What can a guardian decide about a child's position sharing?

In a family circle, a guardian chooses, for each child, which sharing modes the child can use with that circle. The setting is in the circle, on the child’s card: Manage child, card “What Leo can share with this circle” (Leo standing here for the child’s first name).

The card lists the four sharing choices every member has, one checkbox each:

• Everything: their full timeline, trips and stays;
• Circle places: their presence at the circle’s shared places only;
• Latest position: only their latest known position, with no history;
• Off: they do not share their position with this circle.

The checked boxes are the choices the child can make. At least one stays checked, and by default all four are: the child then sets their sharing like an adult.

• One sharing mode checked: when the child shares with this circle, it is in that mode, and the app shows “Imposed mode”.
• The “Off” box decides whether you are told about a stop. Checked: “Leo can stop sharing without you being told”. Unchecked: “You are told if Leo stops sharing”. Either way the child keeps the ability to stop, see Can a child stop sharing their position?.
• “Off” alone checked: the child does not share their position with this circle.

If the child was using a mode you remove, their sharing moves to the nearest allowed mode. The app tells you before saving (“Leo currently shares Everything. Their sharing will move to Circle places and Leo will be told.”) and the child gets a notification that names you: no mode changes silently. On their phone, the choices that are not allowed stay visible, greyed out, with a note saying who chose.

Three limits, by design:

• The setting applies to one circle. A child who is a member of two family circles has one setting per circle, decided by the guardians of each.
• No setting turns sharing on remotely. A child who stopped sharing stays stopped, even if you uncheck “Off” afterwards: the checked boxes are the modes they will find when they resume. You can ask them to resume, see My child stopped sharing their position: how am I told, and what can I do?.
• It stays between the child and their guardians. The circle’s other guardians see the same setting, with the name of whoever changed it; the other adults are not told that a mode is imposed.

These settings travel end-to-end encrypted between your phones: the server does not even know they exist. The guide Turning on child mode walks through the screens.