A comparison of Apple Location Sharing and Guardian TND.
Lots of people compare Guardian TND to the Apple iPhone location sharing feature and think they're proactively covered for emergencies with both. We feel differently because they are used in distinctly different ways for different purposes.
Here's our take on it. We may have overlooked something (and please let us know if we did), but in a nutshell the Apple iPhone location sharing feature is used to share your location with a person or people of your choice (typically family) at all times (24/7). It requires you to be proactive if something's gone wrong, which isn't always possible when something unexpected happens.
Guardian TND does NOT track your location unless there's an emergency. It is intended for use amongst family, friends, co-workers and neighbors - not just family.
Guardian TND is used as a proactive emergency alert system that notifies people you choose if, and only when, there's an emergency. It's used for completely different circumstances than the Apple iPhone location sharing feature and is designed to give you a sense of safety and extra peace of mind when moving from Point A and Point B.
Guardian TND is based on privacy and requires NO personal information. One thing that most people don't even realize until they're done with the app setup is that there's absolutely ZERO personal information required. No email address, no phone number, no username, no password, no login. That's because Guardian TND is built on patented quantum technology that anonymizes information by default. Guardian TND doesn't need to know anything about you to offer protection. The system links you with your Guardians (people that get alerted in an emergency) with special codes and not their names, phone numbers or email addresses. This is to give you extra peace of mind that your information is private and not intended to be shared.
The Apple iPhone location sharing feature does not know if you are in an emergency because it only shows that your phone is located at a certain spot. The phone may even be in the spot where others are expecting you to be, but does that mean you are ok and safe? No. With the Apple iPhone location sharing feature, indicating you're in an emergency requires multiple reactive steps after the emergency has started.
The Apple iPhone location sharing feature lets you know if someone has arrived at or left a location, or isn't at a particular place during a specific time window. However, once again, the phone may be in the spot that person is expected to be, but does that mean they are ok and safe? No.
Although there's an emergency button on the Apple iPhone, if you have no access to successfully complete the following steps then you're out of luck in terms of alerting for help. Hold the side button and, at the same time, hold one of the volume buttons until the Emergency SOS slider appears. Next, drag the Emergency Call slider to call for help. Let's pause for a moment. If something has gone wrong you may not be able to press a single button nonetheless 2 buttons at the same time. If you can't do those things, then you won't be able to drag the button.
Considering that you may not have access to your phone in an emergency and if you're like most people in real emergencies (70% of the population), the overwhelming likelihood is that you will freeze. This makes requiring a reactive action (like the Apple iPhone requires) for all intents and purposes, worthless. Guardian TND works automatically and proactively for these types of situations by alerting your Guardians if you don't indicate that you're at Point B (by tapping your phone to the Point B chip).
The Apple iPhone location sharing feature is typically for families. Parents know the locations at all times of their kids. Husbands and wives know the locations at all times of each other. On the contrary, Guardian TND encourages you to setup not just family but also friends, co-workers and neighbors as Guardians because in an emergency situation, you want as many people checking on you as possible. If something happens near your house, your neighbor would be best. If it's near your work, your boss or co-worker would be best. If it's out and about, perhaps your friends would be best. Since you're NOT tracked all the time and these people are notified only in emergencies, it's OK to share with numerous people that you would never want to do when using the Apple iPhone location sharing feature. For example, do you want your boss checking where you are on Friday night at 11 pm? Guardian TND doesn't allow that. The Apple iPhone location sharing feature does.
The vast majority of iPhone users limit their social safety network to their family because they don't want neighbors, friends and co-workers to track them 24/7. This limits the ability to be helped in an emergency and places a lot of dependence on those few people in your family. What if family members have a dead battery or are in a dead zone? On the contrary, Guardian TND allows you to create your social safety network with an unlimited number of people you choose to be notified ONLY in the event of an emergency. If some Guardians have a dead battery or are in a dead zone, the likelihood is that others will be available. Since Guardian does not track you, we encourage users to add multiple Guardians. In essence, add anyone you can think of that you might want to be alerted and/or to come help you in case you're in an emergency.
For those that use the Apple iPhone location sharing feature, the assumption is that because someone you track is in a certain geographic location they are OK. It is very easy to imagine numerous scenarios where you may be where your family expected you to be but you are actually in trouble. That's where Guardian TND comes in by requiring a phone tap to a Point B chip (or entering a private pin code on the screen) after leaving Point A to be sure that all is well. If you don't check in at Point B, then your Guardians are notified. With Guardian, no assumptions are made until there's a reason.
The same reasoning can be applied to trackers like Apple Air Tags and other location sharing apps. Knowing someone's location doesn't indicate whether they are safe or not.
The summary is that the Apple iPhone location sharing feature and Guardian TND are distinctly different in the services and benefits they offer. You don't have to and shouldn't choose one over the other. They both serve a different purpose, especially if safety is of concern. The Apple iPhone location sharing feature focuses on tracking where people (family) are at all times and Guardian TND focuses on proactively notifying certain people (i.e. your Guardians - friends, family, neighbors and co-workers) if you are in an emergency.