Common Sense Media Review
By Chris Morris
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Parental controls help lessen risks of Apple's location app.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Download
Videos and Photos
Find My Friends
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 6 parent reviews
What’s It About?
Users broadcast their location, allowing their friends to track them throughout the day. It's permission-based (not allowing anyone to track you without your consent) and comes with plenty of parental controls. Users can alert friends to events and spur-of-the-moment get-togethers.
Is It Any Good?
The risks that accompany any location tracking app are present in FIND MY FRIENDS, but to Apple's credit, the company has taken several steps to mitigate risk. That said, the app is still not a wise choice for children, unless parents want to use the iPod Touch or iPhone as a tracking device for their kids.
The free app allows people to track where their friends are, but uses a permission-based system. No one can track you unless you give your consent first. (Kids, though, might let anyone track them in an effort to build a large cache of online "friends.") It's easy to stop broadcasting your location, but given people's tendencies to sometimes forget simple tasks, it's inevitable that users will sometimes inadvertently announce where they are when they would rather not. Functionality-wise, it's not dramatically different than other location sharing services, but it does the job well and includes enough additional features (such as temporary location sharing) and controls that it might be worth checking out -- if the user is age appropriate.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Use the parental controls and talk about the restrictions you're setting and why you're setting them.
Talk about when it's OK -- and when it's not OK -- for others to track your teen's location. Give specific examples.
Offer advice on other ways teens can stay in touch with friends.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Skills: Communication : friendship building, multiple forms of expression, Tech Skills : using and applying technology, Responsibility & Ethics : making wise decisions, respect for others
- Pricing structure: Free
- Release date: October 13, 2011
- Category: Social Networking
- Publisher: Apple
- Version: 1.0
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 5.0 or later
- Last updated: August 22, 2016
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