Last Updated on July 15, 2026
Apps for Tracking Teenage Drivers
Handing your teenager the car keys for the first time is one of the biggest milestones in parenting, and one of the most anxiety-inducing. According to the IIHS, drivers aged 16–19 are involved in fatal crashes at nearly four times the rate of drivers over 20, and the risk is highest in the first six months after licensing.
The tension is real: you want your teen safe, but you don’t want tracking to feel like surveillance. Used well, a driving app doesn’t replace the conversations you’re already having about safe driving. It gives you real data to have better ones.
We compared the leading phone- and hardware-based options parents actually use to monitor teen drivers. iSharing is our pick for most families because it’s the only app here that combines phone-use detection, speeding alerts, and full trip history with zero hardware and a genuinely usable free tier.
Jump to a pick:
- iSharing (Editor’s Choice)
- MOTOsafety (Best for Driver Coaching)
- Life360 (Best for Crash Detection)
- Bouncie (Best Budget Hardware Tracker)
- TrueMotion Family (Legacy Pick)
- Google Family Link (Best for Younger Teens)
- Find My (Apple, Best Free Basic Option)
At a Glance
| App | Hardware Required | Free Version | Speeding Alerts | Phone Use Detection | Trip History | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iSharing ⭐ Editor’s Choice | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Up to 365 days | Families who want driving monitoring built into their location-sharing app |
| MOTOsafety | Yes (OBD-II) | No | Yes | No | Yes | New drivers who need structured coaching and report cards |
| Life360 | No | Yes | Yes (paid tiers) | Limited | Up to 30 days | Families who also want crash detection and emergency dispatch |
| Bouncie | Yes (OBD-II) | No | Yes | No | Yes | Lowest-cost, tamper-resistant real-time tracker |
| TrueMotion Family | No | Historically | Yes | Yes | Yes | Discontinued, name now used by an unrelated app |
| Google Family Link | No | Yes | No | No | Location only | Overall device supervision for younger teens |
| Find My (Apple) | No | Yes | No | No | No | Apple-only families who want basic location sharing |
How We Reviewed These Apps
Every app on this list was scored against the same criteria:
- No hardware requirement preferred: apps that work from the phone alone rank first; hardware trackers are included and clearly labeled
- Family-first design: built for parents and teens, not fleets or employers
- Teen driver use case: explicitly useful for a newly licensed or young driver
- Speeding detection: alerts when a driver exceeds the posted limit
- Phone use detection: flags phone handling while the vehicle is moving
- Trip history: stores routes, timestamps, and driving summaries
- Transparency: the teen can see the app or device is active; nothing here is built for covert tracking
- Pricing accessibility: a free tier or a low, clearly stated monthly cost
Apps built primarily for commercial fleets or employer/employee monitoring were excluded.
1. iSharing
⭐ Editor’s Choice: Best Overall
Rating: 4.8/5 | Downloads: 66M+ | Free Version: Yes | Hardware Required: No
At a glance
- Runs entirely on the phone, nothing to install in the car
- Detects driving automatically, no manual start needed
- Combines family location sharing and driver safety in one app
- Trip history stored for up to 365 days, longest of any app on this list
- Available on iPhone, iPad, Android, and desktop, so parents aren’t limited to checking from one device
- Free tier covers basic location sharing; driving features included with Premium, which comes with a 7-day free trial
iSharing is a family location-sharing app with a driver safety tracker built directly in. Instead of running a separate app just for driving data, it folds speeding alerts, trip history, and phone-use detection into the same app your family already uses to see where everyone is. The driving feature runs in the background and records trips automatically.
Key driving features
- Speeding alerts when a family member exceeds the posted limit, available on free and Premium tiers
- Phone use detection while the vehicle is in motion
- Hard braking, rapid acceleration, and max speed reached per trip
- Trip history stored for up to 365 days: routes, timestamps, speed, and distance
- Arrival notifications when a family member reaches their destination
- Night driving visibility
- Battery alerts, so parents know if a teen’s phone is about to die mid-drive
- Per-member alert settings for each driver in the family
- Multi-device access across iPhone, iPad, Android, and desktop
Pros
- ✅ No hardware to install or lose
- ✅ Phone-use detection most hardware trackers can’t offer
- ✅ One app for both location sharing and driving safety
- ✅ Detects trips automatically, nothing for the teen to remember
- ✅ Trip history kept for up to 365 days, far longer than competitors
- ✅ Works across iPhone, iPad, Android, and desktop
- ✅ 7-day free trial on Premium before committing
Cons
- ❌ No crash detection or emergency dispatch
- ❌ No roadside assistance
- ❌ Needs the phone in the car; doesn’t work if it’s left at home
Pricing: Free (basic location sharing) · Premium unlocks full driving reports and alerts, with a 7-day free trial
Platform: iOS, iPadOS, Android, and desktop
See iSharing’s full driving features →
2. MOTOsafety
Best for Driver Coaching
Free Version: No | Hardware Required: Yes (OBD-II plug-in)
At a glance
- Plugs into the OBD-II port (standard on vehicles 1996+)
- Built around a structured teen driving course
- Daily A–F report card
MOTOsafety is hardware-based: a small device plugs into the car’s OBD-II port and reports data to a companion app. Because it pulls data directly from the engine, it captures information phone-only apps can miss, and it doesn’t depend on the teen carrying a charged phone.
