Spring enables parents to track their children's cell phones

Dubbed "Family Locator Service," the $9.95 per month service relies on GPS (Global Positioning System) technology to pinpoint up to four cell phones, and then maps their locations on a PC or a parent's own cell phone.

Privacy safeguards, said Sprint, include parent-child permission to track phones, and text messages that are sent to the child's phone whenever the parent requests his or her location. Parents can also authorize others, such as a sitter, nanny, or other relative, to access a phone's location.