What to know about Verizon’s family locator apps and monitoring devices for kids

Chaperoning a group of teenagers on a field trip and worried about the ones who wander off? Want to know where your kid is while you’re stuck in traffic during your evening commute? Need to make sure your oldest makes it to the dorm on a solo drive back from holiday break? You’re not alone. 

Research shows that about half of parents in the U.S. say they use some kind of GPS device to help monitor their kids. Studies also say it’s essential that parents be transparent with their kids about the kind of devices they’re using and why. 

If you want to keep up with your kids’ locations, here’s a quick roundup of the tech that can help—including a Verizon pick for each example. 

What are the different ways to track my child’s GPS location? 

Generally, there are three options that can help when it comes to tracking your kid’s phone and location. The simplest is to ask kids to share their location. Phones offer built-in sharing, apps add geofencing and alerts, and GPS smartwatches work for kids too young for smartphones.

On iOS, this can be done with Share My Location in Messages or through the Find My app, which lets trusted contacts follow their real-time location. On Android, they can use Google Maps to share their live location with selected contacts. 

The second option is to install a GPS monitoring app on your kid’s smartphone. The app can be set to send location updates in real time. 

The third is a device, such as the Gizmo Watch 3, which has a built-in kid GPS tracker.

How do location apps work?

Real-time location sharing. Are your family members always going in different directions? You can install a family locator app such as Verizon Family on everyone’s smartphone and monitor them all in near-real-time.

Geofencing and location alerts. Parents often ask, “What is geofencing?” It’s basically a virtual boundary you can draw around a place—school, home, a friend’s house—to get alerts when your child arrives or leaves. These apps can provide more location insights using GPS. For instance, you can set a geofence—a mapped boundary around a school or neighborhood—and receive a notification if your kid enters or leaves that area. 

Temporary location sharing. Some apps offer time-bound or trip-based monitoring. Instead of sharing their location constantly, a child can choose to share it with a specific contact when they’re traveling or simply going from one place to another. With Verizon Family’s Safe Walk feature, your kid can share their route in real time with you or another trusted contact. No need for the “text me when you get there” dance—you see their progress, and they feel supported. 

Verizon’s pick: Verizon Family. You can set up a profile for all the smartphones in your family, easily get near-real-time location sharing and set geofencing and Safe Walk, all from one app. 

Why choose a smartwatch with GPS?

Smartwatches work best for kids who are too young for smartphones but old enough to go places on their own with friends. Ray Pastore, Ph.D.—a contributing writer for “Parenting in a Digital World” and a professor of esports at the University of North Carolina Wilmington—started researching watches when his son was eight. He decided on the Gizmo Watch.

“My son can call us at any time,” Pastore says. “We call him; he picks up. We’re going [on vacation] in two weeks, and he’s going to wear it there in case he gets lost, heaven forbid.” 

In addition to monitoring, the smartwatch has two-way calling and texting to make it easy to check in or ask for a ride home. 

Verizon’s pick: Gizmo Watch 3: It’s designed to be safe and durable for active kids, and has two-way calling so parents can call the watch if they’re worried. Parents can also put the watch in “school mode” to avoid disruptions in class.

How does location sharing work on smartphones?

When Kathy Newsom had to chaperone 20 of her daughter’s friends on a field trip, they decided as a group to share their locations with the other chaperones using the Share My Location feature from their smartphones. 

“They mostly wanted to feel safe and didn’t want someone getting separated from the herd,” Newsom says. “That’s what led to the location-monitoring idea. The kids and chaperones shared locations with everyone.” 

For kids old enough to handle the responsibility of a smartphone, the built-in features, such as location sharing, can be turned on. On some platforms, such as iOS, you can choose a timeframe for monitoring location, such as one hour, one day or indefinitely. 

Verizon’s pick: Verizon Family: If you’re going on a field trip and juggling multiple people and devices, Verizon Family allows you to share your location with a limited number of peoples—even if they’re not on your wireless plan. You can invite them as members on your Verizon Family account. Once they accept the invitation and download the Verizon Family app, they can share their location.

What about location sharing for new drivers?

When her son became a new driver, Stacy Root Chermak, who lives in Sacramento, wanted to check in on him more often.

“Living in California, we travel freeways a lot, and the app helps with keeping track of the locations and speed he drives,” says Chermak. “If he wasn’t checking in, I could check on him and see roughly where he was. Just a little more comfort when he started being more free.”

Safe-driving apps, which are installed on a smartphone, monitor driving behavior and send alerts about hard braking or texting while driving. Some parents use these driving insights to help their kids become better drivers.

Verizon’s pick: Verizon Family Plus. You can monitor several devices from one easy app, get teen driver insights on speeding and hard braking, monitor texts and calls and set screen-time limits.

What should parents look for in a GPS tracking device for kids?

Ready to get monitoring? As you search for the right tracking or location-sharing option for you and your family, consider the following:

• Ease of use. In the device or app reviews, try to find information about how easy the tech is to use. If it’s too complicated, you and your kids will be less likely to use it.

• Age range. The Gizmo Watch was specifically built for kids ages four and up. Smartphones with family monitoring apps are ideal for kids old enough to use a smartphone. Check the age range on the device or app. For the best value, search for family locator apps, such as Verizon Family.

• Price. Some tracking apps have a one-time activation fee or a monthly subscription charge.

• Durability. If it’s a device, such as a smartwatch or a smartphone, check that the device is water-resistant and able to keep up with your kids’ lifestyle.

• Battery life. Parents can track battery life on some devices, such as the Gizmo Watch. This feature can remind families to charge their devices so they’re available when they need them.

• Alerts and notifications. Try to find features that send notifications when your child goes outside designated areas, also called geofencing.

• Communication options. Some devices simply show location, and others, such as a smartwatch or a smartphone, let you call or text your child—in addition to providing real-time monitoring.

• Real-time monitoring. GPS technology is still the most reliable way to get real-time updates about the location of the device. Make sure that the device will work with your phone plan.

Monitoring apps can come in handy even when kids are living on their own, says Kathy Jared of Moline, Ill.

“It’s a safety net for our adult kids who live on their own,” says Jared, whose children are all grown. “We don’t bug them if we see they’re at the gym.” 

So, what’s the best tech for different ages?

What’s the best GPS tracker for a four-year-old? Gizmo Watch 3. For children too young for a smartphone, but old enough to run around the neighborhood, kid-friendly devices such as the Gizmo Watch are a smart choice. Parents can easily get to the GPS map from the app that comes with the watch, and get updates on the watch’s location in near real time.

What’s the best location-monitoring option for teens? Smartphones. Most have built-in GPS location monitoring, and you can use features such as Find My Device or Share My Location to make a device easy to find in case it goes missing. Chances are, wherever the device is, the child isn’t too far from it. And one app can be used to monitor the locations of all the smartphones if there’s more than one teen in the house.

We got you: You’re there for them with Verizon Family. Verizon’s there for you—including our 3-year price lock*.

*Learn more about our 3-year price lock guarantee.