How it works
- 1Choose your appSee what it says it collects and shares.
- 2Answer nine questionsYes, no or not sure, with a fix for each gap.
- 3Agree as a familyFill in and print a one-page agreement.
- 4What this check cannot doIt does not look inside your phone. Read the limits.
Step 1
Which app does your family use?
Step 2
Nine questions for any location app
Answer for your own phone. Every “no” or “not sure” gets one fix.
Step 3
Your family location agreement
Fill this in together, on a video call, in a group chat or at the table. Print it or keep a photo of it. Nothing you type leaves this page.
If location sharing is being used to control you
Sharing should be agreed, not demanded. If someone insists on watching where you are, punishes you for pausing it, or you think your location is being shared without your agreement:
- On an iPhone, open Settings › Privacy & Security › Safety Check to see who can see your location and stop sharing with everyone at once.
- On any phone, open the location app’s settings and the phone’s own location settings, and look for people or apps you did not agree to.
- Check your bag, car and belongings for an unknown tracker such as an AirTag or a Tile, as the eSafety Commissioner in Australia advises.
- If you are in danger, call your country’s emergency number. For support, see Official help.
If the other person can see your phone, think about whether changing a setting will alert them, and plan with a support service first.
What this check cannot do
It does not look inside your phone or your apps, and it cannot see who is tracking you. It uses only the app you choose and the answers you give. App settings and policies change, so the app’s own privacy page is the final word.
Sources
- Life360, “Responsible advertising”, Trust and Safety
- Life360, “Members control”, Trust and Safety
- Life360, “Understanding how Life360 uses and protects your data”, updated 30 January 2024
- Kidsburgh, “Life360 bought an advertising company in January. Here’s what parents need to know”, 16 August 2026
- The Markup, “The Popular Family Safety App Life360 Is Selling Precise Location Data on Its Tens of Millions of Users”, 6 December 2021
- The Markup, “Life360 Says It Will Stop Selling Precise Location Data”, 27 January 2022
- Apple, “Family Sharing & Privacy”
- Apple, “Personal Safety User Guide” (Safety Check)
- Galaxus, “Bye bye cloud synchronisation: Google Maps now only saves the timeline locally”, 6 January 2025
- Snap Inc., “Looking out for friends on the Snap Map”, 18 February 2022
- WhatsApp, “Share your live location”, October 2017
- eSafety Commissioner (Australia), “Location sharing”, The eSafety Guide
This check is general information, not professional security or legal advice.
Questions and answers
Does Life360 only track location?
No. Besides location, Life360 shows each member’s battery level to the circle, and its driving features use driving data processed by Arity, a company owned by the insurer Allstate, for crash detection. Life360 also uses location patterns for personalised advertising, which is on by default for adults, and adds data to aggregated “traffic and retail insights” unless you switch that off. Life360 says it does not show ads in child or teen accounts and does not sell the data of members under 18.
Does this check look at my phone or my apps?
No. It uses only the app you choose and the answers you give, on your own phone or computer. Close the page and your answers are gone.
Which location app is the most private?
It depends on what your family needs. Sharing built into the phone, such as Apple Find My or Google Maps, or a time-limited WhatsApp live location, collects less than a dedicated family app with driving and advertising features. A dedicated app can offer more, such as crash alerts. Choose the least that does the job, and check its settings.
Should parents track their children?
That is a family decision. Many families find it works best when everyone knows what is shared and why, the sharing changes as children grow up, and anyone can talk about pausing it without getting into trouble. The family agreement in Step 3 is a place to start.
Can I use this with a group?
Yes. Schools, libraries, youth groups and community groups can go through the nine questions together on one screen, then print the agreement for each family to fill in at home.