People often go through a lot of stress to know the whereabouts and safety of their loved ones. This was a worry for many parents until the advent of mobile tracking apps. These apps allow them to see children’s location and know family members’ movement without the need to place incessant calls or texts.
In this article, we will explore the best tracking app for family and their features to help you choose the best for keeping tabs on your loved one’s whereabouts.
Advantages of Family Phone Tracking Apps
Nowadays, the best family phone tracking software is equipped with features that enable seamless tracking of loved ones. Below are some of the key features:
- 📍Real-time Location Tracking: These apps show you the present location your family members and allow you to virtually follow them wherever they go.
- 🗺️Geo-Fencing: It allows you to set virtual geographical perimeters that trigger an alert when your kids go in or out of a set location.
- 📃Location History: Tracking apps equipped with this allow parents to know the places their children often visit, and this information can be used to identify their movement patterns.
2025 Best Family Tracking App for Android and iPhone
After exploring many family tracking apps in the market, we’ve collated a list of the 7 best family tracking apps, and will introduce them from their features, pros, cons, and customers’ reviews.
Google Maps Location Sharing
This is a real-time location-sharing software that allows you to track cell phone locations for free on Google Maps. A highlight of this best family locator app is that it has options for location-sharing duration. For example, tracking can be set for 6 hours of a road trip to monitor where your child is till he arrives at his destination.
Google Maps location sharing reveals valuable information like the name, profile picture, battery status, and the current means of transportation used by the person you’re tracking. While it doesn’t offer additional features like geofencing or advanced alerts, its ease of use, reliability, and integration with the Google ecosystem make it an excellent choice for families seeking basic, real-time location sharing.
✨✨Features:
- Real-time location sharing.
- Customizable sharing duration.
- Battery status.
📱Number of Devices: Unlimited.
🖥️Supported Devices: Windows, Android, iOS, and Web.
✅Pros
- It is 100% free.
- Provides turn-by-turn directions for a more accurate tracking experience.
❌Cons
- Limited offline functionality.
- It may provide incorrect or outdated information.
User’s Review
“Had a great experience with Google Maps. I would highly recommend it to family or friends because I know it would be a great experience” – Verified Reviewer.
Life360
Life360 is one of the most popular family tracking apps, having been around since 2008. It offers a wide array of powerful features, allowing family members to stay connected and share their real-time location with each other. This includes driving reports, emergency assistance, and a “Crash Detection” feature that alerts family members if a car accident occurs.
For a more accurate tracking experience, Life360 provides a geofencing feature whose limit ranges between 250 feet and 2 miles in radius. This best family phone tracking software detects driving collisions above 25 mph and immediately sends an alert with the location to the victim’s circle.
✨✨Features:
- Long-range geofencing.
- Location and trip history.
- Silent SOS alert with location to those within your circle.
- Location check-ins.
📱Number of Devices: Unlimited.
🖥️Supported Devices: Android and iOS.
✅Pros
- It has a 7-day free trial period.
- The app allows private messaging.
- Reveals the driving habits of those within your circle.
❌Cons
- Expensive subscriptions (Gold plan: 8.33/month and Platinum plan: 16.67/month).
- Limited options for parental control, such as monitoring children’s phone activities.
User’s Review
“Life 360 is absolutely brilliant. It enables me to keep track of my wife’s whereabouts with such accuracy that I have enough time to turn the TV off and get the vacuum cleaner out when she walks through the front door” – Mark Knott.
TraceU
TraceU is an online tracking tool that boasts advanced GPS locating technology, it ranks as the best family finder app for its swift and accurate tracking solutions. All you need to do is input the mobile number in the TraceU system, and you will get the location within a few seconds.
No matter where your family members are, this tool will provide you with their exact locations and a map view to easily track them. It’s browser-based, meaning no need to download or install any software. This makes finding your familys’ location more convenient. TraceU can also be used to find out the identity of the person texting you.
✨✨Features:
- Real-time location tracking.
- Location history.
- Live map tracker.
📱Number of Devices: Unlimited
🖥️Supported Devices: Web.
✅Pros
- Ad-free and user-friendly interface.
- Offers a 24-hour trial (at $0.89).
- Provides 98.7% tracking accuracy with up to 5 meters efficiency.
- Flexible parental monitoring.
- Provides a fast user experience compared to other tracking apps.
❌Cons
- The monthly subscription is $49.8 per month.
User’s Review
“TraceU has excellent location accuracy and quick processing time” – Ruth
FamiSafe
This is a tracking tool that gives parents remote access to their children’s real-time location whenever they wish. It is done by installing the app on both the parent and kid’s phone, then “Tie Up” the child’s device to commence tracking.
With FamiSafe’s geofencing feature, parents can set up a virtual fence around the areas where their children are meant to be. Once they move out of this location, the app immediately sends an alert to notify the parent. A distinctive feature that qualifies it as one of the best app for family tracking is its SOS alert. It allows your child to send an instant safety alert that reveals their current location to you.
✨✨Features:
- One-way audio for background sound recordings.
- Single tap SOS alert in case of emergency.
- Driving habit monitoring.
- Safe search option.
📱Number of Devices: Up to 10.
🖥️Supported Devices: Android, iOS, and Windows.
✅Pros
- 2-3 minutes location update interval.
- 3-day free trial.
