It’s important as parents to be able to know where our children are when they’re out of our sight. It’s a worry that doesn’t go away, even when they’re adults and have children of their own. However, as they’re growing up and gaining their independence, it’s good to give them the distance they need in order to have fun and find their feet.
An app like Find My Kids is a great way to help parents track their kids’ whereabouts in real-time. A great piece of technology, it’s a great peace of mind for parents to have available on their phone and with easy access via their pocket.
In this Find My Kids review, we’ll look at what Find My Kids is all about and how it compares to other location-tracking apps on the market. Is this the best way to keep an eye on your kids, and how does it perform as software for parents?
What is the Find My Kids app?

Serving as a GPS location-tracking app, it’s designed for parents who want to keep an eye on where their kids are in real time. It’s available both on Android and iOS, making this a great option to have for many parents who have a smartphone.
It’s a useful application for tracking their child’s phone and making sure that they are where they say they are. While all parents would hope that their children are truthful, that’s not always the case. It’’s a need for a parent to make sure their children are safe and Find My Kids is a way of doing that.
The key features of Find My Kids

What makes Find My Kids a unique app when comparing it to other location-tracking software? Here are some of the key features that you’ll get with FMK.
Real-time location tracking
One of the best features and productive use of real-time technology is location tracking. With Find My Kids, parents have the ability to have a live location update, meaning they’ll see the child’s movements on the map.
This is a great feature to check where they are when it matters and to validate any location they say they’re at.
Location History
Sometimes, kids can be a little sneaky when it comes to telling white lies about where they’ve been and who they’ve seen. Those suspicions you might have about your children not telling the truth are feelings you should trust.
As part of the FMK features, you can check out your child’s location history to see where they’ve been throughout the day.
Geofencing
Geofencing is designated areas that you set up and make use of if your child has a habit of breaking the rules and going places they should. These geofences can be set up so that you receive notifications when your child enters or leaves a designated area. This could be a friend’s house, their school, or your home, for example.
SOS
For those emergencies where your child needs help fast, the SOS button can be pressed. This sends an instant alert to your phone with their location available. No parent would ever want to receive such a notification but having the button for your child to press if they ever need to, is a welcome relief.
Listen to Surroundings
It might not be a feature you always want to use but if you have concerns your child is in danger or in an environment they shouldn’t be, having access to their phone’s microphone can be helpful to listen to the surroundings your child’s device and child, are in.
App Activity Monitoring (only available on Android)
Available only on Android, the app provides activity monitoring which can be helpful to keep an eye on your child’s app usage and screen time.
Panic Button
The panic button is one that’s similar to the SOS feature and sends a panic alert with the child’s exact location in case of an emergency. This can be helpful when your child feels like they might be in danger but can’t send the SOS or call you.
How does Find My Kids work?


Find My Kids is a simple enough app to set up, making it a suitable option for all parents no matter how proficient – or not – they are with technology and apps in general. Here’s a brief rundown of the steps you’ll need to take to set up the application on your child’s phone.
- Install the app on both your phone and your child’s devices.
- Create an account, which won’t take long, and then connect the devices together through the account.
- Use the real-time tracking features and set up the geofences to begin monitoring straight away.
With FMK, the app uses GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell towers in order to provide accurate location tracking. Depending on the signal and the environment, the accuracy can vary and therefore isn’t always reliable when you or your child might be in a bad location for a signal.
However, in general, the app is very responsible and reliable for location tracking, so most of the time you’ll get a good response from the real-time location monitoring.
What are the pros and cons when using Find My Kids?
To figure out whether or not Find My Kids is a suitable app for parents who want to monitor their kid’s activities and whereabouts, let’s compare the pros and cons. What are some of the advantages of using the app? Are there problem points that users will encounter when using it?


