Verizon Smart Family Knows Where Your Kids Are

Verizon announced an upgrade to its FamilyBase program, now called Verizon Smart Family, that includes tracking, blocking, and monitoring options. Parents and guardians can sign up for either the basic or premium service for a monthly fee, but is the cost worth it?

Parenting in a Digital World

Kids today have access to a vast universe information and entertainment with a single tap of a smartphone. For many parents, that’s worrisome. Excessive screen time, viewing inappropriate content, or risky texting behavior are concerns for parents in the digital age.

“Being a parent in today’s digital world can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be,” said Verizon Senior Product Manager Susie Fernandes.

It’s becoming increasingly rare for a teen or tween—or even younger children—not to have their own smartphone. Most service providers offer some form of parental controls, but Verizon has taken it to the next level with their Smart Family service.

New App Features

Verizon Smart Family gives parents and guardians an unprecedented amount of control over their children’s phones. It improves on the FamilyBase service with a redesigned interface and more intuitive controls.

Smart Family also offers a finer degree of customization than the previous service. Parents can choose to limit or block phone and internet functions during specific days or even hours, ensuring for uninterrupted study time or more effective grounding. Specific sites and apps can also be blocked or limited, and parents have the option to monitor social media activity, call logs, and text messages.

Basic or Premium?

The basic version of Verizon Smart Family costs $5 a month. The premium version includes real-time location tracking using GPS data, which costs $10 a month. Parents may find that it’s worth the extra 5 bucks to know where their children are at any given time, and to receive alerts if the kids move out of a pre-set area such as home or school. Smart Family can also send notifications when, for example, your kids arrive home after school.

Ultimately, families will need to decide the appropriate level of monitoring and control that works for both the parents and their kids, but Verizon Smart Family has given them a lot more options to consider.