Life360, a prominent family locator app, has successfully completed the integration of Tile‘s lost-item tracking capabilities into its main application. This move comes on the heels of Life360’s $205 million acquisition of Tile in November 2021. That agreement was over three and a half years ago. In 2022, we introduced another game-changing integration that delivers a more seamless user experience. You heard that right! Now, you can access Tile’s item-finding features directly in the Life360 app!
This new functionality will be rolling out to Life360 users over the next few weeks for use with 2024 Tile devices. With this upgrade, users can track lost items and see up to two days of location history for free. The integration seems primarily aimed at uniting the user bases of Life360 and Tile. It invites Tile users first to adopt Life360 as their new primary tracking software.
Life360 just recently acquired Tile to expand its service offerings. This change further bolsters its competitive position within the market as well. By integrating Tile’s technology, Life360 strengthens its functionality against competitors like Apple’s AirTag and other Bluetooth-based trackers. The company’s network would be the largest smart finding network. This would be the case if all Life360 users chose to leverage Tile’s more sophisticated tracking features.
The integration greatly expands what users are able to achieve. Now that users can track their lost items right inside of Life360, the companion Tile app might soon be rendered moot. This move dovetails nicely with industry trends where companies are consolidating more and more services to create better user experiences.
The news of this integration in particular should be read as a sign of broader market development. Competitors such as Chipolo have already launched their own lost-item trackers that interface directly with Apple and Google’s finding networks. The smart acquisition provides Life360 with deep and defensible leadership in the emerging family safety apps market. It further highlights the cutthroat rivalry between technology firms in the rapidly growing tracking device sector.
Sarah, the amazing writer for TechCrunch since August 2011, has done a wonderful job of chronicling all the exciting developments that have brought Life360 and Tile together. She notes that the integration is a significant shift. Now, families can do all of this and more while efficiently prioritizing their safety and security all on the same convenient platform.