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Comment by shykes | Hacker News Reader

I think you're missing the value proposition entirely. It's not about stalking your children. It's about having the safety net: IF they go missing, I have a way to find them.

It's an emotional safety net, yes. But in certain tragic circonstances it could mean the difference between life and death.

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It's not about stalking your children. It's about having the safety net: IF they go missing, I have a way to find them.

How many parents do you think would accept a decision by their children not to use this? Your logic is the logic of police states: it's not to hurt you, it's for your own good, so why do you need privacy anyways?

Whatever the motivations of the authors, they are marketing their product to the unreasonable paranoia of parents (our society is actually really safe, people) and the effect of this software will be to make the lives of many children worse.

Your logic is the logic of police states: it's not to hurt you, it's for your own good, so why do you need privacy anyways?

I'm not debating whether this product is good or bad. I'm simply arguing that its value proposition was misunderstood.

You have strong opinions about what parents should or should not do - fine. And strong opinions about the value of privacy - still fine. But you're picking the wrong person to disagree with.

I understand that the stated value proposition is to find out where your kids are when they get abducted. What I'm saying is that 1) that is not the perceived value proposition to the vast majority of its customers, 2) that is an entirely irrational concern to begin with, and 3) that even if it's bought with the intent to use it that way, it will be abused by almost every parent.

For every parent that uses this service responsibly, I'll be there's another 5 who set the 'where are my kids map' as their homepage and obsessive watch their every move.

If you care about life or death situations, get them a SPOT. Even better: consciously bring them in contact with life or death situations & teach them how to deal with it. Go camping or something. But don't project your fears onto these kids & then use some technological feel-good crutch. One of the main failures of modern society is its obsession with fear. Don't contribute to that further by raising a bunch of pansies.

> IF they go missing, I have a way to find them.

You're just hoping that the battery of the device doesn't dry, or that the bad guys don't toss it away.

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