Whereoscope (YC S10) Gives Parents An Easy Way To Track Where Their Kids Are

I know the founders personally (sorry M&#38;J!) but in my professional capacity as a technology ethicist I think this is all shades of wrong.<p>Trust isn't about knowing where your kids are, it's about communication. Children have rights to privacy as well, and this includes from their parents: being able to be independent and reason things through yourself ("should I wag school?"), looking at the consequences of the actions fully on the basis of other issues than "mum &#38; dad can see where I am" is an important part of growing up too.<p>This app seems to me to entirely catering to the overprotective, paranoid parents who cannot communicate with their children. It's not about whether the tech is right or effective, it's about whether we should, as a society, be encouraging this sort of tech and the behaviour that comes with it. And when it comes to encouraging independence, good communication, and healthy relationships, this sort of monitoring is not conducive to this.<p>Sorry guys, I love supporting you but some of your apps are pretty questionable, ethically speaking :(

So did one of you fake having a kid to post a "review" on the AppStore? A poster on Tech Crunch says you did.<p>IIRC you mention elsewhere on this thread that neither of your is a parent but on TC someone said this. I quote<p>"<p>I think these products are great.<p>For example, Mick Johnson, CEO of Wheroscope/Stalqer/Zotora/ChildPulse/BindTwo/Gasbag/Knetckr/… was a childless 30-something guy at the start of 2009.<p>But due to the power of location-based services, he has apparently discovered that he has not one, but multiple children, one of whom is apparently old enough to be taking soccer lessons.<p>From a ‘review’ that Mick posted to the App Store, of his own product:<p>“I think it’s great that I can give my child more freedom and at the same time get more peace of mind. I’m not worried about where he goes, but it actually makes his life easier if he doesn’t have to keep calling me to let me know he’s gotten home from school or is later to soccer practice. At the same time, it’s easier for him to know how long until I arrive when I’m driving over to pick him up.<p>I would love to be able see more than 1 of my kids on it though – looking forward to the update. “<p>Is this guy blowing smoke? Or did you guys fake a "review"?

Growing up with cellphones was bad enough. Kids need their space. Whereoscope has made the lives of lots of kids slightly worse.

Who would give their 8-12 year old an iPhone 3GS / iPhone 4?<p>Or rather, is that market big enough? Maybe eventually, but this seems almost premature.

Who else thought 'cute, typical for Americans' when reading this? Somehow I have a hard time imagining families around me in Europe using such a service. The fact that there is a market for these kinds of apps is telling about US society and its approach to parenting. Really, wtf!? Just let go a little &#38; let your kids run wild.<p>Also: how long until these kids start hacking the system: pay off some other kid to carry the phone as an alibi? Even better: reverse engineer the protocol &#38; write their own spoofing app. Now THAT would be a good education.

I doubt the company will succeed with a website like that. It looks nice, but has enough problems.<p>1. It doesn't clarify IF your kid requires a smartphone. Anyone not coming from the the article would wonder if there was 1 phone for the parent and a wrist-watch or something for the kid. It may seem obvious to many, but the average person hitting the site would probably not know, then try to use the feedback tool, which leads to #2.<p>2. The feedback tool makes you fill out the form first then after all that leads you to sign in or create an account -with no way out. What a shitty way to do it. It's not a social media site, it's a business.<p>Subtle things like this can make a company flop. If they can't get the basics down, why would I want to do business with them?<p>As for the product. I agree with the previous post, like as if my kids are going to have a smart phone.<p>Just my 2 cents.

How about picking up the phone and asking where they are?<p>I mean knowing <i>where</i> they are doesn't tell you if they are doing something they should not be doing, which after watching the trouble these kids in this neighborhood get into between 3pm and 6pm before their parents get home - trust me you better find out <i>what</i> your kids are up to, not just <i>where</i>.

I don't understand this whole spying on your kids market.<p>I wouldn't spy on my kids. Lack of trust becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.<p>How about spying on your gf or bf or something?

I, like others, have serious ethical problems with this and am disappointed in YC for funding it.

I think this and similar products also opens a business opportunity for making software / services for kids that allow them to evade these controls.

I wonder about the legality of this service. Are parents really allowed to track their kids in this fashion? Until what age? etc. This isn't meant to be rhetorical as I am really ignorant on the matter.

Alternate title:<p><pre><code> Whereoscope give parents a way to find their kids lost iPhones.</code></pre>

I wonder if the founders are parents in real-life?

It seems really odd to me that there are such gaps in logic in this.<p>"Sorry mom, my phone died" This will actually happen because obviously your child will play with it all day and we all know what an iphone battery is like<p>But if they wanted to hide something, do you really think they won't figure out how to turn this app off/spoof their location?

Does app naming not matter very much when it comes to the App Store? It seems like their original name was a lot better with ChildPulse. Also, did anyone notice how they alternated with the misspelling of "Wherescope" and the correct name?

did the founders think about other markets? i see a better use with my parents (65+) than my child since she doesn't/won't have an iPhone 3gs or 4.

I have four kids and would consider this product.<p>Of course, I have similar software monitoring my bike commute for my wife's edification. I'm the one who set it up; I don't feel particularly oppressed.<p>I would hope that my kids would view this as an easy way to keep the parents up to date without having to actually call/SMS.