Location sharing with teens: a parent’s guide
Sharing location with a teenager works best when it is open, agreed and easy to pause. This guide covers the rules, what the family sees, and how to talk about it, using Family Nearby as the example.
Start with the age rules
Family Nearby is for people aged 13 and older. Nobody under 13 may use the app. A teen aged 13 to 17 can have an account only with a parent’s consent:
- The parent opens the app on the parent’s own phone, goes to Circle, and taps Add a child.
- The parent enters the teen’s name and birth month and year, and confirms being the parent or legal guardian and agreeing that the teen’s location, battery and arrive and leave events are shared with the Circle.
- The app shows a sign-in code. The teen types it on the teen’s own phone. The code works once, for 24 hours.
This is called a managed account. When the teen reaches adult age, the account becomes a normal adult account, and both the teen and the admins are told.
What the family can see
Before anyone shares, it helps to know exactly what is shared. In Family Nearby, a Circle can see a member’s:
- Location, with how long ago it was updated;
- Arrive and leave events for saved places such as home and school;
- Battery level;
- Speed while driving.
Every member of the Circle, not only the admins, can see a managed teen’s location. So think about who is in the Circle: two parents and siblings is different from a large group of relatives. You can make more than one Circle for different groups.
No hidden tracking
Secret tracking damages trust, and it is not how Family Nearby works. A phone that shares its location always shows it: while the phone moves and the app tracks it, a “Location sharing on” notification is visible, and the Your sharing screen lists exactly what each Circle can see. A teen always knows when sharing is on.
Pausing: asking, not hiding
Teens need privacy too. Adults in Family Nearby can pause sharing or leave a Circle at any time. A managed teen can also pause, but asks an admin first, and can say why, for example “At Emma’s birthday party” for one hour. The admin sees the request with the time and the reason and can approve or decline it. A check-in the teen sends is shared even while paused, so the teen can still say “I’m here” on the teen’s own terms.
Treat pause requests as a normal part of the arrangement, not as a warning sign. A teen who can ask openly has less reason to switch the phone off.
How to talk about it
The app is the easy part. The conversation matters more. A few things to agree on together:
- Why you want to share. For most families it is “I want to know you got there,” not “I want to watch you.” Say that out loud.
- Alerts instead of watching. Set arrive and leave alerts for school and home, then stop checking the map. Family Nearby lets you choose each alert per person, and quiet hours hold alerts at night and send one summary in the morning.
- When pausing is fine. Agree on examples: a sleepover, a friend’s house, a birthday party.
- Check-ins. A quick check-in from the teen can replace many anxious messages.
- What happens if the phone goes quiet. Batteries die. Family Nearby shows a reason when it can, such as low battery or no network, before anyone worries.
- Reviewing it. Revisit the arrangement every few months. What suits a 13-year-old may not suit a 17-year-old.
How long location history is kept
Location history lets a family see the day’s stops and trips. On the free plan, Family Nearby keeps 7 days; older points are deleted automatically every day. Check-ins and alerts are kept for 7 days, and emoji notes for 24 hours. See the privacy policy for the full list.
Deleting a teen’s account
A managed teen has no email address of their own in the app, so a parent writes to support to delete the teen’s account and data. Your data leaves our live systems within 30 days and backups within 30 more days, and the confirmation goes to the parent. Adults can delete their own account in the app or on the delete your account page.
A safety note
A family locator app helps you stay in touch; it is not a safety service. Family Nearby is not an emergency service and has no crash detection; its SOS alerts your family only, not the police or an ambulance. Make sure your teen knows the local emergency number.
The short answer
Share openly, agree on the reasons, prefer alerts to watching, and make pausing easy to ask for. Those habits matter more than any app. When you are ready, see how Family Nearby works for teens and families and what your Circle can see.