Location sharing app Zenly wants to make it easy for people to find you. Despite of privacy concerns, they’re aiming to make person-to-person precision tracking part of mainstream life.

What it does

Zenly allows you to track the location of family and friends in real time, using what they claim is “the maximum precision a phone can offer”. That means you can literally watch your connections walking around on a map as they go about their business.

Big Aspirations

According to Zenly’s website, “frictionless location sharing is the next mobile commodity”. They claim their app will be to location sharing what Instagram is to photo sharing.

Big talk, to be sure.

Privacy concerns 

If it all sounds a bit too 1984 for you, you’re not alone if you have privacy concerns. Questions over the implications of Zenly’s voluntary precision tracking have dogged the app since its launch.

However, as with many new apps, Zenly is betting on the teen market to fuel its success. At the recent TechCrunch Disrupt London, co-founder Antoine Martin claimed (in a quote that sounds straight out of HBO’s satire Silicon Valley) that “Zenly is actually the best expression of grown truths, seeing what your friends are doing.” 

They’re betting that teens would rather be able to see where their friends are than worry about an invasion of privacy.

Of course, the app might appeal to parents, too. The ability to quickly and precisely check a child’s location is sure to appeal to many.

Whether or not Zenly can convincingly allay privacy fears will be a big factor in its success or otherwise.

Copy Transmission is a Melbourne-based agency :: Better Brands. Loud & Clear.