Is Life360 Safe?

If you use or plan to use Life360, you need to know: Is Life360 safe? 

Below, we explain whether Life360 is: 

• Safe to use. 
• Good for privacy. 

We also look at some steps you can take to improve both your safety and privacy when using this online service. 

What Is Life360?

Life360 is a location-based service designed to help families and close-knit groups stay connected and informed about each other’s whereabouts and safety. 

In function, members of a Life360 Circle (a group of people who choose to share their location with each other) can see each other’s real-time locations on a map. In addition, the app provides a history of locations visited by each member over a certain period, allowing users to review past movements.

The app has different features that users can enable for more tracking functionality. For example, users can set up geofences, which are virtual boundaries around specific locations like home, school, or work. When a member enters or exits a geofenced area, the app sends notifications to the group.

Life360 includes safety features such as SOS alerts, which allow users to send a distress signal with their location to their Circle members in an emergency. The app also offers crash detection and emergency response services.

Is Life360 Safe?

Life360’s safety depends on your perspective. 

The service is designed to offer features that help family and friends in emergencies, including crash detection and an SOS button that can send help. In that sense, it promotes safety. On the Life360 website, these safety features are mentioned rather than features related to the app’s actual security.

According to the nonprofit The Markup, which tested the Life360 app against the Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) app security standards, Life360 lacks basic security measures to thwart potential cyber criminals. 

The app didn’t pass 6 of 19 security tests, including limiting failed log-in attempts. 

The Markup wrote that “former Life360 employees told The Markup that Life360 executives were well aware of the security issues but chose growth and new user features over dealing with a backlog of security improvements.”

The head of security and cloud operations at Life360 disagreed, saying that the service has an experienced security team, conducts internal and external audits of the platform, has a bug bounty program, and runs ongoing penetration testing to test its security. 

In June 2024, Life360 experienced a breach that affected its Bluetooth tracking service subsidiary Tile’s customer support platform. 

The unidentified attacker extracted information including Tile customers’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and device identification numbers. However, it did not include login credentials, credit card details, government-issued ID numbers, or other sensitive information.

Life360 has been criticized for enabling controlling parents and stalking.  

Is Life360 Private?

No, Life360 is not considered private. 

The app’s core function is to track your location, constantly sharing your whereabouts with your circle. In addition, Life360 collects location data, driving habits, and other information. 

While Life360 anonymizes and sells data to some partners now, it previously shared location data with data brokers. The company announced in late 2021 that it would stop selling precise location data to brokers. 

A class-action lawsuit has been initiated against Life360, claiming that the company sold users’ location data without obtaining their consent.

A 2023 paper published by the University of Texas at San Antonio graduates found that even if you don’t use the app, your privacy could be compromised through someone else using it. For instance, Life360 collects data on driving safety for paid users, which is sent to third parties. “Even if you don’t use the app, a passenger in your car could collect your driving data through their use of it,” say the researchers.

Life360’s privacy policy receives a score of 56% (out of 100%) from The Common Sense Privacy Project, which looks at internet services’ privacy in the context of kids. This score is a “Warning,” meaning Life360 does not meet the project’s privacy and security practices. 

The top concerns listed are the following:

• Data can be rented/sold to third parties.
• Data is shared for third-party advertising.
• Behavioral and targeted advertising is displayed.
• Data is collected by third-party tracking services.
• Data is used to track & target advertisements on third parties.
• Data profiles are created.

Terms of Service; Didn’t Read (ToS;DR), a project that rates internet services’ terms of service and privacy policies, hasn’t graded Life360 yet. 

However, among the issues listed by ToS;DR are the service’s ability to read private messages, the service tracking users even after they opted out of tracking, and the service tracking users on other websites.

How to Improve Your Safety and Privacy On Life360

For a safer and more private experience on Life360, follow these steps:

• Manage location sharing. Turn off location sharing entirely for times you want privacy. This can be done temporarily within the app.
• Turn off location sharing within specific Circles. You can change the location-sharing settings for each individual Circle you are part of.
• Turn off data sharing. Under Settings, find the “Privacy and Security” and then the “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” section. Toggle “Personal Information Sales” to the off position.
• Use the Places feature. Create designated “Places” for your home, work, or school. This lets your circle know you’re at a familiar location without revealing your exact address.
• Use a strong password. Create and use a strong password with multiple special characters for your Life360 account, being sure to avoid using any passwords you’ve used anywhere else. You can also use a password manager to simplify this process.
• Limit app access to necessary functions. Be sure to review Life360’s app permissions on your device and remove access to any unnecessary functions (such as audio or camera access).
• Stay educated. Monitor Life360’s website to stay informed about any updates to its privacy policy and keep an eye out for any notices of data breaches.