Keeping tabs on everything (or everyone) you need can be tedious, whether it be cell phones, car keys or your roommate. Enter some wicked smart tracking apps to chase the loved ones and loved things in your life with just a few taps on your device.
1. Always have someone to walk you home with the Companion App
The late night walks home from the campus library may be behind you, but dark alley ways and empty parking garages still make us step a little faster when we’re alone. Next time you are in need of an escort to walk you home or watch your back, log onto Companion.
Simply enter your route into the app and notify a buddy to keep an eye on you. A great feature of Companion is that your buddy doesn’t even have to download the app on his or her phone. They simply get updates about your progress and safe arrival, so you don’t waste time in these crucial moments in any app store. Companion is smart enough to check on you, just like your mom would, with an “are you ok?” prompt that alerts your Companion buddy of trouble if you don’t hit it in 15 seconds.
If you’re in dicey territory or feeling nervous, simply tap the “I feel nervous” button, and the details will get passed onto local authorities anonymously. If you need to call the cops, just push 2 taps and you will get the closest dispatch who will have information about your location via the app.
Overall: a great buddy app to add a little extra safety, assuming you have a companion to keep an eye on you. The app can drain battery life and users do complain about the inability to track progress along the route. And a simple call to 911 is always your sure bet, but this is a good supplement
Get it here: on iOS and Android
2. Track your kids, friends or your loved ones with this top location-sharing app
With Life360, a top iTunes and Google Play app, you can share your whereabouts with the most important people in your life, when you want to do so, and vice versa. When your kids arrive a school, get a notification. Boyfriend leaves the gym, get another one. What to see where your buddy is after leave the bar at 2:03am, here you go. Communicate one-on-one or via group messaging to friends or family…or both. You choose.
“Life360 Circles allows you to organize your friends and family into unique groups. Add a Circle for your nanny or babysitter, or create a temporary Circle for the Little League team’s trip to the playoffs.” And leave out anyone who doesn’t want to be connected.The app allows you to share grocery lists, coordinate on the fly who is closest to a cupcake shop to bring home some treats and then quickly shut of location sharing when you want to fall of the grid. New features include alerts to who may have a low battery in your group or doesn’t have WiFi on and reminders about important tasks. Nice features ideal for backpackers, triathletes, marathoners or anyone who wants to share there whereabouts.
And just imagine the number of marriages saved thanks to automatic notification features because couples will never have to ask again “when will you be home?”
Overall: this is like an amped up WhatUp app with GPS and check lists and other functionality. A great way to keep connected and see if anyone is getting into trouble. Battery life and GPS inaccuracy biggest complaints here.
Get it here: Available on iOS and Android
3. Never lose your stuff (phones, bike seats, sunglasses, luggage, wallets, you name it) again with the Tile tracker
Get it here: Available for iOS and Android and at retailers like Target and Amazon
