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Life360

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Life360
Developer(s)Life360
Operating systemiOS
Android
Windows Phone
TypeLocation-based service
LicenseProprietary
Websitewww.life360.com

Life360 is a family networking app launched in 2008. It is a location-based service that allows family members to share their location with each other, and easily communicate throughout the day. The app has more than 50 million registered families and has received numerous awards.[1]

History

Life360 was founded by Chris Hulls and Alex Haro and has received a total of $20 million in funding since its launch, including funding from both Facebook and Google.[1] The app was initially released in 2008 in the Android marketplace.[2] The first funding for Life360 came in the form of a $275,000 grant as a winner of Google's 2008 Android Developer Challenge.[3] Additional funding included $5.5 million in a Series A round and $10 million in a Series B round.[1]

Life360 entered into an agreement with BMW in 2013 to integrate the location services of Life360 with the navigation in BMW automobiles.[2] The same year, Life360 surpassed Foursquare in the number of registered users with 34 million[2] and reached more than 40 million registered users the same year.[1] Life360 also saw an increase in user registration following the announcement from Google that they would be shutting down their Google Latitude platform in August 2013.[4]

It was announced in 2013 that Life360 would be adding global support for its app which would include support in languages other than English and international SMS.[5] The announcement came after downloads of the Life360 app increased internationally, even though the app was only available in English.[5]

In 2016, Life360 added a feature that enables smartphones to detect when people are in a car crash and automatically contacts emergency response.[6]

Features

Life360 is both a web and mobile application and was referred to as a "family-oriented private social network" by Bloomberg Businessweek.[5] The app is a social network for families and differentiates itself in this way as it is not based around peer groups or professional networks such as Find My Friends and LinkedIn. It allows users to share locations, group message, and call for roadside assistance.[7] It has four main features which include location sharing, circles, places, and premium.

Locations sharing

The main feature of the app is location sharing. Users can open the app and see where other members are instantly. Users can choose to share or not to share their location with any particular circle at any particular time.[8]

Circles

Circles is the app’s newest feature, released on September 3, 2013. Circles allows users to create separate groups within the app, e.g. “caregivers,” “extended family,” and “John’s baseball team.” Users’ location is only visible to those who are also in the circle, and members in “caregivers” cannot see the location of users in “extended family,” unless they are also in that circle.[9]

Places

Life360 allows users to create geofences that alert them when another enters or leaves another location.[10]

Premium

Life360 operates as a freemium app, and users can pay for extra features.[5] These extra features include: stolen phone insurance, access to a live advisor 24/7, unlimited “Places” creation, and emergency roadside assistance.[5]

Awards and recognition

Life360 has received multiple awards including funding as winner of both Google Android Developer Challenge[3] and Facebook fbFund.[11] It received the People's Voice Award for Best Use of GPS or Location Technology at the 2012 Webby Awards.[12] The same year it was announced as the Gold Seal Winner at the Mom's Choice Awards and also received the Reader's Choice Award from About.com as the Coolest Parenting Teens Gadget Winner.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Perez, Sarah (10 July 2013). "Life360, The Family Locator With More Users Than Foursquare, Raises A $10 Million Series B". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ a b c Perez, Sarah (26 April 2013). "Life360, A Family Networking App With more Users Than Foursquare, Is Now Headed For Cars, Smart Home Systems". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ a b Siegler, MG (28 August 2008). "Android Developr Challenge I winners – nary a big name in sight". Venture Beat. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ Riddell, Lindsay (24 July 2013). "Life360 goes after Google Latitude's evicted users". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d e Fitchard, Kevin (3 July 2013). "Life360's App Knows Where Your Children Are". Bloomberg Businessweek. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ Privat, Ludovic. "Life360 Adds Car Crash Detection and Automatic Emergency Call to App". GPS BUSINESS NEWS. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  7. ^ "Life360 app stay connected with family and friends". theappzine.com, Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  8. ^ Dickinson, Boonsri (20 June 2011). "Life360 turns your smartphone into a lifeline". CNet. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ Fitchard, Kevin (4 September 2013). "Life360 moves beyond the nuclear family, adding social features to its tracking app". Gigaom. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ Yeung, Ken (18 December 2012). "Life360, the location app for families, nears 25m users; adds geo-fencing feature and local crime data". The Next Web. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ Kincaid, Jason (28 May 2009). "Facebook Names First Class of fbFund REV, Its New Incubator". Tech Crunch. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ "Best use of GPS or Location Technology". Webby Awards. 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2013. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ Witmer, Denise (2012). "Coolest Parenting Teens Gadget Winner: Life360 Family Locator". About.com. Retrieved 22 October 2013. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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