Location Tracking Laws for Parents: What You Need to Know

Parents and legal guardians in the United States have broad legal authority to monitor the location of their minor children using GPS-enabled devices and software. This right is grounded in parental authority over the welfare of minors, and no federal or state law prohibits a parent from tracking their own child's location. However, specific regulations like COPPA impose requirements on how technology companies collect and handle children's data, and the legal landscape shifts significantly when a child turns 18.

This guide covers the federal and state laws that affect family location monitoring, what platforms must do to stay compliant, and what you should know as a parent before enabling tracking on your child's device.

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Parental Authority to Monitor Minors

Under both federal and state law, parents have a recognized legal right and responsibility to oversee the activities and safety of their minor children. This includes the right to:

• Monitor their physical whereabouts using GPS tracking
• Access data on devices that the parent owns or provides
• Review location history, trip records, and visited locations
• Install monitoring software on a minor's device

This authority extends to both biological parents, adoptive parents, and legal guardians. In custody situations, the monitoring rights generally belong to the parent or guardian with legal custody of the child, though specific arrangements vary by jurisdiction and custody agreement.

There is no federal law requiring parental consent from the child to track their location. The consent relationship flows the other direction: the parent authorizes and controls the monitoring, and the child is the subject of that monitoring.

COPPA: The Federal Standard for Children Under 13

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is the primary federal law governing the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13. It places obligations not on parents but on the technology platforms that collect children's data.

What COPPA Requires

Under COPPA, any online service or app that knowingly collects personal information from children under 13 must:

• Provide clear notice of what data is collected and how it is used
• Obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting data
• Give parents the ability to review collected data
• Allow parents to delete their child's data at any time
• Allow parents to refuse further data collection
• Maintain reasonable security for the data collected

For family location monitoring platforms, this means the parent must actively consent to the monitoring before any location data is collected from a child's device.

How Compliant Platforms Handle COPPA

Platforms like Jussive build COPPA compliance directly into the device enrollment process. When a parent enrolls a child's device, verifiable parental consent is obtained before any data collection begins. The parent maintains full control to pause monitoring, modify settings, or permanently delete all collected data at any time.

For a more detailed overview of COPPA and what it means for parents using tracking apps, see our dedicated COPPA compliance guide.

COPPA Does Not Restrict Parents

It is important to understand what COPPA does and does not do. COPPA restricts how companies collect data from children — it does not restrict parents from monitoring their own children. A parent using a COPPA-compliant platform is operating well within the law.

State Privacy Laws Affecting Location Data

Several states have enacted comprehensive privacy legislation that classifies precise geolocation data as sensitive personal information. While these laws primarily regulate businesses, they affect the platforms parents use for monitoring.

California (CCPA/CPRA)

The California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, classifies precise geolocation as sensitive personal information. Consumers have the right to know what data is collected, request its deletion, and direct businesses to limit the use of sensitive personal information. Platforms operating in California must honor these rights.

Colorado, Connecticut, Virginia, Texas, Oregon, and Montana

These states have enacted privacy laws with similar provisions for sensitive data, including precise geolocation. Each requires businesses to conduct data protection assessments before processing sensitive data and to obtain consent where required.

What This Means for Parents

These laws protect you as a consumer of the tracking platform. They give you rights over your family's data — the right to access it, correct it, delete it, and ensure the platform is not selling or misusing it. A platform that complies with these laws is demonstrating that it takes your family's data seriously.

When evaluating tracking platforms, look for explicit statements about data handling practices. Jussive's privacy commitment includes zero data sales, AES-256 encryption, and compliance with applicable state privacy laws. For a broader look at privacy considerations, see our guide on data privacy in family tracking apps.

Federal Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Laws

The federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) and its amendments restrict the interception of electronic communications and unauthorized access to stored electronic data. However, these restrictions have important exceptions for parents.

The Parental Exception

Courts have consistently recognized a parental exception to federal wiretapping laws. Parents acting in good faith and in the best interest of their minor child may monitor communications and location without violating the ECPA. This exception is based on the principle that parents have a duty to protect and supervise their children.