Key driving features
- Real-time location tracking via the device
- Speeding, hard braking, and rapid acceleration alerts
- Daily driving report card, graded A–F
- Geofence and curfew alerts
- Built-in teen driving course developed with driving instructors and law enforcement
- Mileage-based maintenance reminders
Pros
- ✅ Doesn’t depend on the teen having their phone
- ✅ Structured coaching course, not just raw tracking
- ✅ Clear daily grade format that’s easy for teens to understand
- ✅ Detects the exact moment the car starts, even outside curfew hours
Cons
- ❌ Requires installing hardware in the vehicle
- ❌ Can’t detect phone use; it only sees what the car is doing
- ❌ No free tier; roughly $19.95–$25/month including device
- ❌ Some users report the mobile app itself feels dated
Pricing: ~$19.95–$25/month (device typically included) Platform: iOS, Android, plus web dashboard
3. Life360
Best for Crash Detection
Rating: ~4.5–4.8/5 (varies by store) | Downloads: 200M+ | Free Version: Yes | Hardware Required: No
At a glance
- Best-known family location app on the market
- Driving features scale with paid tier
- Only app here with live crash dispatch
Life360 bundles a driving safety layer on top of real-time location sharing. Every paid tier includes some form of Driving Summary or Driver Report, and the higher tiers add crash detection with live emergency dispatch, a feature few competitors match.
Key driving features
- Driving Summary and individual Driver Reports (paid tiers)
- Crash detection with 24/7 emergency dispatch (Gold and Platinum)
- Location history, up to 30 days maximum on the highest paid plan
- SOS alerts and roadside assistance on paid tiers
Pros
- ✅ Crash detection with real emergency dispatch
- ✅ Doubles as a general family safety app, not just for teens
- ✅ Roadside assistance included on paid tiers
- ✅ Large, mature user base with frequent updates
Cons
- ❌ Deeper driving features are locked behind paid tiers ($7.99–$24.99/month)
- ❌ Phone-use detection is less granular than dedicated driving apps
- ❌ Some independent review platforms report inconsistent complaint response, worth knowing going in
Pricing: Free (basic) · Silver ~$7.99/mo · Gold ~$14.99/mo · Platinum ~$24.99/mo Platform: iOS, Android
iSharing vs Life360: See the Comparison →
4. Bouncie
Best Budget Hardware Tracker
Free Version: No | Hardware Required: Yes (OBD-II plug-in)
At a glance
- Roughly 15-second real-time location updates
- Tamper alert if the device is unplugged
- Lowest monthly cost among hardware trackers here
Bouncie is another OBD-II plug-in tracker, positioned as a low-cost, no-contract option. It logs individual driving events (hard brakes, rapid acceleration, speeding) with timestamps and GPS coordinates, rather than compressing them into a single score.
Key driving features
- Real-time location updates approximately every 15 seconds
- Speeding, hard braking, and rapid acceleration event logs
- Tamper alert if the device is unplugged from the OBD-II port
- Impact/crash detection with automatic contact notification
- Geo-Zones for arrival and departure alerts
- Vehicle diagnostics and severe weather alerts
Pros
- ✅ Lowest monthly cost of any hardware tracker on this list (~$8–$9/mo)
- ✅ No long-term contract
- ✅ Tamper alert catches attempts to disconnect the device
- ✅ Fast, near-real-time location updates
Cons
- ❌ Requires OBD-II installation
- ❌ No composite driving score; raw event logs only
- ❌ Can’t detect phone use
- ❌ Visible and physically removable, though tamper alerts flag it
Pricing: ~$8–$9/month plus a one-time device cost; no contract Platform: iOS, Android, web
5. TrueMotion Family
Legacy Pick: No Longer Available
Free Version: Historically yes | Hardware Required: No
At a glance
- ⚠️ Discontinued: the app no longer exists under this name
- Historically offered a 100-point driving score and distraction detection
- The “TrueMotion” name is now used by an unrelated smart adjustable bed control app, not a driving app
TrueMotion Family used to be a free, phone-based app combining family location sharing with a 100-point driving score. We’re including it because it’s still referenced in older reviews, but it’s no longer a viable pick: searching for “TrueMotion” today surfaces an unrelated Bluetooth app for controlling a smart bed, from an Australian mattress company, not a driving safety product. If you used TrueMotion Family in the past, it’s worth switching to an actively maintained alternative.
