Our smartphones can do many things, but perhaps one of the most underrated things they can do is offer serious convenience for families. This is one of the reasons location sharing apps have been popular for years, but many of them can also be a privacy nightmare. HeyPolo from Surfshark aims to solve this problem – the first family security app for privacy.
HeyPolo supports space sharing optimized for families, but respects your privacy both from the outside world and within the family.
While most location sharing apps are always on, HeyPolo is designed for time-limited sharing. Family members can set specific repeat times for sharing their space, or use one-time shares for special nights out or trips. But if a timer is set, that’s it. The app stops sharing your location as you wish. You can of course enable 24/7 sharing, but that’s entirely up to you.
You can also customize location sharing to include your exact location, general area, or set it to private mode on an individual or group-by-group basis, giving each family member some level of privacy while sharing their details. HeyPolo also keeps a record of your visits, but you can also choose who can see those past visits and what they can see.
HeyPolo also features smart notifications, including SOS alerts and the ability to alert family members when they enter or leave a certain location, even when their batteries are dead. Again, everyone has full control over the privacy of these types of notifications.
There’s also an “Emergency Access” feature that gives someone one-time access to your live space, if you let them, if location sharing isn’t enabled during an emergency. It can be limited, for example, it is allowed once a year, so it is not abused.
Another useful feature is driving tracking, which tracks not only location and history, but also driving speed and habits.
The app is built entirely around the idea of consent-based tracking, with no always-on modes by default. As HeyPolo explains, it gives family members peace of mind “without turning the relationship into control.”
HeyPolo never sells or exploits user location data – it’s not monetized at all – and everything is fully encrypted on both Android and iOS. HeyPolo is built by the team behind one of the world’s leading VPN providers, Surfshark, so there’s reason to be confident.
Instead, the app is funded by a subscription fee that only one person has to pay. For $3.99 per month, you can create groups of family, friends, and even coworkers. You subscribe and everyone else joins for free and it’s unlimited.
you can do Try HeyPolo for free for 7 daysThe $3.99 per month fee comes as a one-time $47.88 annual fee. There is also a 30-day money back guarantee.
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