CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Apps can help you keep track of your child on Halloween.
They can show you-- in real time-- where your boy or girl is.
Action 9's Jason Stoogenke came across four free apps: Companion, Family Locator, Footprints and Safe Trek.
But do the apps work? Action 9 investigator Jason Stoogenke put some to the test. He was the "parent." A co-worker of his was the "child."
Stoogenke found some, like Family Locator, work well. It was easy to set up, updated quickly and could tell when his "child" was on the move. But other apps didn't work as well for him. He had a harder time setting them up, getting them to refresh and pinpointing where the "child" was. In some cases, they were off by miles.
So the lesson here is: Make sure you take them on a dry run before counting on them tomorrow night, when it really matters.
Obviously, you and your child both needs phones for this to work: iPhone or Android; it doesn't matter. And remember, some of these apps really burn battery, so make sure your child's phone is fully charged.