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Should I use Family Orbit?

Parental control and family locator for iOS & Android - familyorbit.com

Skip. Only worth it if you need cross-platform monitoring and accept the vendor's 2018 leak of 281GB of children's data. Most families get enough from free built-in Apple or Google tools.

Confidence

Medium. Based on ~30 public sources; many snippets were truncated, so user quotes could not be verbatim.

Ratings

  • Value for money
  • Ease of useNo conclusive usability evidence
  • Feature depth
  • Support qualityOnly email and help center listed
  • Security posture

Pricing

$4.99/mo

Premium (monthly)

ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Quarterly Plan$19.98/quarter

Best for

  • Parents of young kids needing location tracking
  • Mixed iPhone/Android households
  • Remote iPhone checks without jailbreaking

Not for

  • Privacy-conscious families — kids' data leaked here once already
  • Anyone fine with free Apple Screen Time or Family Link
  • Parents of teens who will resent and bypass monitoring
  • Employers or teams — consumer tracking app, not MDM

Gotchas - check before you buy

high

Trustpilot page shows reviews 'Written by the company' — treat glowing testimonials skeptically.

high

Children's location, photos, and messages sit on vendor servers that leaked once before.

medium

Pricing differs by listing ($4.99/mo vs $19.98 quarterly) — confirm at checkout.

medium

Full iPhone monitoring historically needed jailbreak; vendor now calls that path impractical.

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Monitors both iOS and Android from one parent dashboard.
  • iPhone monitoring works without jailbreaking the child's device.
  • Cheap entry price around $4.99/month.
  • Long-running product, independently reviewed since 2015.
  • Reviewed as legitimate by AmericanSPCC.

Cons

  • Exposed 281GB of children's data and photos in 2018.
  • Mediocre 3.5/5 Trustpilot average.
  • Flagged in academic studies of parental-control security risks.
  • Named in stalkerware data-breach coverage.
  • Small vendor (AppObit LLC), no disclosed funding.

Sources & method

Analyzed 9/24/2026 - 11 sources - Poor: 2018 exposure of 281GB of children's data; flagged in academic parental-control risk studies.

official x4review x3security x3news x1
  • 281GB of children's data and photos exposed, A researcher discovered an exposed server containing children's data and photos; the leak was reported in September 2018 and listed in industry security reports.

Key stats

  • Value for money: 3/5

    Rating

  • $4.99/mo

    Starting price

  • 11

    Sources

  • Analyzed

  • Value for money: 3/5. Cheap monthly price, but free rivals exist
  • Ease of use. No conclusive usability evidence
  • Feature depth: 4/5. Broad monitoring; iPhone works without jailbreak
  • Support quality. Only email and help center listed
  • Security posture: 1/5. 281GB children's data exposure in 2018
  • 3.5/5 Trustpilot rating familyorbit.com average
  • $4.99/mo Starting price listed on the App Store
  • 281GB Children's data exposed security incident, 2018

Pricing

Premium (monthly)

$4.99/mo

  • Location tracking and parental controls
  • iOS and Android monitoring

Quarterly Plan

$19.98/quarter

  • Same monitoring features
  • Billed every three months

Security

Poor: 2018 exposure of 281GB of children's data; flagged in academic parental-control risk studies.

  • 281GB of children's data and photos exposedA researcher discovered an exposed server containing children's data and photos; the leak was reported in September 2018 and listed in industry security reports.⁷

What users say

Mixed: a 3.5/5 Trustpilot average, with company-written reviews on the profile and forum threads debating reliability and alternatives.

Alternatives

Compare Family Orbit with each alternative.

  • Apple Screen Time + Find My

    Free, built-in, no third party holding kids' data.

  • Google Family Link

    Free Android parental controls straight from Google.

  • Bark

    Better-regarded child-safety monitoring for content risks.

    Family Orbit vs Bark
Full analysis

Based on ~30 public sources; many snippets were truncated, so user quotes could not be verbatim.

Parental control app with a 2018 leak of 281GB of kids' data; free built-in Apple/Android tools cover most needs.

Methodology

Based on ~30 public sources; many snippets were truncated, so user quotes could not be verbatim.

Sources

  1. Family Orbit homepagefamilyorbit.com
    official
  2. Family Orbit pricingfamilyorbit.com
    official
  3. Family Orbit: Parental Control — App Storeapps.apple.com
    official
  4. Family Orbit Reviews — Trustpilottrustpilot.com
    review
  5. AmericanSPCC Family Orbit reviewamericanspcc.org
    review
  6. MacTrast Family Orbit review (2015)mactrast.com
    review
  7. Spyware Firm Family Orbit Exposed 281GBs Of Children's Datalatesthackingnews.com
    security
  8. Security and Privacy Risks of Parental Control Solutions (ACM)dl.acm.org
    security
  9. Family Orbit web app without jailbreak — PR Undergroundprunderground.com
    news
  10. Family Orbit by AppObit LLC — Startup Rankingstartupranking.com
    official
  11. Spyware Apps: The Next Frontier for Data Breachescaseygerry.com
    security

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