Sprint today announced a new service called Family Locator. The application allows parents to register up to four Sprint phones, find their location(s) and send the messages. These are many of the same features that Disney Mobile will launch as part of its Family Center, and since Disney is built on the Sprint network, it is likely the two share technology and software. Sprint will charge $10 per month for unlimited location requests and 100 messages to each phone, up to four phones. The tracking and messaging application is compatible with 17 Sprint handsets and can track 30 different Sprint and Nextel phones.

Sprint Family Locator has a host of privacy and security features:
* Permissions: To activate the service, parents and guardians can list up to four phone numbers they want to locate. For additional security, the parent creates a safety word that the parent and child both use only during the registration process to ensure permissions have been granted by both parties. Parents can also give permission to others, such as a grandparent or nanny, to locate a child.
* Locate: When a parent or guardian requests the child's location, Sprint Family Locator uses GPS technology to pinpoint the location and display it on an interactive map, along with the street address and surrounding landmarks, on the parent's or guardian's phone or PC. The child is notified by a text message each time his or her location is provided to the parent or guardian, ensuring open communication.
* Contact: Once the child is located, the parent or guardian can immediately call or send a text message to the child's phone.
* Safety check: The parents or guardian can set alerts to notify them when the child arrives at a specified location, such as a school, home or a relative's house at a designated time. For example, a parent or guardian can be notified whether a child has arrived at school by 8:15 a.m. each day.
* Reports: Information on recent location requests is provided in text and map form.