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As teens in growing numbers adopt smartphones with global positioning system technology, they’re easier to keep tabs on using mobile apps like Life360. This rising tide of tracker apps creates a host of new ways for families to stay connected and coordinate schedules even as it heightens concerns about young people’s privacy.
The percentage of 13- to 17-year-olds using mobile phones rose to 70 percent last year from 58 percent in 2012, according to Nielsen.
“Even small children are getting smartphones, and that, of course, expands the addressable market significantly,” Andre Malm, an analyst at Berg Insight, said of the market for location-based apps.
About 25 million people in North America used location services daily at the end of last year, according to Berg Insight. That number could double to 50 million by 2018 as more free apps come out and smartphone use grows, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based researcher said.
AutoNavi Holdings, a Chinese map software company being acquired by Alibaba Group Holding, bought Alohar Mobile, a startup that introduced a new family-tracking app called PlaceUs on July 23.
To read more about the PlaceUs App, click here for the full article featured on Cape Cod Online!