We’re always on the lookout for products and services that are relevant to the lives of renters. 99Check is a useful app for anyone who has kids that are old enough to take a selfie.
It can be challenging setting limits for your child or teenager and ensuring that you know where they are, while still letting them have their freedom and letting them learn.
There are a number of apps and other options out there to GPS your kids. Some involve the active consent of the person being tracked, and some involve subterfuge and having to find other ways to explain how you knew where they were. Which you choose, of course, is an issue which is between you and your child, but most people find the active consent route makes more sense in the long run.
Making sure your kids have the freedom they need while still protecting them and keeping an eye on them is one concern people have when considering the variety of ways to track them that are now available. On the other hand, it’s also important not to single them out from their peers. In order to accomplish that goal, if the tracking requires a response from them it should be something that can be covered as normal behavior for them.
At Effective Coverage, we love startups and companies who innovate outside the current paradigm. We keep an eye on companies that have released new and interesting products with a new take on an old concept, and we couldn’t help but notice 99Check. They’re a startup that offers an app which takes knowing where your family is to the next level, by integrating checkins with the selfies that – let’s face it – your kids are taking anyway.
Check-ins are on demand, so whether you want to see where your family is every 30 minutes or you’d rather check in at random intervals because you trust your teenagers, the app will support your needs. The selfie doesn’t just show you that your family members are OK, it also helps to prove that they are where they say they are.
If there’s any doubt about their actual location, a GPS location is sent to you along with the selfie. When we tested the app with a few employees internally, the accuracy was within 10 meters indoors. That’s more than sufficient to know exactly where someone is. We thought about posting screenshots, but selfies are not our strength so we’ll pass. The app has recently been updated to include a Snapchat-like feature to allow text to be added over the selfie before it’s sent, as well.
The basic functionality and setting up the app is free, but there are premium services available, as well. It’s available for iPhone and coming soon for Android. 99Check is perhaps the single least intrusive family tracking app on the market today. Perhaps in an ideal world, such apps wouldn’t be necessary, but this is not an ideal world and you have a responsibility to protect your family.
99Check has taken a need that most people agree exists and worked hard to eliminate the pain points in the existing solution. It will even tell you how much battery is remaining on the phone checking in, so you don’t get surprised or concerned by a dead battery. On that note, the app doesn’t have a negative impact on battery life because it’s not constantly looking for a GPS lock or sending updates. The on-demand nature of the app means it doesn’t prevent the phone from being used as, well, a phone.
The app also has uses beyond knowing where your kids are. If you’re traveling with your family and likely to split up, it’s a great way to be sure that you can meet back up with them easily. If you’re at an amusement park, for instance, adults can make use of the app, too. Take a selfie with a landmark in the background and make it easier to find each other.
One of the other things that we like about 99Check is that it’s free to use for as many family members as you like. There are, of course, upgrades available but the app is entirely usable without purchasing those upgrades. For 99 cents a month, you can save up to 99 checkins for each family member on your map. For $1.99 a month, you can be alerted when family members leave the last location they checked in at.
Both features have plenty of utility in various situations, but the app functions exactly as advertised with or without those addons. Speaking just for ourselves, we’re more likely to pay for an app that works as advertised without upgrades than a crippled one that doesn’t work properly without payment. 99Check is an effective way to be aware of where your kids are and what they’re doing, but without making them feel stalked.
Get 99Check in the App Store free!