consent-first location – A month-long trial of Surfshark-owned HeyPolo and Life360 found a stark difference in philosophy: HeyPolo builds tracking around consent and granular control, while Life360 runs on always-on connectivity and a broader feature set—especially for driving and eme
For a month, I tested two of the most popular location-sharing apps while thinking about the same everyday worry: what happens when “safety” turns into something that feels like surveillance.
Location-sharing apps have surged in popularity as parents and friends look to see where loved ones are on a map and receive alerts when specific places are reached. Many also promise extra layers—SOS alerts, emergency calls, and driver behavior tracking. Yet the privacy concerns are just as real. Some apps run quietly in the background and may require persistent GPS access. and a few—despite being marketed like parental control tools—can be used in domestic abuse and coercive control.
The test centered on HeyPolo, a new location-sharing app owned by Surfshark, and whether its “privacy-first” pitch actually holds up against Life360, a long-established name in the space.
HeyPolo is built on consent, and it shows up immediately in how you can control tracking. You can create a group for family and friends or join one for free using an invitation code. Adding new members to any group is free, as long as one person in the group has an active subscription.
When you install HeyPolo. the app’s permissions are displayed clearly: location. background location. motion. push notifications. and battery optimization—the last of which is designed to stop an operating system from deep-sleeping the app and to prevent high battery usage. In HeyPolo’s system. users can change the degree of tracking at any time. from “more precise” to “more private.” “More precise” reveals your exact location. trip history. and coming and going alerts. “More private” turns all location services off so that no one in the group can see where you are.
That control isn’t just a feature—it’s the tone of the product. HeyPolo says it wanted to build something different: a tool that gives parents reassurance and gives teenagers independence. “without anyone’s privacy being compromised in the process.” The app also includes settings meant to reduce the feeling of being watched constantly. Users can change visibility. turn off location tracking at any time. and choose when to share location either via scheduling or as a one-off alert.
For groups, users can set exceptions and rules for each member, including turning off location sharing entirely, providing exact locations, or restricting visibility to a general area.
Trust is where HeyPolo tries to win the argument. The app’s engineers say it’s designed as a supportive tool. not a replacement for the conversations families need to have around trust and responsibility. HeyPolo also says it doesn’t sell user data and never will. When you sign up. a short data-sharing policy is shown that the app describes as easy to read. and it lets users choose whether the app can collect aggregated user data for analytics or use data for marketing purposes.
The safety angle is personal here, too, because the dark use cases are known. I tested HeyPolo during development and was able to provide suggestions for improvement before release. One concern I raised was the potential for abuse—stalkerware installation and location tracking are common methods used by people conducting domestic abuse to control others.
When I asked the engineers about future updates that could include blocking circle members or quietly pausing tracking. they said that measures to prevent abuse in domestic violence settings are “something we’ve continued to think carefully about. and it’s firmly on our roadmap.” The team also said it is currently working through improvements including driving behavior monitors. status updates. and in-app calling. and that protecting users from coercive or abusive use of the product is “a core part of how we think about HeyPolo” and will be reflected as the product builds out.
Life360, meanwhile, takes a more traditional approach that leans into always-on connectivity and a larger bundle of security-style features.
Life360 requires permissions for location (precise, all the time), physical activity, notifications, and Bluetooth. The app is transparent about what it needs, but battery optimization for location sharing must be turned off or background processes won’t work properly.
Once installed and inside a circle, Life360’s location tracking stays on, with no scheduled or timed tracking sessions. Children or other adult users can disable location services on their smartphones to avoid being tracked or log out. and changes are flagged to other group members. Life360 can also send alerts when there’s a “no-show. ” meaning a circle member has not arrived at a set destination when expected.
Life360’s standout strength is its feature list, particularly in paid subscriptions. Location tracking 24/7. location history. place arrival alerts. and real-time updates sit alongside SOS emergency assistance and disaster response. pet and object GPS tracking. no-show alerts. crash detection. driver monitoring. credit monitoring. weather alerts. stolen phone reimbursement. ID theft protection. and crime reports.
For the driving scenario that Life360 is built to manage. the app describes its driver features as like a black box for driving: reports and summaries on driving habits include phone usage (“distraction”). speeds (“rapid acceleration”). and hard braking. It also includes 24/7 roadside assistance, plus collision and dispatch crews in emergencies.
On cost, the difference is sharp. HeyPolo lets unlimited guests join existing groups, but at least one person in the group must have a paid subscription. Life360 offers a free, fully functional app for iOS and Android.
Life360’s free plan provides the same basic functionality as paid plans, but it is limited to two days of location history, two registered “place” alerts, family driving summary only, and Tile tracking support. To access advanced features, you need to pay for a subscription.
In my own decision, I chose HeyPolo. I also acknowledge that feedback I was able to provide during HeyPolo’s development may influence my perspective on existing location tracker apps. Still. the reason I would opt for HeyPolo over Life360 comes down to the same thing that shaped the month-long test: HeyPolo’s approach to location tracking and user privacy—user-friendly maps. transparent data-sharing policies and permission requests. and the level of control handed to the user over location-sharing preferences.
There’s a trade-off. HeyPolo is still in active development. so it doesn’t yet offer competitor features like driver management and reporting that Life360 provides. And while HeyPolo has a way to use the app for free, there is no standalone free plan. If you need driver-related features or want disaster response and medical assistance, Life360 may be the better fit.
The two apps also reflect different foundations in the details. HeyPolo runs on Android and iOS and uses GPS, Wi‑Fi, cellular, and motion data. It offers real-time tracking and alerts and granular user location tracking control, and it doesn’t currently support GPS accessories.
Life360 supports Android and iOS and uses GPS (always on), Wi‑Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, and motion data. It also offers real-time tracking and alerts, but granular tracking control is listed as No. Life360 does support adding GPS accessories—registering pet-appropriate GPS tracker collars and adding Tile devices for objects such as a wallet. keys. or luggage.
Driver tracking is described as In development for HeyPolo and Yes for Life360. Life360’s free plan is Invite only for HeyPolo, with HeyPolo’s starting price listed as $0 to $1.99/month and Life360’s starting price as $0 to $7.99/month.
By the end of the month, the contrast felt less like a feature comparison and more like a question of who the product is trying to protect—parents managing risk, or teenagers trying to breathe without feeling tethered.
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