The use of tracking devices and applications to monitor and protect children has become increasingly common as technology has advanced over recent years.
A 2024 poll found that 66 per cent of UK parents with 9–16-year-old children who have a smartphone had tracked their child’s location in the previous six months. A separate study released this year showed 91 per cent of parents use some form of monitoring tool for children’s digital activity.
These tools can undoubtedly help keep children safe, but also raise important issues around privacy, consent, parental responsibility, and data protection. There are further potential issues where parents are separated.
Louise Daniel, Associate Solicitor in WHN Solicitors’ family law team, examines the key issues and how parents can ensure their use of this technology to protect children is in the best interests of the child.
Common tracking devices
- GPS Smartwatches: Worn on the wrist, providing real-time location information in addition to calling, messaging, SOS alerts and geofencing (alerts when a child leaves a defined area)
- Bluetooth tracking devices (Apple AirTag, Samsung SmartTag, Tile trackers): Bluetooth-enabled trackers attached to a bag or clothing. These are often used for locating possessions but can also be used to locate a child’s belongings.
- Mobile phone location sharing: Features such as Apple’s ‘Find My’ or Google Family Link allow parents to view a child’s location in real time. They are often used to co-ordinate travel and school journeys.
- Dedicated GPS trackers: A small standalone device carried in a pocket or bag, which is commonly used when a parent wants location tracking without providing a smartphone.
Child’s best interests
The Children Act 1989 places a child’s welfare at the heart of decision-making in respect of the child. Any decision to use a tracking device should focus on the child’s best interests, taking account of their age and maturity.
There is no legislation which gives parents the express right to track their child or install software on the child’s mobile phone or other devices.
However, there is no law which expressly forbids this. The law would ask whether a parent’s actions are reasonable and whether the action is in the child’s best interests.
Parental responsibility
In the UK, those with parental responsibility have legal rights, duties and responsibilities relating to their child’s welfare and upbringing.
Where parents share the responsibility, important decisions about the child may need to be discussed between the parents, particularly if this affects the child’s welfare or relationship with one parent.
When deciding whether to use a tracking device, parents should consider:
- The child’s safety and protection
- Whether tracking is necessary and proportionate
- The child’s need for privacy and independence
- The impact on trust between parent and child
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) recognises geolocation tracking can support safeguarding and parental control purposes re the child, but excessive or hidden monitoring may affect a child’s rights and autonomy.
Age, consent and privacy
Children’s rights and expectations of privacy understandably increase as they grow older. The ICO advises that parental monitoring should be transparent and that children should understand when tracking is taking place.
Parents are generally more justified in monitoring a younger child’s location for safety reasons. Young children may have limited understanding of privacy implications. However, for older children, a greater consideration should be given to their views and independence.
Parents should explain why tracking is being used and discuss boundaries with the child. Continuous monitoring can become harder to justify as the child gets older unless there are genuine safety concerns. Good practice includes explaining how the device works and discussing when and why location information will be checked.
Tracking arrangements between separated parents
Where parents are separated and both have parental responsibility, tracking arrangements can become contentious. For example, installing a tracking device on a child’s mobile phone without the knowledge or consent of the other parent could allow one parent to monitor the child’s movements throughout the contact time with the other parent.
This may become a significant issue, particularly if this interferes with the child’s relationship with one parent or affects trust between the parents. Ideally both parents should know the child has a device which has a tracking facility on it.
Key considerations include:
- Whether tracking is genuinely for the child’s welfare.
- Whether both parents are aware of and agree to the arrangement.
- Whether tracking interferes with the other parent’s time with the child.
- The child’s wishes, depending on age and maturity.
Routine decisions may be made by the parent caring for the child at the time, but significant disputes about monitoring may require discussion, mediation, or ultimately a court decision based on the child’s best interests. Parents should never use tracking technology to monitor or gather information about the other parent.
Data protection, harassment and controlling behaviour
Location data is personal information, and its collection should be handled carefully. The ICO highlights risks associated with location tracking, including stalking, harassment, and excessive monitoring. Potential concerns include:
Data protection
- Collection of location data should be necessary and proportionate.
- Children should receive age-appropriate explanations about how their information is used.
- Location sharing should not be wider than necessary.
Harassment
- Repeated or inappropriate monitoring of a child or parent may contribute to harassment concerns.
- Tracking should not be used to investigate or monitor the other parent’s activities.
Controlling or coercive behaviour
- Using a child’s tracking device to monitor an ex-partner’s movements, contacts, or activities may be viewed as controlling behaviour.
- Family courts are likely to focus on whether the tracking arrangement benefits the child rather than the parent’s desire to supervise the other parent, according to the UK government.
Tracking devices have the potential to provide parents with reassurance and improve children’s safety. However, in accordance with UK law, parents must balance safety with privacy, respect developing independence and ensure tracking is always in a child’s best interests.
In separated families, tracking should always support the child’s welfare and not be used as a tool to monitor or control another parent.
Louise Daniel has almost 30 years’ experience as a qualified solicitor. She is experienced in all areas of family law and specialises in divorce, separation and financial cases, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, cohabitation agreements, children’s cases and non-molestation orders.
Contact Louise on Louise.Daniel@whnsolicitors.co.uk.
This blog is the second part of a WHN content series, Law for Life Today’ – read the first instalment Avoiding disputes in companies run by couples here.
