Location-tracking app Life360 has announced a new notification feature for its app. This alert informs users when a friend or family member does not arrive at a specific location by a designated time. The goal of this feature is to reduce the need for users to constantly check someone’s location to confirm they have reached a place safely.
The company is launching this no-show notification during the back-to-school season to help lower parents’ stress about their children getting to school. Life360 suggests this feature serves as an alternative to sending frequent “where are you?” text messages.
To activate the feature, a user goes to the circle of the person they want to set an alert for, taps on their profile, and then selects the “Set a No Show Alert” option. They can then set a place and a time to receive a one-time notification if that person does not reach the destination on time. The alerts can also be made recurring by tapping “Repeat” and selecting specific days of the week.
The feature includes a grace period of a few minutes after the set time before the alert is triggered.
Mike Zeman, the Chief Marketing Officer at Life360, stated that coordination is a top concern for families, especially during the busy back-to-school season. He noted that new app downloads for Life360 peak in the weeks leading up to the first day of school. The No Show Alerts were designed to give parents peace of mind and reduce the need to constantly check on their kids’ whereabouts. The tool is intended to encourage trust while providing a backup alert if a family member needs to step in when someone does not arrive as expected.
Although Life360 highlighted the parent-child use case, the company clarified that any family member can set these alerts for someone else as long as location sharing is enabled. The company also confirmed that any user can turn off location sharing at any time.
The new no-show feature is rolling out to all members in the United States today. It will become available to international members in the coming weeks.