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We have updated all models to have either replaceable batteries or a 3-year life. Given how beaten up devices on things like keys get we are getting very good f

We have updated all models to have either replaceable batteries or a 3-year life. Given how beaten up devices on things like keys get we are getting very good feedback on the 3 year models. We are also giving away free tiles to paid Life360 members, which is probably not as relevant to the hacker news crowd but we do have over 20% of US families using our service. We think tiles should be free with membership, including getting new devices.

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
schwartzworld 3y ago
What was the justification for the original 1 year with no replaceable? It was so shady.
- crhulls 3y ago
  That was a vestige of the business well before I was involved. I don't think there was anything nefarious. These are devices that get beaten up quite a bit and the idea was they were cheap enough that it made sense to replace annually. We have now moved to either 3 year disposable units or replaceable batteries. 3 years feels like a reasonable lifespan. And, our plan is to give them away for free to Life360 members (which is probably a small portion of HN readers but a high percentage of traditional families)
  - schwartzworld 3y ago
    > the idea was they were cheap enough that it made sense to replace annually. I can assure you the original packaging didn't make this explicit. It was absolutely nefarious. The only reason the device stopped working was because the $2 coin cell battery died, and it was explicitly designed NOT to be replaceable. It's beyond wasteful and I would guess I'm not the only former customer left with a bad taste in their mouth.
sidewndr46 3y ago
So you claim 20% of US families, or about 25 million use your service. Your website is showing me "502 Bad Gateway" right now.
- usernew 3y ago
  he, and his company, are blatantly lying. they are simple scammers - much like the emails you get about penis pills. 20% of US families haven't even heard of his service. heck, not even 2%, not even 2% of the families who work in tech. US-wide, Maybe 20% know what an airtag is. go to walmart, ask anyone there if they've heard of.. well, I forgot what his service is called already. best leave it at that. something about a new cryptocoin I think it was.
  - anonomousename 3y ago
    Life360 is very common in the area that I’m in to track/keep tabs on children. Go to Walmart, they might not know. Go to a highschool and I’ll bet every single one of them knows what it is. Crypto has nothing to do with this.
    - usernew 3y ago
      cool. so take the 2000 kids in that school, they probably belong to 700 families. life360 knows what kids belong to what families I'm guessing? what about families without children? what about a couple of old people? for your little area where everyone knows what it is, there are 330million more people, half of whom empty their webmail folder when windows gives them an out of space message. you really think 1 in 5 families nationwide know of this niche thing? that literally makes zero sense. what makes even less sense, the claim from this company is not only do 1 in 5 families know about it - they own one. here's my theory: the scammers defined family as "family tree" - and if your married second cousin you've met once has this airtag clone, they count it. but if your married but don't have kids, you're not counted at all. fake numbers from a scammer, for a product that's not unique or first, or anything more functional than a simple app on a phone.
  - crhulls 3y ago

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

schwartzworld 3y ago

What was the justification for the original 1 year with no replaceable? It was so shady.

crhulls 3y ago
That was a vestige of the business well before I was involved. I don't think there was anything nefarious. These are devices that get beaten up quite a bit and the idea was they were cheap enough that it made sense to replace annually. We have now moved to either 3 year disposable units or replaceable batteries. 3 years feels like a reasonable lifespan. And, our plan is to give them away for free to Life360 members (which is probably a small portion of HN readers but a high percentage of traditional families)
- schwartzworld 3y ago
  > the idea was they were cheap enough that it made sense to replace annually. I can assure you the original packaging didn't make this explicit. It was absolutely nefarious. The only reason the device stopped working was because the $2 coin cell battery died, and it was explicitly designed NOT to be replaceable. It's beyond wasteful and I would guess I'm not the only former customer left with a bad taste in their mouth.

sidewndr46 3y ago

So you claim 20% of US families, or about 25 million use your service. Your website is showing me "502 Bad Gateway" right now.

usernew 3y ago
he, and his company, are blatantly lying. they are simple scammers - much like the emails you get about penis pills. 20% of US families haven't even heard of his service. heck, not even 2%, not even 2% of the families who work in tech. US-wide, Maybe 20% know what an airtag is. go to walmart, ask anyone there if they've heard of.. well, I forgot what his service is called already. best leave it at that. something about a new cryptocoin I think it was.
- anonomousename 3y ago
  Life360 is very common in the area that I’m in to track/keep tabs on children. Go to Walmart, they might not know. Go to a highschool and I’ll bet every single one of them knows what it is. Crypto has nothing to do with this.
  - usernew 3y ago
    cool. so take the 2000 kids in that school, they probably belong to 700 families. life360 knows what kids belong to what families I'm guessing? what about families without children? what about a couple of old people? for your little area where everyone knows what it is, there are 330million more people, half of whom empty their webmail folder when windows gives them an out of space message. you really think 1 in 5 families nationwide know of this niche thing? that literally makes zero sense. what makes even less sense, the claim from this company is not only do 1 in 5 families know about it - they own one. here's my theory: the scammers defined family as "family tree" - and if your married second cousin you've met once has this airtag clone, they count it. but if your married but don't have kids, you're not counted at all. fake numbers from a scammer, for a product that's not unique or first, or anything more functional than a simple app on a phone.
- crhulls 3y ago