Key features (as historically offered)
- Trip scoring on a 100-point scale
- Distracted driving detection, including phone interaction
- Family location sharing alongside driving scores
- Family leaderboard comparing drivers
Pros
- ✅ Historically free
- ✅ Gamified scoring made safe driving a competition, not a lecture
Cons
- ❌ No longer available as a driving app
- ❌ The app name has since been reused by an unrelated product
- ❌ Families relying on it should migrate to an actively maintained alternative
Pricing: Historically free Platform: iOS, Android (no longer available under this name)
6. Google Family Link
Best for Broad Supervision of Younger Teens
Free Version: Yes | Hardware Required: No
At a glance
- Free, built into Android
- Focused on screen time and app approval, not driving
- Location tracking is a secondary feature, not the main event
Family Link is Google’s free parental supervision tool for Android and Chromebooks. It’s built around screen time, app approval, and content controls, with location tracking and geofencing as a secondary feature, not a dedicated driving tool.
Key driving-adjacent features
- Geofencing with entry/exit alerts
- Up to 30 days of location history
- Real-time device location when the device is on and connected
Pros
- ✅ Completely free, no premium tier
- ✅ Good starting point for overall device supervision
- ✅ Already built into Android; no separate download for parents in the Google ecosystem
Cons
- ❌ No speeding alerts
- ❌ No phone-use-while-driving detection
- ❌ No trip-level driving data, just device location
- ❌ Android and Chromebook only; supervision loosens automatically at the age of digital consent
Pricing: Free Platform: Android, Chromebook only
7. Find My (Apple)
Best Free Basic Option
Free Version: Yes | Hardware Required: No
At a glance
- Built into every iPhone, iPad, and Mac
- Zero driving-specific features
- No download, no subscription
Find My is already on your teen’s phone. It lets family members share live location and shows where a device last connected, but it doesn’t do anything driving-specific: no speed data, no trip history, no phone-use detection.
Key features
- Real-time and last-known location sharing
- Arrival/departure notifications
- Works across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac at no cost
Pros
- ✅ Already installed, nothing to download
- ✅ Completely free, no subscription ever
- ✅ Works seamlessly across the Apple ecosystem
Cons
- ❌ No speeding alerts
- ❌ No phone-use detection
- ❌ No trip history or driving reports of any kind
- ❌ Apple devices only
Pricing: Free Platform: iOS, iPadOS, macOS only
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I check if my teenager is speeding remotely? Apps like iSharing, MOTOsafety, Life360 and Bouncie send a notification when a driver exceeds the posted speed limit, including the location and speed at the time.
How can I see if my teen was on their phone while driving? This requires an app running on the phone itself. Hardware trackers like MOTOsafety and Bouncie only see what the vehicle is doing. iSharing and Life360 offer phone-use detection while the vehicle is in motion (TrueMotion Family did too, historically, but is no longer available).
Can I monitor driving behavior without an OBD device? Yes. Phone-based apps like iSharing and Life360 use the phone’s own GPS and sensors, so there’s nothing to install in the car.
How can parents monitor a newly licensed teen driver? Most start with a phone-based app for everyday visibility, then consider adding a hardware tracker like MOTOsafety if they want a structured coaching program on top.
How can I get driving alerts for family members? Set individual alert thresholds per driver in the app’s settings. Most apps, including iSharing, let you configure speeding and phone-use thresholds per family member.
Does my teenager know they are being monitored? With every app on this list, the driver can see the app or device is active. None are built for covert tracking, and being upfront with your teen is part of what makes the data useful for conversation rather than conflict.
Can a family member turn off driving monitoring? Usually, yes, if they have access to the phone or device settings. That’s why transparency and an ongoing conversation matter more than the technology alone.
Does iSharing track driving automatically, or do I have to start it manually? Automatically. iSharing detects driving in the background and records each trip without anyone needing to open the app.
What’s the difference between iSharing and a car tracker? A car tracker like MOTOsafety or Bouncie plugs into the vehicle and reports on the car’s movement regardless of whose phone is inside. iSharing runs on the phone and ties driving data to the person carrying it, which also means it can detect phone use, something hardware trackers can’t do.
Does iSharing work if my teenager leaves their phone at home? No. Like any phone-based app, iSharing needs the phone in the vehicle to record a trip. A hardware tracker tied to the vehicle itself is a better fit if that’s a concern.
My teenager just got their license, where do I start? Start with a conversation, not just an app install. Then pick a tool that matches what you want to know: a phone-based app like iSharing for speeding and phone-use data without touching the car, or a hardware tracker if you want data that doesn’t depend on the phone being present.
The Bottom Line
None of these apps make the decisions for your teen once they’re behind the wheel, but they give you something to talk about besides guesswork. iSharing is built to make that information easy to see without adding a separate app to your family’s routine.
Learn more: iSharing driving report feature · iSharing family location sharing (homepage)
Sources: IIHS teen driver crash statistics; NHTSA young driver safety data. Figures for third-party apps (ratings, downloads, pricing) reflect publicly available app store and company information as of July 2026 and are subject to change. Verify current details on the App Store or Google Play before purchasing.
