apps connected the market, but determination are besides galore tech products and apps I person tested and provided feedback connected successful the past that I wouldn't urge today.

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HeyPolo's attack to determination tracking and idiosyncratic privateness is what makes this app basal retired connected its ain merits. User-friendly maps, transparent data-sharing policies and support requests, and power handed implicit to the idiosyncratic to negociate their ain location-sharing preferences are each reasons I would opt for HeyPolo implicit Life360.

However, arsenic a recently minted app, it is inactive successful progressive development, and truthful you won't person the precocious features offered by competitors, including Life360, specified arsenic operator absorption and reporting. And portion determination is simply a mode to usage the app for free, there's nary standalone escaped plan. So, if you request driver-related features oregon you privation catastrophe effect and aesculapian assistance, you mightiness similar Life360.

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