Labs

Rather than keeping children safe on the World Wide Web, Find Your Child is an internet-based service that aims to make children more secure in the real world. It provides parents with a method of discovering the whereabouts of a child in possession of a mobile phone on one of the major phone networks without having to make a phone call or exchange text messages.

Children are likely to welcome this service as a means of eliminating embarrassing 'Where are you?' calls, and parents will like it for the same reason. It means children can be given greater independence without the anxiety that this can entail. The limitations are that the phone has to be switched on and in an area that has mobile phone coverage - it won't work on the underground, for example - and the greatest accuracy you can expect is to within a 150-metre radius of the phone. Even with these restrictions, though, the service should be sufficient to reassure parents that their children are where they should be - and

ADVERTISEMENT

alert them if they're not.

There are two ways to start using this service. One is to purchase a CD, which is required for the purpose of setting up the account. The other is to register online and have a registration key sent through the post to the credit card holder's address. This is an understandable safety precaution but it means there is no instant access to the service.

As well as enabling you to make internet searches, where you can view the location of the phone on a map, you can also search from your own mobile phone and receive an SMS. The initial charge of £5.99 covers 12 months registration (which costs £2.49), the cost of setting up a mobile phone number (£1), four location requests (50p each), three text messages (15p each) and one map zoom for greater detail (5p). Subsequent usage is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis, and if you intend to use the service extensively, bulk searches can cost as little as 40p each.

Users of the service must be over 18 and, to comply with the Data Protection Act, must have the mobile user's permission before including their phone number. The user of the mobile is sent text messages from time to time reminding them that they are being tracked. The system detects, and disallows, multiple registrations from the same email address, which is another safety feature to avoid misuse.

Like any surveillance system Find Your Child has potential for misuse, but when used as intended it can provide peace of mind while avoiding confrontations between parents and children. It's an imaginative use of technology.