GPS Tracking Is Not Wiretapping

Location tracking through GPS does not involve intercepting communications. It records the position of a device, not the content of conversations, messages, or data transfers. This places GPS monitoring in a different legal category than communication monitoring, and it faces fewer restrictions as a result.

When Tracking Becomes Legally Sensitive

While parental monitoring of minors is broadly legal, there are situations where the legal analysis becomes more complex.

Your Child Turns 18

This is the most significant legal boundary. Once a child reaches the age of majority (18 in most states, 19 in Alabama and Nebraska), they are a legal adult. Continuing to track their location without their knowledge and consent may violate state and federal privacy and surveillance laws.

If you want to continue location sharing with an adult child, it should be restructured as a consensual arrangement — both parties agree to share location data voluntarily. Many families do this, but the key difference is that it must be based on the adult child's affirmative consent, not unilateral parental authority.

Custody Disputes

In contested custody situations, one parent installing tracking software on a child's device without the knowledge or agreement of the other parent can create legal complications. If a custody order restricts one parent's access to the child's devices or data, violating that order could have legal consequences. Consult a family law attorney if you are navigating a contentious custody situation.

Tracking Someone Else's Child

Parental monitoring authority applies to your own minor children or children you are the legal guardian of. Tracking the location of someone else's child — a friend, a neighbor's child, or a relative you do not have guardianship over — without proper authorization could violate privacy laws.

Tracking Adult Partners or Spouses

Tracking a spouse or domestic partner without their knowledge or consent is legally risky and may violate state stalking, harassment, or surveillance laws. This guide addresses parental monitoring of minor children only.

Consent on the Device

Even though parents have the legal authority to monitor their minor children, the monitoring app itself needs the device's permission to access GPS data. On iOS, the device will prompt the user to grant location access when the app is first installed.

For young children, the parent typically handles this setup directly. For teenagers, having the conversation about why monitoring is being enabled and what it covers is an important step — not because the law requires it, but because transparency builds trust and cooperation.

International Considerations

If your family travels internationally or you have family members in other countries, be aware that location monitoring laws vary significantly by jurisdiction.

The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) imposes strict requirements on the collection and processing of location data, including data related to minors. The age of digital consent varies across EU member states (from 13 to 16). Platforms that operate internationally must comply with the data protection laws of each jurisdiction where they collect data.

Jussive's privacy practices are designed to comply with GDPR, UK GDPR, and applicable US state privacy laws, including obtaining appropriate consent and providing data access and deletion rights to account holders and monitored users.

Best Practices for Legal Compliance

As a parent using a family location monitoring platform, you can stay on firm legal ground by following these practices:

• Use a platform that obtains verifiable parental consent as part of the enrollment process
• Monitor only your own minor children or children you have legal guardianship over
• Be transparent with your child about what monitoring is in place
• Stop unilateral monitoring when your child turns 18 and transition to a consensual arrangement if desired
• Choose a platform with strong data privacy practices including encryption, limited retention, and a no-sale policy
• Review your state's privacy laws for any specific requirements regarding sensitive data

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it legal for parents to track their child's phone?

Yes. Parents and legal guardians in the United States have clear legal authority to monitor the location of their minor children. No federal or state law prohibits this practice when the parent owns or provides the device and the child is a minor.

Do I need my child's permission to install a tracking app?

Legally, no — parental authority over a minor child's device does not require the child's consent. However, the device's operating system will require granting location permissions during setup. Practically, being transparent about monitoring builds trust and tends to be more effective long-term.

What happens legally when my child turns 18?

When your child becomes a legal adult, your unilateral authority to monitor their location ends. Continuing to track an adult without their knowledge and consent may violate state and federal privacy laws. Transition to a mutually agreed location-sharing arrangement if both parties want to continue.

Does COPPA prevent me from using a tracking app for my child?

No. COPPA restricts how technology companies collect data from children under 13 — it protects your child's data from being misused by the platform. Using a COPPA-compliant platform like Jussive means the platform has obtained your verifiable consent and handles your child's data responsibly.

Can a tracking platform sell my child's location data?

Platforms that sell or share location data may violate COPPA (for children under 13) and state privacy laws (for all users). Jussive has a zero-data-sales policy — family location data is never sold, shared with advertisers, or monetized in any form.