App Launching to Track Childrens’ Phone Use

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BBC reported yesterday that a new app will be launched later in 2015 that will track the use of a child’s phone. The app name remains un-disclosed at this point and details are few and far between.

What we do know is:

  • Parents will have the ability to remotely monitor everything that a child does on their smartphone.
  • Everything from websites viewed to messages sent, together with a child’s actual movements can be tracked with the app.
  • An alert system is built into the app to automatically notify parents with updates.

 

Is this an example of snooping gone mad or a clever idea to help keep kids safe? Unsurprisingly children questioned appear to be in the first camp, with parents in the opposing camp believing it will give them extra piece of mind.

 

Time will tell if kids (more likely to be young teenagers) agree to have their activity tracked – hopefully the app, when launched, will offer the ability to turn off different parts of the tracking. Keeping an eye on a teenager’s location is one thing, but reading messages is similar to the idea of reading someone’s diary. I’m not sure many parents would have agreed to that as a child!

Watch the BBC’s report in full below: