Is Life360 safe? What its privacy disclosures say

If you decide you'd rather use an app with no ads, no third-party tracking and data stored in the EU, Warden (top pick) is built that way for adults who both choose to share; its facts are further down.

Two questions hide in "is it safe"

People who ask whether Life360 is safe usually mean one of two things:

1. Is my location data handled the way I'd want? That's a privacy question, and the best answer comes from what Life360 itself discloses.
2. Can someone see me without my say? That's a consent question, and it depends on how sharing is switched on and paused.

This page answers both with sources you can open yourself. It doesn't call any app safe or unsafe; that's your judgment to make.

What Life360 discloses on the App Store

Every iPhone app has a privacy label on its App Store page, filled in by the developer. On 7 November 2026, Life360's US App Store listing showed:

Apple's label adds: "Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age." What "track" means here is Apple's definition: linking data from the app with data from other companies' apps and websites for targeted advertising or advertising measurement, or sharing it with data brokers (Apple).

What Life360 discloses on Google Play

Life360's Google Play Data safety section, read the same day, says it shares "Approximate location" and "Precise location" with third parties, for "App functionality, Analytics". It also states "Data is encrypted in transit" and "You can request that data be deleted".

What Life360's help pages say about your data

Life360's help center, read on 7 November 2026, adds more detail than the labels:

• Partners. Its permissions page says: "Location data may be shared with partners for crash detection, research, analytics, attribution, and tailored advertising" (Life360 Permission Settings).
• Arity. "We share data with our partners, such as Arity, to enable some of our core experiences like Drive Detection and Crash Alerts" (Privacy Center). Arity is a subsidiary of Allstate.
• Choices. The in-app Privacy Center covers, in Life360's words, "how your information is sold or shared" and lets you turn data sharing off (steps below).
• Marketing notifications. Notification settings include "Place Ads" and "Real-time Ads", offers "when you arrive at certain locations" (Notification Center).
• Encryption. "TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption for data in transit, and AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) for data at rest" (Security of My Information).
• History. Kept 2 days (free), 7 days (Silver) or 30 days (Gold, Platinum); "there is no way to delete your history or driving events" except by deleting your account, and history follows your account into new Circles (Location & Drive History).

How to turn off data sharing in Life360

If you keep using Life360, these are the switches Life360 documents (Privacy Center). The app menus are the same on iPhone and Android.

1. Open Life360 and tap Settings in the upper left corner.
2. Tap Privacy Center.
3. Tap Your Privacy Choices.
4. Scroll to the Include my data toggle and turn it off. Life360 notes that data sharing "also includes Traffic and retail insights".
5. Back in Your Privacy Choices, tap Traffic and retail insights and turn its Include my data toggle off as well.
6. Under Trusted Partners, tap Arity, turn off Connect to Arity, then tap Disconnect Arity. Life360 says Arity enables Drive Detection and Crash Alerts, so expect those to be affected.
7. Turn off marketing alerts: Settings > Notifications > Place Ads and Real-time Ads.

To get a copy of your data: Privacy Center > Your Privacy Choices > Your Data Rights > Request my personal information > Submit Request. Life360 also says GDPR requests or a full opt-out of Arity's processing can go to its support team (Crash Detection & Data Collection).

Phone settings worth checking

These are your phone's own controls, separate from Life360's.

iPhone (iOS 26 and iOS 27):

1. Settings > Privacy & Security > Tracking: see which apps asked to track you and switch each off. Choosing "Ask App Not to Track" means the app "can't access the system advertising identifier (IDFA)" (Apple).
2. Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Life360: see its access and the Precise Location switch (Apple). Note that Life360 needs "Always" and precise location for Place alerts and crash detection.

Android 14 to 16 (Google Pixel): Settings > Apps > Life360 > Permissions to review location, physical activity and nearby devices; or Settings > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Permission manager to see every app with location access (Google).

Samsung Galaxy (One UI): Settings > Location > App permissions > Life360 shows its location access (Life360 Permission Settings).

What was reported in 2021 and 2022

In December 2021, The Markup reported that Life360 was selling precise location data to "approximately a dozen data brokers", and quoted CEO Chris Hulls: "We see data as an important part of our business model" (The Markup, 6 December 2021).

In January 2022, The Markup reported that Life360 said it would stop selling precise location data, that it "will phase out all of its location data deals, except with Allstate's Arity", and that data for Placer.ai would be sold "in aggregate rather than raw, precise form" (The Markup, 27 January 2022).

Those are dated reports. For Life360's current practices, its privacy policy and the disclosures above are the source.

