Where R U? Text service tracks teens Lucy Ward, social affairs correspondent Wednesday July 20, 2005 The Guardian It is a familiar dilemma for parents of teenagers testing new-found independence - do you sit at home fretting over their after-school whereabouts or call their mobiles and risk a tirade against over- protectiveness? The answer, according to one company, is a hi-tech apron string based on the mobile phone location tracking techniques used in police investigations. The new KidsOK service, sold in shops including Boots and Bhs as the summer holidays start, allows parents to use their own mobiles and their children's to "discreetly" locate wandering offspring (or their phones, at least) to within about 500m in built-up areas. Instead of dialling their teenager's number, parents subscribing to the service send or "ping" a text message including the child's name to a special mailbox. Within 60 seconds, they receive a map (if they have a picturephone) or a description showing the position of the youngster's phone. The system uses technology which traces the location of a mobile by pinpointing it within the three nearest mobile phone masts. Because the masts are clustered in built-up areas, the method is most accurate in cities and gives a much less precise picture in rural areas.
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