Track your car and your kids with OnStar’s new Family Link vehicle tracking service

By Amir Iliaifar March 28, 2012

Track-your-car-and-your-kids-with-OnStar's-new-Family-Link-vehicle-tracking-service — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Worried your teenage daughter isn’t really off to sweet little Betsy Johnson’s house Friday night? Are the wife’s evening gardening classes a little suspicious? Thanks to OnStar’s Family Link vehicle tracking service, you can secretly destroy any thread of trust you’ve established with your loved ones while they’re out and about.

Family Link is the first subscription service to be offered separately from OnStar’s main set of services and costs $3.99 a month. The tracking system in the car informs you where your OnStar equipped vehicle is at any given time, and will even send you emails or text messages with location updates. Users also have the option of selecting the day, time, and frequency of these alerts.

Studying at the library? Sure you were.

Of course, those of you looking to use the service for less dubious purposes will probably find more appeal in Family Link as an inexpensive way to keep tabs on your car. The fact that it might provide some parental peace of mind is certainly a plus, though.

Unsurprisingly, OnStar says it was that desire for peace of mind that spurred them to create Family Link. “For more than 16 years, OnStar has developed and enhanced our service by listening to our customers,” said OnStar Vice President of Subscriber Services Joanne Finnorn. “They tell us how they use technology and what they want it to do.

According to Finnorn, the company already conducted a pilot program of Family Link, with the overwhelming consensus being extremely positive. “Last year, we had more than 4,500 subscribers test the Family Link service and they told us it provides them peace of mind by staying connected to their family when they’re on the road.”

OnStar says the Family Link service will be available to all subscribers by the end of the year.

While some may take umbrage with the services inherent infringements on personal privacy, others will find it helpful knowing their loved ones arrived safely to their destination or where their car is in the event that it’s stolen.

And if the kids do put up a fuss and claim the car’s new mobile beacon is unfair, tell them life isn’t fair and that they’re obviously hiding something. Don’t worry, they’ll understand when they’re older.

Check out the video below:

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Associate Automotive Section Editor for Digital Trends, Amir Iliaifar covers the ever increasing cross-section between tech…

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