Tracking our children – what tech is available in SA to keep our kids safe?

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– On Monday, hijackers stole Alicia Lamprecht’s vehicle in Obs while her baby boy was strapped in his car seat at the back

– Stuff SA’s digital editor Marce Bester says right now right there isn’t a lot of tried and tested tech on the market to track children

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Humans have started to track everything around us – cars, pets, handbags but right now we don’t really have good tech to track children.

Marcé Bester, Digital Editor – Stuff SA

I don’t understand how the big players like Apple and Samsung haven’t really gone into that market yet.

Marcé Bester, Digital Editor – Stuff SA

Bester says gadgets like Samsung’s SmartThings tracker (a small device that links to an app and tracks any object attached to it) only work within BlueTooth range.

If you are out of Bluetooth range, you won’t be able to find a tracker like [SmartThings]

Marcé Bester, Digital Editor – Stuff SA

To track children you would need something more robust and something with a GPS tracker within it, says Bester.

There is quite a lot of after-market stuff and Chinese stuff, small watches you can buy for your child.

Marcé Bester, Digital Editor – Stuff SA

There aren’t really trackers that have been tried and tested in South Africa.

Marcé Bester, Digital Editor – Stuff SA

Another issue says Bester is that those who are setting out to abduct children will look out for tracking devices.

If they see a smartwatch or a little tracker on the backpack they will probably just dispose of it as quickly as possible anyway.

Marcé Bester, Digital Editor – Stuff SA

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