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Verizon’s updated family tracking app adds SOS alerts

Verizon has relaunched its family tracking app with a Safe Walk SOS feature, allowing users to share their real-time location with emergency contacts and send notifications when they arrive safely. Users can also access a silent SOS button that will alert contacts if they need help.

The new Verizon Family app replaces the Smart Family service that the carrier launched in 2019. It comes with many of the same features, including ways to track the location of family members, see how much time a child spends on your phone and set limits on screen time.

The Verizon Family app also allows parents to view their child’s call and text activity (without actually checking their messages), monitor their teen’s driving activity, and set location alerts. iPhones and Android devices already have some of these features built-in, including a way to send SOS messages to emergency contacts and various parental controls.

Although the Family app is available at no additional cost with a standard postpaid monthly account, you will need to pay $14.99/account per month if you want access to additional features. This includes the ability to set multiple location alerts, parental controls to manage screen time, and roadside assistance.

Customers who have the old Verizon Smart Family service, which started at $4.99 per month, can continue to use it (Verizon simply won’t allow any new users to sign up). The reworked Verizon Family service ties in with the company’s other family tracking products, such as Gizmo Watch 3 Adventure.