14 DAY TRIAL // Sprint already offers its customers that Sprint Family Locator location-based service that allows a parent to use a phone or PC to locate a child’s phone on a map.
The service can do a bit more, as subscribers can obtain the address and the surrounding landmarks of the phone’s location, all for only $5 per month, which allows up to four phones to be located up.
However, the carrier has just announced the availability of a new service called Sprint Mobile Controls, allowing parents to see detailed representations of how their children user their phones to call, texts and use applications. In addition, parents will be able to lock the phones remotely at specific times.
Sprint Mobile Controls offers dashboards of phone usage that are very easy to read, as well as voice and text messages representation filtered by time of day.
Furthermore, parents can also limit the phone numbers that their children can call or receive a call or a text message.
There’s also the option of choosing up to three “anytime” apps that the child can use even when their phone is locked, along with the possibility to set optional alerts.
There’s more to it, as parents can receive alert notifications when their children communicate with someone listed on the Watchlist contacts.
Customers who want to subscribe to the Sprint Mobile Controls service are required to pay a $4.99 per month fee. The service is available on all Sprint CDMA Android smartphones and includes a 30-day free trial.
According to Sprint, the service will be available to BlackBerry devices and other operating systems within the coming months.
“Sprint is pleased to give parents’ tools and information to help better manage their teen’s and families’ wireless usage. With Sprint Mobile Controls, Sprint Drive First and Sprint Family Locator, Sprint offers parents a comprehensive and innovative suite of applications to ensure their teen is using their wireless phone responsibly,” said Fared Adib, vice president-Product Development, Sprint.