The Life360 app is a phone tracker that has gained a lot of popularity over the years, so it is worth discussing now if it is something worth using or something to avoid. We will tell you running ahead – something to avoid. But we do not want to be loud, so here are the reasons why Life360 is bad.
Why Life360 Is Bad: Data Sharing
It is weird to hear this in 2024, but there are still companies that do not respect privacy and share their users’ information with non-authorized entities. Unfortunately, Life360 is one of them.
Selling Location Data
With a huge user base of over 30 million people, Life360 got involved in a conflict when the app was noticed to be selling location data to third parties. And it is not just an anonymous accusation or suggestion; people who used to work for this company shared that Life360 was involved in business relationships with dozens of information brokers, selling the data provided by Tile tracker (Life360 purchased Tile not so long time ago). It led to a huge boom of people on the internet asking: “Is Life360 safe?” hoping to hear that it is and that their personal data was not compromised. We have bad news for you, guys. If you were using Life 360 – most probably, it was.
Unreliable Data Handling
One of the main concerns about privacy and security arises from the statement that Life360 is one of the best, if not the best, services to ensure family safety. You should probably realize now that after catching Life360 selling users’ data, the statement above breaks the false advertisement law.
You may argue that giants such as Apple, Google, and Amazon have also been noticed in some weird manipulations with their users’ data, but the point is that they do not advertise themselves as family safety services. When such an app as Life360, which in fact possesses almost all the information about its users’ families, sells user location data to third parties, it is absurd.
Stalking Issues
Another reason why Life360 is bad is a simple loss of trust between family members. If people just spy on each other 24/7 and follow other family members anywhere and anytime, it definitely does not make the relationships better. Other trackers, unlike Life360, only check the GPS location upon request, and web-based phone number trackers cannot get location info without your consent. Life360, on the other hand, nurtures a false sense of security by promising increased safety and, in fact, simply mining and selling the personal data of its users. It turns out to be just a digital stalker.
Trust Issues
For many people, trust issues in this context will be very similar to stalking ones, but we would like to discuss the psychological point here more. Let’s say you are bringing up your children, teaching them responsibility and independence. Sounds like a very honorable and enlightened goal. Now, imagine you start tracking them using Life360. The effect will be completely opposite: first of all, you take all the independence and responsibility from your kids, and second, you intrude into their private lives, pushing people even to simulate GPS movement. Do we still need to explain why life360 is bad in this situation?
Battery Drain
Another huge issue with Life360 is battery drain. You can find guides on how to reduce it on the official website, and generally, the developers claim that their app is super optimized in terms of power consumption, but… If the answer to the question “Does Life360 sell your data?” is yes, who will believe them? People complain that with Life360 operating on their devices, their battery lasts for only 5-7 hours, which is ridiculous. This issue was discovered many years ago, and there is still no reaction from the devs.
Technical Issues
One more reason why life360 is bad is that despite earning millions by selling their users’ personal info, the developers haven’t managed to fix numerous glitches their app has yet. The target device battery information is often irrelevant, and location data is not too precise. The funniest part is that if the information Life360 was selling to third parties was of the same quality as the app itself, all these technical issues work to the advantage of poor and cheated users of this app.
Is There a Trustworthy Alternative to Life360?
Considering the situation, almost any other app looks more trustworthy than Life360, as the question “Is Life360 safe and reliable?” should already be irrelevant. However, if we talk about the real industry flagships that implement all the safety measures to protect their users, the title you must try is uMobix.
It provides you with a full spectrum of monitoring features, and location tracking is one of them. It has never been noticed in any illegal activity, and positive reviews should only speak to the app’s positive reputation. uMobix guarantees security, doesn’t share information with third parties, and protects user privacy with an SSL certificate. If you want to check how it works – a 2-day free trial is to your service; contact customer support to claim it, and do not forget to share your impressions with other users.
