Complete Guide to Setting Up Geofence Safe Zones

What is a Geofence?

A geofence is a virtual boundary drawn around a physical location on a map. When your teen's device crosses this boundary — entering or leaving — Teenvise sends you an instant notification. Think of it as an invisible perimeter that automatically checks your teen in and out of their daily locations.

Why Geofences Matter for Teenagers

Rather than calling or texting your teen to check if they've arrived safely, geofences automate the process. Your teen doesn't need to do anything — the app handles the check-in automatically, reducing the friction that often leads to conflict.

Setting Up Your First Geofence

Follow these steps to create a geofence in the Teenvise dashboard:

1. 1
   Open your Teenvise dashboard and navigate to the Location tab
2. 2
   Select your teen's profile and click 'Add Safe Zone'
3. 3
   Type the address or drop a pin on the map
4. 4
   Adjust the radius (we recommend 100–200 metres for precise detection)
5. 5
   Name the zone (e.g. 'School', 'Home', 'Grandma's House')
6. 6
   Choose your alert preferences: arrival, departure, or both
7. 7
   Click Save — your geofence is now active

Recommended Safe Zones for Families

Most families start with these core safe zones:

1. 1
   Home — your family home or apartment
2. 2
   School — your teen's school campus
3. 3
   Sports/Activities — weekly clubs or sports venues
4. 4
   Trusted relatives — grandparents, aunts/uncles
5. 5
   Friend's homes — for regular sleepovers or visits

Fine-Tuning Your Alerts

Geofence alerts can become noisy if misconfigured. Here's our advice: set a radius of at least 100m to account for GPS drift, use 'departure only' alerts for locations your teen visits every day (like school), and use 'both' alerts for less routine locations. You can also set quiet hours so school drop-off at 8am doesn't wake you up.

Troubleshooting Common Geofence Issues

If your alerts are triggering too early or not at all, check these things:

1. 1
   Ensure the teen app has 'Always On' location permission enabled
2. 2
   Check that battery optimization is disabled for the Teenvise app
3. 3
   Increase the geofence radius slightly for areas with known GPS drift
4. 4
   Ensure the teen's device has a stable data connection