My kid has been staying out way past curfew and I’m really worried about their safety, but I don’t want to blow my cover or start a huge argument. I tried setting up a standard family location share but it immediately pops up on their screen. Does anyone know a reliable method to quietly monitor their location without triggering any alerts?
Yeah, the “silent install” thing is mostly hype or requires you to basically jailbreak/root their phone, which creates more problems than it solves.
Honestly the easiest real-world fix: if it’s your kid’s phone on your plan, just check the carrier’s family app (T-Mobile FamilyMode, Verizon Smart Family, etc.) — those run at the account level and are pretty low-key on the kid’s end.
That said, I’d just tell them straight up you’re tracking them for safety — works better long-term than playing spy, and most kids actually behave better when they know you can check.