As the issue of child safety becomes a growing concern in society, apps such as Find My Kids have emerged as invaluable tools for concerned parents. The app claims to give parents peace of mind by enabling them to track their children in real-time. However, does the application meet the expectations it promises?
This review aims to explore the app’s core features, its benefits and limitations, and a detailed comparison with the FlashGet Kids app to assist parents in choosing the best location tracker for their children.
How does the Find My Kids app work?
Find My Kids is a tracking application that uses GPS to determine your child’s exact location at any given time. The app leverages the GPS tracking on your child’s smartphone.
Once the application is installed, it allows you to monitor your child’s phone and display their location on the map in the parent application.
This information is updated from time to time, hence providing the user with a better understanding of their movement. For additional key features, keep reading to learn more.
How to set up the Find My Kids app?
Step 1. Download and install the Find My Kids app on your phone and the Pingo app on your kid’s phone or buy a GPS watch. The app is also compatible with both the iOS and Android operating systems.
Step 2. You will need to create a Find My Kids account to control your family members’ profiles.
Step 3. Link two devices: Get a special code to identify your child’s device. You also have to allow the app some permissions, including access to location services.
Step 4. Customize your desired features: Take the location alerts as an example. Designate safe areas (like home or school) and get notified when your child enters or exits these regions.
The safety of the users’ data is one of the primary concerns of Find My Kids. The app complies with data protection laws, and your child’s location information is protected.
Tracking safety, empowering parents, choosing a more comprehensive solution, FlashGet Kids.
A great mix of parental controls
Find My Kids offers a robust set of features designed to keep your children safe, and here are some of them:
- Real-time location tracking: You can always track your child’s movements on an interactive map. Besides, check what places he/she visited during the day.
- Sound recording: If necessary, it records sound around your child’s phone, but only for Android devices.
- SOS button: A panic button can be used by your child to send an emergency notification with their location to you.
- History tracking: In this case, you will be able to look for your child’s previous locations and check for patterns that may be seen or problems that could occur.
- Battery level and app usage monitoring: It statistics and reports the battery life and app usage on your kid’s phone.
All these, in addition to the readily understandable interface, make Find My Kids a great application for parents who are worried about the safety of their children.
How much does Find My Kids cost?
There is a free plan and a paid, premium one to help each parent meet their needs and wants.
Free Plan
In terms of safety and soundness, it’s an okay place to start, but it doesn’t have some basic parental controls.
Available features:
- Provides the current location
- One full day of location history
- Movement notifications for 1 Place
- 3 loud signals
Premium Plan
To get the essential kids’ safety features, you must upgrade to the paid version, which costs $8.99/month, $89.99/year, $273.98/lifetime.
Depending on geographical location and subscription tenure, the pricing may slightly differ.
Available features:
- All the features from the free plan
- Real-time location tracking
- Unlimited movement notifications and route history
- Unlimited sound signals
- Limit the apps and games usage
- SOS signal from the child
Is Find My Kids worth it: Pros and cons
Find My Kids is an application with features designed to help parents feel calm about their children‘s safety.
But it should not be forgotten that every option has advantages and disadvantages and a decision should be made on a balance between these two. Let’s check its pros and cons below.
Advantages:
- Easy to install and set up.
- Works on iOS and Android.
- Various price plans meet different needs.
- Intuitive interface and operations.
Drawbacks:
- Potential for misuse: The app could be utilized to track the child’s every move, including situations where the child does not need to be monitored.
- Dependency: It is not advisable to rely too much on an app to monitor your child’s daily activities at the expense of sincere face-to-face communication and interaction.
- Cost: The basic plan might not contain some features that parents feel are important for their child, and the premium plan can be quite costly for some families.
- Accuracy issues: There are plenty of instances where the GPS tracking of Find My Kids is not 100% accurate.
