Verizon Updates Chaperone to Family Locator Service: Finds Family Members

By Contributor Wireless and Mobile News on September 15, 2009 1:13 PM

Verizon Family Locator now helps families find each other and stay safely connected. Family Locator, replaces Verizon Wireless’ Chaperone service, can help find a family member’s location for peace of mind, safety, scheduling or other reasons. This service could means some parents wouldn’t have to ask “Where are you?,” instead they can get a map.

Services offered include: receiving arrival & departure updates for each family member, locating family members and creating scheduled location updates for each family member.

New features include:

Self-Serve through My Verizon : Customers registered at My Verizon can now sign up for Family Locator online without visiting a store or calling customer service.
Increased options for smartphones: Customers can now use virtually any of Verizon Wireless’ smartphones on their Family SharePlans as “locator” phones and can access Family Locator features from those devices, including locating their loved ones and changing their profiles from the mobile browser.
Enhanced Web experience: Customers will find an improved Family Locator Web experience, including viewing locations in 3-D bird’s eye, standard or aerial views; seeing scheduled location updates, which now provide the nearest address; and using a set-up wizard to create automated arrival and departure notifications, among other features.

To purchase Verizon Family Locator, customers must be on a Family SharePlan. The service is available for $9.99 per month for each phone to be located. The monthly subscription includes unlimited messaging and data usage through the Family Locator application, plus arrival and departure updates and use with VZ Navigator) from both the mobile and desktop Web sites. A subscription to VZ Navigator is required for integrated use, and data usage may apply when downloading the applications.