Trick or Track

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Halloween is right around the corner and if you have little ones, this time of year often brings with it a ton of fun and, a bit of anxiety especially, if they are old enough to venture out on their own.  So, while there is no replacement for a physically present parent, there are a few geo-location apps creeping up this Halloween that can help provide ease of mind.

TrickorTracker® can locate a trick-or-treater with the touch of a button on your Smartphone. The app installs easily on both the parent’s phone and the child’s own phone…if your child is too young to use a Smartphone, they are probably too young to trick-or-treat without being accompanied by a parent or guardian…but you already knew that!?

The Android app will allow you to know where the kiddies are by receiving a text of their location. So first, download the app to both phones and set a password. Then, select an interval of time-say, 15 minutes-to receive a text message as each interval passes with the kid's location. You can also set up a geo-fence and get an alert if the phone leaves a defined perimeter.  Not gonna be accurate if your little monster 1. Loses the phone 2. Stashes it in a neighbor's mailbox or 3. Is smarter than you and turns off the location broadcasting.
The Android Trick or Tracker app costs $4.99 for each download and can be downloaded at http://www.trickortracker.com/

There are also some everyday apps that perform some of the same tasks and are free. Google Latitude and Apple's Find My Friends are two that allow users to sign up to receive real-time locations of friends and family members.  Each party has to approve sharing his or her location with the other, a process similar to friending on any other social network.

If you decide to use any of the above make sure that all smartphones are charged before venturing out, apps that use a phone's GPS are battery hogs.

Happy Halloween!