- Provides location history
❌Cons
- While the subscription plan is $9.99 per month, the free trial has limited features.
- It has a complex interface.
User’s Review
“I really liked the FamiSafe app but it’s very expensive. I opted for a not-so-good but much cheaper app” – Abner Mendoza.
Mspy
This is one of the best family tracking app for Android and iOS use. It has a comprehensive tracking feature that does not only find locations but also lets parents know the time interval between their children’s current location and their planned destination.
When connected to your loved ones’ devices, Mspy constantly sends you their location updates round-the-clock, even at moments when the app is not in use. Another key feature is the ambient recording which gives you access to the sounds around their phone. It is quite useful during emergencies, helping you to know their current situation and the type of safety measures to undertake.
✨✨Features
- Contact and call log viewer.
- Remote camera activator.
- Geofencing alerts.
📱Number of Devices: 1-3 devices.
🖥️Supported Devices: Android and iOS.
✅Pros
- Remote operation.
- Allows stealth mode.
- Multiple parental control options.
❌Cons
- Poor user interface.
- Limited support for iOS.
- No free trial or money-back guarantee.
User’s Review
“It’s essential to have the ability to know that everything is okay with your children, even when they are far away from you. Mspy provides that reassurance, allowing me to check in whenever I need to” – Lisa Joseph.
Bark
This remains one of the best family tracking app for Android and iPhone due to its unique tracking approach. This tool is much more lenient compared to other tracking software. Unlike the 24/7 location tracking service other apps provide, Bark users can only get location updates when children accept their parents’ check-in request and vice versa.
To enjoy more controlled features, the developers created a bark phone. This phone restricts your child from downloading without permission, deleting texts, or changing any parental control settings. However, you need to pay a monthly fee of $38 for three consecutive months to fully own the phone.
✨✨Features:
- Real-time location tracking.
- Frequent activity reports.
- Sends alerts on restricted zones.
📱Number of Devices: Unlimited
🖥️Supported Devices: Android, iOS, and Web.
✅Pros
- It has a 7-day free trial period.
- Easy to use.
- Efficient customer support.
- Fast location tracking.
❌Cons
- No money-back guarantee.
- Cannot get location updates unless the recipient accepts your check-in request.
User’s Review
“I’ve been a Bark customer since 2016. Wonderful, responsive, helpful company. I recently purchased the Bark Phone and it truly is the best first phone for kids. It was hard to not go with an old Apple phone but I chose safety and I don’t regret it” – BJ.
Mobicip
This is an efficient family locator tool that uses GPS to track your loved ones’ whereabouts. The software allows you to edit a family map to contain locations where each member often visits. With this, members of the family can easily find one another, and the tracker sends an alert to everyone when a family member goes to a new location. For example, setting locations for frequently visited places like schools, workplaces, and home.
Mobicip also allows real-time location sharing with loved ones to keep them aware of your ride pick-ups and drop-offs. This ensures swift intervention during unexpected situations.
✨✨Features:
- Geofencing function.
- GPS locator.
- Location sharing.
- Activity report.
📱Number of Devices: 1-20 devices.
🖥️Supported Devices: Windows, Android, and iOS.
✅Pros
- Fast and friendly customer support.
- 7-day free trial.
- It has a free version.
- 30-day money-back guarantee.
❌Cons
- Easy to bypass.
User’s Review
“Mobicip’s app blocking and screen time schedules work well for my children. Specifically, the blocking of certain apps and websites during the class schedules keeps them focused” – Rad K.
Bonus: Tips to Protect Your Children and the Elderly
Here are some tips that can help keep your children and elderly ones safe:
- 📍Set Boundaries: Teenagers and kids tend to go anywhere when parents do not establish solid rules. Setting boundaries will protect them from danger.
- 👣Be Friendly: Being friends with your children and elderly ones will let them feel comfortable to communicate their destinations with you.
- 🚸Avoid Invading Privacy: Before tracking your family members’ movement, take permission. Not doing this may push them to devise ways to hide their affairs from you.
Conclusion
Going through 7 of the best tracking apps for family, alongside their pros, cons, and features, it is quite evident that they all possess what it takes to locate our loved ones from the convenience of your phone. However, if you’re looking for an option with exceptional performances like speed and accuracy, TraceU stands out as the best app for tracking family.
FAQs About Best Family Locator App
Below are answers to some commonly asked questions about the best tracking app for family:
- 1️⃣What is the Best Alternative to Life360?
TraceU is the best alternative to Life360 because it has an extensive database with advanced features that give you access to people’s locations wherever they are in the world. It basically requires entering their phone numbers to get accurate results within seconds.
The tracking process involves an in-depth search across all geolocations to find your family member’s location.
- 2️⃣What’s the Best Tracking App for Family iPhone?
The best family tracking app for iPhone is TraceU. This tool supports several devices regardless of the model or operating system. This includes iPhones, Androids, tablets, and computers.
It has a universal system that enables you to track family members’ iPhones easily.
- 3️⃣Is There a Free Family Locator?
Yes, Google Map Location Sharing is the best free family tracking app iPhone and Android. As much as it provides free services, it offers efficient tracking solutions.
The Google Maps app often comes with Android phones. If you’re an iOS user, you will have to download from the App Store to track cell phone location freely on Google Maps.