User reviews
Positive:
- “This app has been very helpful for our family ever since. I actually don’t have to worry about my children’s whereabouts all the time since I can easily check it in the app whenever I want.” – Sarah, 4 out of 5
- The geofencing feature is amazing! I immediately know when my son will be at school. I would highly suggest this app! – Michael 4 out of 5
Negative:
- “For the tracking aspect, it is quite efficient, but regarding the subscription fee, I think it is on the high side compared to other services.” – Lisa 3 out of 5
- “I encountered some problems with battery consumption on my child’s phone. The customer service was friendly, but it took a long time to sort out the issue.” – David, 3 out of 5
However, the decision to use Find My Kids is the final decision of you as a parent/guardian.
There are certain factors that you need to take into account, such as the age of your child, your approach to raising your child, and many other issues that have to do with your family.
Gently explaining the application and its use to the child will also go a long way in reducing any worry they might have.
FlashGet Kids vs. Find My Kids: Which is better?
Both FlashGet Kids and Find My Kids help parents keep track of their children, but they are built with different priorities.
Find My Kids
As you can see in the earlier app review, Find My Kids focuses more on location-based child safety with paid plans, offering key features such as:
- GPS tracking
- Location history
- Geofencing alerts
- SOS button
- Android sound recording
Pricing: free plan available; premium plan at $8.99/month and $89.99/year.
FlashGet Kids
FlashGet Kids is positioned as a broader parental control solution rather than a location tracker application; it provides many features designed to shield children from online risks and guide healthy digital usage.
The primary features of FlashGet Kids include:
- Location view: The app allows users to track the target’s location in real-time, and also supports checking location history and geofencing.
- Screen time management: Parents can regulate how much time children spend on specific apps and being around their devices.
- App blocker: Restrict or even entirely block the use of particular applications.
- Keyword detection: Identify inappropriate keywords your kids may engage in while on social media or search engines and get alerts.
- Notifications: It allows parents to better understand what apps the child uses most and who they are frequently contacting via calls and SMS, but it won’t monitor any chat content in depth.
Pricing: It releases several key features free of charge. Paid plans include: $8.99/month, $19.99/quarter, $59.99/year. Now you can get a 7-day free trial, and cancel at any time.
A comparison table
Now, a glance at the comparison table of FlashGet Kids and Find My Kids:
| Feature | FlashGet Kids | Find My Kids |
|---|---|---|
| Live location tracking | √ | √ (Paid only) |
| Geofecing | √ | √ |
| Phone usage | √ | √ |
| Screen time management | √ | × |
| App blocker | √ | × |
| Live monitoring with audio and camera | √ | Only sound around kids available on Androud |
| Keyword detection | √ | × |
| Screen mirroring | √ | × |
| Compatibility | Android&iOS | Android&iOS |
That said, Find My Kids is enough for parents who look for simple child-location features and movement alerts, while for parents seeking a fuller parental control experience and better protection for children, FlashGet Kids is presented here as the stronger all-around option. It combines location tracking + device use management + content filtering; it seems more cost-effective. So the better choice depends on what parents need most.
Final words
All things considered, it is easy to see why the Find My Kids app provides a reliable means for parents to monitor their children’s movements.
It has rich tracking capability and a smooth interface, but that could be offset by concerns about privacy and price.
There are other options available in the market such as FlashGet Kids, which may provide similar facilities at cheaper prices as per the requirements of different families.
Ultimately, the decision on which application to use to track a child is based on individual factors, technological literacy, and family factors.
FAQs
Does Find My Kids work without data?
Find My Kids mostly functions in real-time, thus requiring an internet connection to be effective. However, it can employ GPS in offline mode to collect geographical data and transmit it to the system as soon as the device gets connected.
Is the Find My Kid app safe?
Find My Kids employs secure data encryption and controls to safeguard the information users input. However, like any service that operates digitally, it is vulnerable to a hack at some point. The user is warned and encouraged to follow best practices, including the use of passwords.
Can multiple children be tracked using the app?
Yes, you can track multiple children if you have a single-parent account logged in to the Find My Kids application. This feature makes it easier for parents to track the position of all their children at the same time, which is very helpful, especially for families with many children.
