Mom demands that her 25-year-old daughter share her location with her, daughter refuses to compromise her privacy: 'All the other moms have their kids’ locations.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jul 14, 2025 8:00 PM EDT

Becoming an adult is one of the best times in a young person's life for one reason: freedom. When you're a kid, you are afforded very few freedoms. You cannot go wherever you want to go or do whatever you want to do. You must be home when your parents want you home, adhere to their rules, and be happy about it. Although that's an understandable hierarchical situation in hindsight, it doesn't make it any less of a bummer for the kid. 

When I first left home, I was emboldened by my new freedom and did an activity every night of the week. That got a little less sustainable as I got older, but it's so nice to be able to make your own choices about where you go and what you do without anyone constantly checking up on you and making sure you get home at a very specific time. 

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  • While it's nice to have somebody caring about you, you don't always want your parent breathing down your neck, tracking your every move. The mom in this story tried to start tracking her 25-year-old daughter's location, and wouldn't budge after she repeatedly told her to buzz off.

  • 01

    AITA for refusing to add my mom to my location sharing even though “I’m her child”?

    I'm 25 and moved out of my parents' house three years ago. I have a good job, pay my own bills, live safely in a decent neighborhood, and I'm not in any trouble.
    via u/flashback1993
  • 02
    Cheezburger Image 10529821952
    via Yevhenii Deshko (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 03
    My mom recently got an iPhone (she's always been Android) and discovered the Find My Friends app. She asked me to turn on location sharing "so she knows I'm okay." I said I didn't feel comfortable doing that. It felt invasive, especially since I don't live at home anymore and I'm not a teenager.
    via u/flashback1993
  • 04
    She kept pushing, saying it's "normal" now and "all the other moms have their kids' locations." I told her if there's an emergency, she can always text or call. I don't need to be tracked 24/7.
    via u/flashback1993
  • 05
    She got upset and said I was being secretive, dramatic, and "probably hiding something." She then tried guilt-tripping me by saying, "You'll understand when you're a parent."
    via u/flashback1993
  • 06
    Cheezburger Image 10529821184
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 07
    Now my dad and even my aunt are chiming in, saying I'm being ungrateful and should "give her peace of mind." I think it's wild that I'm being expected to hand over that kind of access just because I'm her kid.
    via u/flashback1993
  • 08
    It's not like I've ever done anything reckless or dangerous. I just don't want someone watching where I am every second of the day. It's about privacy, not rebellion. AITA?
    via u/flashback1993
  • 09
    Cheezburger Image 10529828608
    via Fellipe Ditadi (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 10
    Accomplished-Emu-591 NTA. If you give in, you will get constant calls and messages demanding to know what you are doing and who you are with. Some parents cant handle not being in total control of their adult children.
    via u/Accomplished-Emu-591
  • 11
    flashback1993 OP I don't want to turn a tool meant for safety into a 24/7 accountability tracker. I love her, but I'm an adult with my own life, and she has to respect that too.
    via u/flashback1993
  • 12
    YAreYouLaughing She managed just fine all these years without tracking you 24/7. She can continue to manage just fine now. Do not give in.
    via u/YAreYouLaughing
  • 13
    HeyPrettyLadyMaam And if all else fails, get yourself an Android. If she has apple now she can't track you. Extreme and maybe cost a little to get a new phone, not to mention if you are an apple fan. But. It would give you the advantage of being untrackable through apple. This is the last ditch option op. Hopefully you never need to go this route.
    via u/HeyPrettyLadyMaam
  • 14
    Medusa_7898 Op should not be expected to inconvenience herself because her mother is an obnoxious nose bag. She can continue saying NO. Mom needs to accept that.
    via u/Medusa_7898
  • 15
    Shdfx1 Send a group text to your mom, dad, aunt, and anyone else hanging up on you, that reads, "To all concerned, no, I will not allow my mother to track me on my iPhone. I'm 25. She asked. I declined. That's the end of it." From then on, hang up or leave every time anyone brings it up. Don't give any more reasons or explanations.
    via u/Shdfx1
  • 16
    cryssHappy This 70F does NOT want to know where her grown sons are. I talk to them periodically, I text them a bit more often, I go visit them from time to time. They are adults and need to live their own lives. Feel free to tell your mom that I out rank/age her and it's a firm NO that she needs to know where you are.
    via u/cryssHappy
  • 17
    TheRealCarpeFelis Likewise. 67F and my daughter would be completely justified in laughing in my face if I demanded this of her!
    via u/TheRealCarpeFelis
  • 18
    Some Affect9083 NTA. You pay your for your phone. Your rules. You're an adult. I do hope you have trusted friends who have your location just because...scary world and all but no one, even your mom, is entitled to that kind of info. You have a right to privacy.
    via u/Some_Affect9083
  • 19
    flashback1993 OP I actually do share my location with a close friend in case of emergencies. So it's not about paranoia or secrecy, it's about choosing who I trust with that kind of access. It's a boundary issue, not a safety issue. I'm not against someone having my location in case of emergency, but that someone isn't going to be my guilt-tripping mom.
    via u/flashback1993
  • 20
    WildlyAdmired This is called coercive control. It isn't about you being safe or her being able to find you - this is a power play. You are going to do what she says do. She has shown you that she will go as far as she needs to, to have control over you. She is manipulating her family to add the pressure on you to make you submit to a completely ridiculous request. If you don't stand up for yourself now, you will be doing whatever she tells you to do for the next few decades. I have a cousin whos
    via u/WildlyAdmired
  • 21
    father and brother did this to her - it took her a year to remove her brother and another year to remove her dad - and she is married! They would call her at random times and ask where she was!! My advice (don't laugh, it's an oldy but a goody) take a small index card and write NO on it. When people start asking you to do stupid things, pull the card out of your pocket and hand it to them. Then take it back and move on. Refuse to speak, just hand them the card!!
    via u/WildlyAdmired
  • 22
    Ok-Win-9099 So, I am that mom. I am 55 and so annoyed at my 24 year old child for not sharing their location. My argument was "I can see how far away you are when you are driving home and plan around that." I also checked it in the night to make sure they were at home and not in a ditch, because I have an anxiety disorder. After reading your post and the replies, I will be apologizing to them tomorrow. It is not their job to soothe my anxiety and their privacy is more important than my convenien
    via u/Ok-Win-9099
  • 23
    Hemiak My wife and I turn ours on for our parents when we're on road trips to visit them. That way they can see how far away we are and not constantly bug us. Other than that, they don't need it. Our daughter goes off to college. We fully expect her to turn it off once she gets to college, because she's a grown up.
    via u/Hemiak
  • 24
    ottobotting This is what I do with my parents as well. I live an 8 hr drive away. When I'm on the road, I turn our Life360 on so they know I'm safe and also so they don't call every 20 min asking where I am now. Once I get there, I turn it off and it stays off until I leave.
    via u/ottobotting
  • 25
    No one needs to know on a day to day basis that I ran out for a coffee or I was out until x time in the night. I'm grown. My parents keep theirs on because my dad is lazy and won't log in and out and my mom has really bad anxiety, so they can track one another. They both understand that I value my privacy.
    via u/ottobotting

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privacy android iPhones mother phone bad parenting bad parents parenting daughter mom adult children Parenting Fail location Parenting FAILS iphone
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