Teenager Gets Shocked As His Partner Is Okay With His Family Tracking Him, Buys Secret Phone Without Telling Them

"I did anything wrong and I believe I'm entitled to my privacy"

Maryjane

• Published in Interesting
• January 16, 2024

Do your parents follow you around through your phone or another device? If so, does the knowledge of your whereabouts provide you with a sense of security or does it restrict your freedom?

Do you have an opinion on the matter and do you know why they track wherever you are? Is it because they feel reassured by your GPS tracking that you are safe or is it because they have some misconceptions about you?

The questions are endless and it might leave you wondering if your friends or siblings have parents who track them too. For some, using location trackers for parental purposes is generally an acceptable use of technology but does it reduce parental anxiety and make kids safer?

Sometimes, it encourages more responsible behavior in teenagers but at other times, it might harm the kids' perceptions of their own independence and freedom. The OP of today's story found out that his family has been tracking him by installing Life360 on every phone he bought.

You see, many adults have opted to use apps like Life360 to track their children's whereabouts as it allows them to keep tabs on every family member's precise whereabouts at all times and receive notifications when they leave and return home. OP's family would send him pictures of himself and his friends, walking into places where he was amongst other things.

The OP got tired of it all and decided to do something about it.

OP writes

The tracking escalated to OP's family sending him pictures of himself and his friends

The new one has the same number so the OP haven't been ghosting his bf

OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the AH:

I bought a new phone in order to avoid my location being tracked by my parents, and didn't tell my boyfriend or my family because I didn't want to fight. My boyfriend is upset I went behind his back and is accusing me of being deceitful, and my family is fuming.

I did kind of go behind their backs about this, and I'm starting to think I should have just explained why I was uncomfortable being tracked.

We've gathered some of the most upvoted comments from other Redditors for you to read through below

OP might want to get rid of this boyfriend

OP is grown and pays for his phone himself

They are all colluding in controlling the OP

This Redditor would kick the boyfriend to the curb

It's the OP's phone, his money and his life

The OP is seeing a therapist about his upbringing

This is a complete invasion of privacy

When this tracking subject is brought up, a lot of people would say it's a terrific idea, but some teenagers would say that the whole idea is horrifying. Arguments from both sides are totally acceptable but the family dynamic and the purpose of the tracking may both play a role in determining whether or not the tracking is appropriate.

Redditors say OP's parents aren't just monitoring him for safety but they are actively stalking him. So, he was declared not the AH.

Maryjane