The Life360 lawsuit question

The lawsuit people usually mean was filed against Allstate and its subsidiary Arity, not against Life360. On 13 January 2025, the Texas Attorney General announced that Texas had sued Allstate and Arity, alleging that they unlawfully collected, used and sold data about the location and movement of Texans' phones through software embedded in mobile apps, with Life360 named as an example (Texas Attorney General, 13 January 2025). These are the state's allegations, not findings of a court, and Life360 is not named as a defendant in that press release. We did not check the case's current status. Life360's Privacy Center lets you disconnect Arity (steps above).

The consent side: can someone see you without your say?

Life360's help pages are clear on this:

• It's opt-in. "It is not possible to prevent someone from turning off location sharing if they do not wish to be located. Life360 is an opt-in service" (See a Circle Member's Location).
• A pause is visible. The Circle sees "Location Sharing Paused" under your name (how to pause Life360).
• Some features share even while paused. SOS, Check In and crash detection can share your location with Paused on, by design.
• Bubbles can be burst. Any Circle member can burst your Bubble, which reveals your location and notifies the Circle (Bubbles).
• Battery shows too. "You cannot hide your battery level from others unless you turn off location sharing."
• History carries over. A new Circle may see your history from the retention window.

If someone added you to a Circle and you no longer want to be in it, leave it: how to leave a Life360 Circle.

Five checks for any location sharing app

1. The privacy label. On the App Store, scroll to App Privacy and read "Data Used to Track You" first. On Google Play, open Data safety.
2. Who switches sharing on. It should be the person sharing, on their own phone.
3. What others see when you pause. An honest "Paused" is better than a frozen dot.
4. How long history is kept, and whether you can delete it.
5. Where data is stored, and whether there are ads. Ad SDKs are one of the ways data can leave an app.

How Warden answers those questions

If you decide Life360 isn't for you, the best alternative for adults who both choose to share is Warden (top pick). Its facts, checked against the list above:

1. No ads, no third-party analytics, tracking or ad SDKs, no data selling, no profiling.
2. Data stored in the EU, encrypted in transit and at rest.
3. Sharing starts off. Only the person sharing can switch it on, on their own phone, for each circle; joining needs an invite code and the owner's approval.
4. Pause anytime; the circle sees "Paused", with no location and no battery level.
5. History is deleted after 30 days, alerts after 90 days. Delete your account and data in the app anytime.
6. You can always see who can see your location, and everyone is told who joins and leaves.
7. No listening feature and no microphone access, and no hidden modes.

More detail: privacy and consent in Warden.

Where Warden doesn't fit

Warden has no free version, and has no crash detection or emergency dispatch; its SOS reaches your circle only. If everyone has an iPhone and is happy with Find My, that's free and built in. If Life360's driving and assistance features matter more to you, the Life360 alternatives page explains where each app fits.

FAQ

Is Life360 safe to use?

That depends on what you're comfortable sharing. Life360's App Store privacy label, read on 7 November 2026, lists identifiers as data used to track you and precise location among data linked to you for third-party advertising. Read the label and Life360's privacy policy, then decide.

Does Life360 sell your data?

The Markup reported on 6 December 2021 that Life360 sold precise location data to data brokers, and on 27 January 2022 that Life360 said it would stop selling precise location data, except to Allstate's Arity, and sell aggregated data to Placer.ai. Life360's Privacy Center today has a toggle to turn data sharing off.

What is the Life360 lawsuit about?

On 13 January 2025 the Texas Attorney General announced a lawsuit against Allstate and its subsidiary Arity, alleging they collected and sold driving data through software in apps such as Life360. Life360 is not named as a defendant in that press release, and the claims are allegations.

How do I stop Life360 from sharing my data?

In Life360, go to Settings, Privacy Center, Your Privacy Choices and turn off the Include my data toggle, also under Traffic and retail insights. Under Trusted Partners you can disconnect Arity, which Life360 says affects Drive Detection and Crash Alerts.

What does Life360's privacy label say?

On 7 November 2026, the US App Store label listed Identifiers under "Data Used to Track You", and listed Precise Location and Coarse Location among data linked to you used for third-party advertising.

Can Life360 track you without you knowing?

Life360 says it is opt-in and that nobody can be prevented from turning off location sharing. Pausing shows "Location Sharing Paused" to the Circle, and turning off permissions or logging out also shows an alert.

Is Life360 encrypted?

Life360 says it uses TLS for data in transit and AES for data at rest. It does not describe end-to-end encryption on the pages we read.

Is there a location sharing app without ads or data selling?

Warden has no ads, no third-party tracking and sells no data. Its data is stored in the EU, and location history is deleted after 30 days.