Pros of using Find My Kids
- Real-time location updates – With real-time location updates, reassurance is provided with this app.
- Ease of use – The interface is easy to use and simple enough to set up.
- It’s affordable – Subscriptions are reasonable and don’t outprice any parents who might be looking to use the app.
- There’s a wide compatibility – Works for all Android and iOS devices.
- Geofencing alert – The designated areas you can assign are great for keeping track of when your kids enter or leave these places.
Cons of using Find My Kids
- Drains the battery – With many apps, FMK does tend to be quite heavy on the battery usage of your phone.
- Limited features on iOS – There are limited features with the iOS version of the app.
- No web version available – With no web version available, that does limit some parents who’d prefer the ability to look online via a desktop.
- Accuracy issues within low signal areas – With signal drop-outs often inevitable, there can be problems with the accuracy of location.
How does Find My Kids compare to other tracking apps?

If you’re aware of the location-tracking apps available, then you’ll know about apps such as Life360 or Family Orbit. Both of which are great for location tracking and offering other safety features.
Life360 is a useful one and similar to FMK, whereas Family Orbit focuses on a more comprehensive monitoring system. With the addition of text message tracking and screen time management, it’s often a preferred choice for many parents.
Find My Kids helps with location tracking, which in general is a great feature used by parents. However, if you need a lot more, then Family Orbit is a great choice too.
The safety and security of Find My Kids
With many of us concerned about the safety of our data and browsing security, it’s rightly so to be worried about how safe applications are. With Find My Kids, all location data is encrypted and it follows an industry standard in security protocols to protect the users’ information.
What subscription plans are available through Find My Kids?
The app offers a free version, which while equally effective, it’s got some limitations. There is a basic location tracking but you only get a limited number of location checks per day.
A premium plan is offered and is competitive in comparison to other apps. The pricing will vary though depending on the number of children you are monitoring.
Choosing Family Orbit as a comprehensive alternative for parental monitoring

While Find My Kids is great for location tracking, it might be worth considering Family Orbit as an option for parental controls of a more advanced nature. A few of the features that offer a slight step up from the Find My Kids app include:
- Monitor your child’s text messages and calls – With Family Orbit, you have the additional feature of checking your child’s text messages and calls where appropriate.
- Check app usage and apply screen time management – Take a closer look at your child’s app usage, as well as putting parameters in place for the amount of screen time they get.
- Real-time location tracking and history – Live location tracking and the ability to see location history are much like what Find My Kids offers.
- Geofencing alerts – Set up safe zones like Find My Kids.
- Detailed reports – Activity reports are a helpful feature of the app so that parents can stay informed on their child’s phone usage in a more comprehensive way.
Feature | Family Orbit ✅ | FindMyKids ❌ |
---|---|---|
Real-time GPS Tracking | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
Geofencing Alerts | ✔ Yes | ✔ Yes |
Location History | ✔ Yes, detailed timeline | ✔ Yes, limited history |
Call Logs Monitoring | ✔ Yes, view incoming & outgoing calls | ❌ No |
Text Message Monitoring | ✔ Yes, view sent & received texts | ❌ No |
WhatsApp & iMessage Tracking | ✔ Yes | ❌ No |
App Usage Monitoring | ✔ Yes, see installed apps & usage | ❌ No |
Photo & Video Monitoring | ✔ Yes, view media on child’s device | ❌ No |
WiFi Network Monitoring | ✔ Yes, see connected WiFi SSID | ❌ No |
AI Alerts for Suspicious Activity | ✔ Yes, smart alerts based on behavior | ❌ No |
Works Without SIM Card (WiFi Only) | ✔ Yes | ❌ No |
Subscription Cost | 💲 Affordable plans with more features | 💲 Higher cost with fewer features |
Find My Kids is a basic but effective location-tracking app
If you’re looking for a reliable application when it comes to location tracking and simple safety features, then Find My Kids is great for your children.
It’s an easy-to-use app, making it appropriate for parents who might not have the best knowledge of apps and technology. Being affordable, it makes it a good option for those who might be strapped for cash and have to make a choice between subscriptions.
If you’re looking for a more comprehensive location-tracking app, then you might find others are more detailed. For example, Family Orbit is a good one, providing message tracking, detailed activity reports, and more.
- Monitor Calls & Text Messages
- View Photos and Videos
- Location Tracking & Geofence
- Monitor WhatsApp & Kik
- Detect & Alert for Inappropriate Activities
- Monitor Websites Visited
- Compatible with Android and iOS