Finding time to spend together as a family can be difficult. Indeed, it can be challenging to just keep track of where your loved ones are and what they’re doing at any given point on a busy day. That’s why the creators of Life360 invented their app. In their own words, “Life360 brings your family closer with smart features designed to protect and connect the people who matter most.”
The Life360 app allows you to create a private, invite-only “Circle” for your family members. You can then share and review various important information between yourselves, including:
- viewing each others’ recent and real-time whereabouts,
- being notified when a Circle member arrives or leaves from one of your most frequented “Places” such as school or work,
- getting alerted when someone’s smartphone is running low on battery power, and
- tracking Circle members’ ETA to a location.
Life360 also provides an in-app chat function. Just notified that dad has arrived at the grocery store? You can quickly ask him to pick something up for you without having to separately open your smartphone’s messenger or calling program. Need advice in a hurry but not sure who’s free? You can ask the entire “Circle” without having to type out everyone’s contact details in an email or group text message.
In an emergency situation or if a family member ever feels unsafe, they can employ the Help Alert feature. Help Alert will instantly send their exact location to each emergency contact. Upon receiving the notification, the Circle can start making their way to the person in need of aid and will know to not ignore messages or phone calls until the situation is resolved. In a worst-case scenario, emergency services can be contacted on the loved-one’s behalf and said services will have a starting point with which to search for the individual.
All the above features are included in the free version of the Life360 app. If you live in the US, additional features are available in “Plus” and “Driver Protect” versions. These include local crime reports, vehicle crash detection, and roadside assistance. Unfortunately, the only pay-for feature currently available in Canada is the “Driver Report” for $7.99 USD/mo. If you have one or more new drivers in your family, it may still be worth it though to monitor the first few months of their solo driving. The “Driver Report” will let you know about any speeding, hard braking, aggressive driving and simultaneous cell phone usage during every drive taken.
In short, the Life360 app is worth considering if you have a family always on the go in different directions at once. But here’s to hoping you’ll at least be able to spend this upcoming Family Day together in one place!
