New apps, edge tool for parents to track kids

New apps now are able to save American parents from the nightmare of trick-or-treating at Halloween. The parents can download apps to track kids and send alerts when they venture outside designated safe areas. Kids can use one of the free apps called Track n Treat to send a time-limited link of their location via a phone number or email, allowing parents to track their whereabouts via a web browser for the next four hours. "Kids are out and about and their parents want to know where they are, so Halloween is a great use of a temporary location-sharing technology," said Bryan Trussel, CEO of Seattle-based Glympse, which creates person-to-person location sharing technologies. More concerned parents who worry about their kids' tracks can try Family GPS Tracker for iPhone and Android. This is an app that not only lets them see where their children are in real-time, but sends alerts when a child strays outside of an set area. "With the app you can always be aware of where your children are located, and can call them immediately if they venture outside of the safe zone," said Michal Štencl, the CEO of Sygic, based in Slovakia. Life360 also allows family members view each other via a map and keep in touch through messages. "A twelve-year-old might be too young to go out completely on their own, but an app can give them more freedom," said Chris Hulls, CEO of Life360, which is based in San Francisco. "We're trying to build a family graph," Hulls said however. "You have Facebook for your friends and LinkedIn for your work contacts, but what is the equivalent for your family life?"