Guide · Privacy & safety Sharing a child's location: When parents should set clear rules Sharing location can help with a specific problem, but it is not blanket control. Whether it makes sense depends on the child's age, the reason for it, and boundaries agreed together.
23 October 2026 · 4 min read
By Redaktion familydevice
As parents, many of us wonder whether we should be able to see our child's location on their smartphone or activate a location-tracking feature. The right answer depends not only on the technology, but also on your child's age, the specific reason for it, and whether location sharing is transparent to everyone involved.
When location sharing can make sense
Evidence Sharing a precise location generally requires active location permission or a corresponding feature in the app being used. [1]
The parental guide from klicksafe and Internet-ABC treats mobile use, data protection and parental support as related tasks. [2]
The AWMF guideline recommends agreeing on age-appropriate media rules with your child and adapting them as your child becomes more independent. [3]
Our assessment Location sharing is clearest when it has a specific purpose, such as finding a lost device or getting to an agreed meeting point. It is much less suitable for routinely checking whether your child is following the agreed media rules. A location mainly answers one question: Where is the device? It does not tell you whether your child feels safe, who they are spending time with, or what they are experiencing.
For exactly this reason, location tracking should not automatically become a prerequisite for trust. The question is not only whether parents can technically see the location, but whether the benefits for everyone involved outweigh the potential harm to privacy and the trusting relationship.
How age changes things
Evidence The AWMF guideline distinguishes between age groups and emphasizes that parental support should be adapted accordingly. [3]
The guide from klicksafe and Internet-ABC recommends taking the child's development into account and not setting the same rules for all age groups. [2]
Our assessment
Ages 9–12: A specific rule backed by adults makes sense, for example, sharing location only on the way to school or when meeting at an agreed point. The child should know when the feature is active and be able to ask about it at any time.Ages 12–16: A time-limited sharing option may be one of the possible rules, but it should not determine trust on its own. This decision should be made jointly, with individual features set up as needed.Ages 16–18: Self-determination and privacy carry greater weight. Location sharing should be activated only in an agreed emergency or a specifically agreed situation, not as a permanent condition for using the smartphone. How to set up sharing so it is practical and transparent
Our advice Follow these steps:
Define the purpose. Before enabling it, decide whether location tracking should help with a lost device, an immediate concern or a specific arrangement. General monitoring is a different undertaking from a specific safety feature.Set it up together. Open the device's location settings and the relevant app together. If a limited option is available, choose one such as "While Using the App", and do not give apps you do not need location permission. The labels differ depending on the operating system.Test the feature. Have your child share their location with you once and check whether the notification is easy to understand. Also agree on what happens if the device is switched off, has no network connection or has a flat battery.Limit Live Location. For a meeting, a time-limited sharing option may be suitable if the app offers one. End it afterwards and clarify beforehand which app shows which type of location data, such as a current position or the route travelled.Review permissions. Check together at intervals which apps have location access, whether they are enabled in the background and whether old permissions are still in place. Remove access if you no longer use a service.Do not react with blame. If no location comes through, check the device, network, battery and settings first. Missing data is a sign of a technical issue, not automatically proof that the rules were broken. When location tracking becomes a family problem
Our assessment There are situations in which a location-tracking feature creates more anxiety than security. This happens when the child feels constantly monitored, hides the device, feels pressured to keep responding, or when several apps work with location permissions in the background. In these cases, the feature should be reduced or switched off first. Here, the most important protection is not clever technology, but a clear agreement that everyone accepts.
Our advice End any covert or unlimited location tracking and discuss it openly. If there is an immediate danger, use the agreed emergency procedure instead of postponing the decision until after an argument about data protection. If a location rule keeps causing arguments, revise or remove it together. A rule that cannot be followed is not a good safety plan.
Transparency: This guide is published by the editorial team behind familydevice (ANTICIPATER GmbH), which develops a screen time app. That is why we visibly separate evidence, our assessment and advice, link every source in the original and recommend no products in the guide. How we work