AT&T launches FamilyMap service, lets you spy on anyone, anywhere
So check this: AT&T just launched a service called FamilyMap. It basically let’s you locate any number on your AT&T account for a monthly fee. Here’s the thing though… besides the first notification text message alerting that subscriber they are being tracked, everything else is completely silent. For instance, we signed up and were able to track both an iPhone 3G and a Bold completely without any visible indication. No text message, nothing. What’s even more strange, however, is that this isn’t just using cell tower triangulation, it actually can activate the GPS chip. How messed up is that? Something is wrong with this picture… But hey, for only $9.99/month for two phones or $14.95 for five phones, you can have the pleasure of being as freaked out as we are.
Thanks, James!
I understand the “Big Brother” rant but there is a flip side, What if you were in trouble, what if you (or yours) were missing? Forget finding you stupid phone, what if they were trying to find YOU.
$10 seems about right for a simple tracking program. If you want it for free, you write it.
While remote gps turn-on is possible, power on is not. Also cell triangulation is very inaccurate anywhere lacking a high density tower array.
yeah this really is a great service, it got my ex put in jail for 8 months because he used the service from sprint on my own account when he wasnt even on it to stalk me for over a year. That year was hell for me and my son. It would be agreat service if people were actually going to just use it for good but you have to understand that people will always find shady uses for everything.
I have a great fix…. Turn off your phone!
Pro’s and Con’s:
We’re taking a 2-week Euro-trip and I thought this would be a great safety measure for my 6-yr old: my wife or I toss a phone in her backpack and if we get separated we can find the other. Too bad it only works in AT&T coverage area (not even in the far-off country of Canada.)
My wife wasn’t sure where she was at in relation to where she wanted to go and called me to ask how to get to a particular address. Too bad the accuracy at the moment was a 6.6-mile radius.
My wife was trying to find her mom and sister who live down-state (still in the AT&T coverage area) but neither phone showed up on the map.
So, the service is spotty and about as accurate as the iPhone ‘location services’ when there is no GPS signal (using cell-ID/triangulation) which is to say, ‘not very.’
I would like to use this and have it be much more accurate. Unlike some of the more paranoid people out there, we have a pretty good and honest family relationship so neither of us even think to use this for spying. I’d suggest that is the source of some problems for others.
Also, currently, with the accuracy that I’ve seen of no better than a half-mile radius, if you are trying to determine the exact location of a handset, good luck. If I was a kid, I’d tell my parents to go ahead and track me knowing that all I have to do is give them an address in the neighborhood and I’m gold. Even if a parent uses their scheduled reporting service, there’s no way to tell if your kid made it home after school or is 5-doors down at the neighbor’s/girlfriend/crack-dealer’s pad.
It is not about trusting your kids. Our 8th grader is on a trip to DC. We know that she arrived safely. She can track us as easily as we can track her because she has the password to the account. If we had this service two years ago, we would not have had a cell phone stolen. And it gives considerable peace of mind to parents who worry about abductions from ex-spouses or the guy in the green car that attempted to abduct a girl who rides the bus home with my daughter.
For us, the key is that we shared the password info and can be tracked by our daughter. The drawback is the cost – we won’t continue after the free trial period because AT&T said it will cost us $45 per month to have shared tracking. Would get it in a heartbeat at $10 per month for us all!
I have two kids getting up in cell phone age my wife and I am divorcing……… I think this is GREAT so I know where my boys are. It will give me a piece of mind.
oh well .. i pay the bill so i can know where you are .. dont like it? buy your own phone and pay for the bill or put a roof over your own head.
My teenage boy has just begun to drive. Even though I ask him to call me when he arrives somewhere safely…being a teenage boy, he often doesnt LOL. He has made many trips of 150 miles and more this summer, and I have had peace of mind knowing he has gotten to his destination. If i didn’t trust him, he wouldnt be going so far away, and wouldn’t be driving…but I know he has made it and that’s all I need. This services can be abused by overzealous parents, but if not this, then they will find other ways to obsess. I am not that parent..I just sleep better knowing he’s not lost or worse for the moment. It’s one less thing.
does it show the actual adress you are at?