Family location sharing: the « got here safe » without a GPS tracker
Outdoors, Zoku's location module: voluntary check-in, status, favourite places, directions to a tribe member. Android and iOS.
Family location apps make one choice: track continuously, and leave the family to deal with the discomfort. Zoku makes the opposite choice. Nobody is located without deciding to be. A teenager taps once to check in « got here safe »; a parent can ask for a location, not take it. You know what you need to know, and trust stays intact.
The trouble with family tracking apps
A teenager who knows they are tracked learns to work around it, not to let you know. The dot on the map replaces the conversation.
The dot has not moved for twenty minutes: flat battery or a problem? Permanent tracking raises as many questions as it answers.
Knowing the little one got to their friend's house safely: yes. Knowing where your partner is at 3pm: no. An app that tracks everyone the same suits nobody.
GPS running all day is expensive for the phone, and builds a movement history nobody asked for.
How Outdoors works
One tap, and the tribe sees your last declared location. Notification to the tribe with Premium ⭐. Nothing is sent between two check-ins.
« On my way », « At the shops », « Got here safe », « SOS ». The useful information is in the word, not the coordinate.
A worried parent sends a request. The member answers with a check-in, or does not. The request is visible, never silent.
Home, school, grandparents, sports club. 5 free, unlimited with Premium ⭐. Checking in « at school » is one tap.
From their last declared location, start a route in your navigation app.
A check-in happens inside a tribe. The flatshare does not see check-ins made for the family.
Who it is built for
The « got here safe » with no negotiation, and the « SOS » that exists.
The « landed safely » after a nine-hour flight, without keeping anyone waiting.
→ Expat families« On my way to drop him off » between co-parents, without sharing your life.
→ Zoku for shared custodyFinding each other at the market, without following the group all week.
→ Group holidaysWhat Outdoors deliberately does not do
- No background location. Zoku's privacy policy says it plainly: GPS location is only read when you trigger the feature yourself, with no automatic collection.
- No viewable movement history. The app only shows each member's last declared location, replaced at the next check-in.
- No geofencing, no « has left school » alert. That would be surveillance.
- No access to a member's location without their action.
This is not a technical limitation. It is the point of the module. → The privacy policy
FAQ - Location sharing
Is Zoku an alternative to Life360 or Find My?
For a family that wants to know without watching, yes. The fundamental difference: Zoku never tracks anyone continuously. Every shared location is a deliberate act by the person concerned.
Can my teenager refuse a check-in?
Yes. A location request is notified to them, and they answer it or not. That is the principle: trust runs through choice.
Can we see where members are in real time?
No. You see the last declared location, with its time and status. If someone checked in « at the cinema » at 8pm, that is what you see.
What does the SOS status do?
It sends a check-in with an explicit status and a notification to the tribe. It is not an emergency service (call the emergency number if there is danger), but an immediate signal to your people.
Are locations kept?
Zoku only shows the last declared location per member and per tribe; it is replaced at the next check-in. Location is only read when you press the button, never in the background. Data encrypted in transit, hosted in Europe, exportable and deletable (GDPR).
Is it free?
Yes. Check-in, status, location requests, members' last location and 5 favourite places are free. Notifying the tribe, directions and unlimited places are Premium.
Know where your people are, without following them
Free on Android and iOS. No credit card. No tracker.