If you and your kids own an iPhone or Android device, Life360's cross-platform Family Locator (Android) and Family GPS Tracker and Safety Center Pro (iPhone) stand ready to help you track and locate each other in real time.

That's the promise. In practice, the app has a nasty habit of draining your battery because of constant GPS usage, and many users (including yours truly) have consistent issue with GPS fixes that are miles off their mark, and sluggish positional updates.

Tip: Head over to http://life360.com to find out how to disable the always-on GPS fixes.

In addition to tracking your family, the Life360 service also displays the location of registered sex offenders who might wander within range of your kids, embed emergency ID information for use in missing-children situations and medical emergencies, and securely send messages to one another over the service.

With some much-needed tweaks to the standard settings to reduce the battery impact, and better handling of GPS tracking, the app could quickly become indispensable for every parent, bar none.

Tony Pham, VP of Marketing for Life360, says: "The iPhone and Android apps are both currently free, and any amount of people from one family can download an unlimited amount. Eventually, each download will be $2.99 but we don't have a specific date in mind for implementing that. Right now Life360 is focusing on development of the product."