AT&T FamilyMap: Stalk People for $15/Month

[Guest]

ummm ... Sprint and Verizon have similar plans. From personal use, I know Sprint only sends occasional messages reminding the user they can be tracked.

 

[okibrian]

Yes, people can currently be tracked by their cell phone, but by the time the police authorize that action and get the phone providers help your kid could already be dead. This new service that AT&T is offering, while pricey, is a good thing for those that need it. All those that don’t need it or don't like it should just move on and not get it. If you get this service for yourself and your wife tracks you with it then: 1.) you were dumb for getting the service in the first place for your wife to track you. 2.) You got much bigger issues than your cell phone service.

 

[Dmerc]

I can see it now, all company issued cell phones will have the service enabled.

 

[neiroatopelcc]

I wish they'd launch this service in europe! but with a more reasonable 500 unit limit! I work at a place where we educate people. Many of these people are still late teens and more often than we want, they'll borrow our stuff. So we've got gps trackers in various items to find them again, but these often cost more than the item to have. With this system we could just wire old phones up inside stuff. I'm sure we could get some cheap alcatel or nokia phones on ebay

But I wouldn't want it for my family if I had any to be honest. It kinda claims dishonesty and lack of trust. The foundation for paranoid kids. In the end they'll go buy prepaid phones (or stolen with prepaid card) and leave their own phone where their parents expect them to be. That's not nessecarily where I'd want to be heading.

 

[necro1783]

i will be very interested in this service once my daughter becomes a teenager

 

[Guest]

We're getting pretty socialistic! Everything for everyone, noone owns anything, and anything you do everyone can know!
Great improvement USA!

 

[Hanin33]

socialism is not inherently bad. why do people insist on making a pariah out of anything that remotely resembles socialist ideas? if you have any kind of tax sponsored services (fire, police, EMS, public schools, Welfare) then that's socialism at work! social security even has social in the name! i'm not saying we need a socialist govt, but we can not pretend that it is an evil scourge that is 'unamerican' or whatever when we have socialist programs entrenched in our society. this isn't the cold war days anymore, people. let's get into the now and use wotever it takes to make our society a viable one and see if we can outlast the Romans!

 

[Guest]

I'm all for it. It's a subscription service so only those who want it can buy it. Some people here are making it out to be The Man forced against the user.

I would get it just for peace of mind and safety of my family. My wife and I have a great relationship. If my wife wants to find out where I am I have no problem with that.

I would advocate (almost demand) that I can turn off the ability to notify the cellphone user they are being tracked. If I am tracking a member of my family because they went missing the last thing I would want is to let anyone know the cell phone is being used that way. 2nd, if I give a cell phone to my kids it's with specific rules, both for their responsability and safety. The cellphone isn't theirs, I'm buying it so they can use it. If I want to take it away (for discipinary reasons) I have full right to. If I want to track them I have full right to. If they don't like it they don't get a cell phone. Since when did we get to a point where a parent gives their child a phone (for free or $200+), pay for the monthly service and then feel guilty when we talk of wanting to know where they are or take the phone away?

 

[kingnoobe]

This is actually a good service.. You say trust? I say you have to earn it. This is not a good way for parents simply to track their kids, but to build the trust. You say leave the phone, and go away.. Ok commonsense somebody is gonna have to answer the phone were it's at, and I hope you would know the sound of your own kids voice. If it's used on a husband/wife.. Well if their not cheating, lieing, etc.. They have nothing to worry about, and if they have in the past this could be a good way to build back up the trust. Although the phone obviously can't say if theirs somebody there with them.

 

[Blessedman]

Not a bad idea until the system is hacked and we can track anyone we want. The watchers watching the watched!

 

[mrmez]

We have similar GPS trackers in our company vehicles... Its good to be able to see whos been knocking off at 3pm daily, and driving all over the place for private stuff. If you get a company car, assume its being tracked. As for your kids... well, im sure glad i didnt grow up with this, and id like to think id trust my kids enough to not do this.

 

[hurbt]

My girlfriend's ex is crazy as hell... shows up randomly, is an alcoholic, has wrecked 3 cars in the last 6 months because of it, has threatened to kill me on several occasions... and if you haven't figured it out already, he's an idiot too. He left his sprint tracking account unaltered after their break-up and for the last year, my lovely lady periodically checks where he's at if she gets a little nervous. So, call it stalking if you want, but we call it peace of mind If i had kids, i'd have this on their cell-phone accounts.

 

[rocket_sauce]

It would be nice to know where you lost your phone ... /guilty 2x

 

[jwl3]

Great service. A way for my friends to find me while I'm walking around Manhattan. How many times have we missed connections because we didn't know? How many times have my friends been within a block of me walking in the other direction?

This is an ingenious service and I predicted this would be a future service 5 years back.


And if we implanted chips into every single human being on earth, you can say goodbye to unsolved crimes, missing persons, etc. But the privacy freaks would go ape-sh*t over this of course.

 

[jwl3]

Great service. A way for my friends to find me while I'm walking around Manhattan. How many times have we missed connections because we didn't know? How many times have my friends been within a block of me walking in the other direction?

This is an ingenious service and I predicted this would be a future service 5 years back.


And if we implanted chips into every single human being on earth, you can say goodbye to unsolved crimes, missing persons, etc. But the privacy freaks would go ape-sh*t over this of course.

 

[prisonerinhome]

I have a very jealous husband and do not like this family map tracker. I accepted this request to be tracked by my husband because I thought it would prove to him that I am doing nothing wrong, instead it has been nothing but trouble. I recently list my job of 25 years and am now a stay at home wife. Since then, my husband has put up camera's all around the house and acts like I'm not suppose to go anywhere or do anything. He says my phone has been tracked at the neighbors house while he's at work and that I'm having an affair with him. I've never been over there and don't even know his name! I told him to check his cameras if he dosen't believe me and he says he has and lied and said he's got me on camera over there..big lie!!! I can't even leave the house to go help my kids out when needed because he thinks I'm cheating on him. I wish I never accepted this family tracker on my phone because I can't leave the house without him calling me constantly to see what I am doing. Christmas is coming and I tried to go shopping to buy him a present, but thanks to AT&T family map once again he was calling me to see what store I was in and why I was there. So much for his present, I didn't buy him anything because it would not be a surprise since he knew where I was. So tired of being stalked! I know we're married, but everyone should have a right to a little privacy.