Comparison · verified on October 14, 2026
Mi Estela vs Find My Kids
Find My Kids is built for young children with a GPS watch or a first phone: zones, history, SOS, and the option to listen to the child's microphone. Mi Estela is built for teens and whole families, and it doesn't listen to anyone.
In two lines
Parental app for young children: the adult app plus Pingo on the child's phone (or a GPS watch). History, zones, child SOS, and "Ambient Sound" to listen to the child's microphone.
What is Find My Kids (Pingo)
Find My Kids (Findmykids), by LETEM LTD, works with two apps: Findmykids on the adult's phone and Pingo on the minor's phone (or a GPS watch). It offers location and route history, zones with arrival and departure alerts, an SOS for the child, a "loud signal" that sounds even when the phone is on silent, app usage statistics during school hours, family chat and, on the Plus plan, uninstall protection. And "Ambient Sound": live listening to the child's phone microphone. The Find My Kids website says the app notifies the child when listening is turned on and asks parents to talk about it with their children first. INCIBE confirms that the minor's device asks for microphone permission.
Face to face
| Criteria | Mi Estela | Find My Kids (Pingo) |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time map See where your people are right now | ✓ | ✓ |
| iPhone and Android together One family, mixing both | ✓ | ✓ |
| Arrival alerts When someone gets home, to school... | ✓ 3 free spots; more with Premium | ✓ zones, paid after the trial |
| SOS Alert your people with your location | ✓ free forever; 112 one tap away | ✓ from child to adult |
| Chat and calls Inside the app | ✓ free | ✓ |
| Video calls Inside the app | ✓ free | ✕ |
| Route history Days we keep | ✓ 3 days free, 30 with Premium; each person turns it on | ✓ paid |
| Invisible mode or zone only Hide for a while or share only your area | ✓ Ghost (adults) or zone only | ✕ the child can't hide |
| Symmetrical Everyone sees the same about everyone; there's no "supervisor" | ✓ | ✕ parent supervises the child |
| No ads On the free plan | ✓ never | ~ |
| Never sells or licenses your location According to its privacy policy | ✓ no sale or licensing, ever | ~ identifiers for tracking (App Store listing) |
| Free plan What's included | ✓ map, alerts, SOS, chat, calls, video calls | ~ online location only after 7 days |
| Paid price In Spain, as of Oct 14, 2026 | ✓ €9.99/month or €99.99/year for the whole circle; 14-day free trial | ✓ €39.99 or €54.99 per year |
| Driving reports Speed, hard braking, phone use while driving | ✕ on purpose: no notes | ✕ |
| Parental controls Block apps, screen time, read messages | ✕ presence, not control | ✓ app statistics, ambient listening |
| Minimum age To have your own account | ✓ 14 years old in Spain (digital consent) | ✓ young kids |
| Company and data Where it is and where it stores data | ✓ Madrid, Spain; data in the EU | ~ Cyprus (EU) |
✓ yes · ✕ no · ~ partly. Mi Estela info comes from the app's code; Find My Kids (Pingo) info comes from the sources at the bottom, as of October 14, 2026.
What Find My Kids (Pingo) does better
- For young children (below the digital consent age): Mi Estela doesn't allow accounts at that age.
- Works with children's GPS watches.
- Uninstall protection and app statistics, if you're looking for control.
What Mi Estela does better
- No microphones or ambient listening: that doesn't exist in Mi Estela and never will.
- Symmetrical: the teen sees the same as their parents. That changes the relationship with a 14- or 16-year-old.
- The essentials free forever: map, alerts for 3 spots, SOS, chat, calls and video calls. In Find My Kids, after the 7-day trial, only online location stays free.
- Ghost Mode, the Pact, worlds, Senior Mode for grandparents, and video calls.
- No identifiers used for advertising tracking.
Pricing
Find My Kids (Spanish website, October 14, 2026): Basic €0; "Care" €39.99/year (€3.33/month); "Plus" €54.99/year (€4.58/month); 7-day free trial. In the App Store in Spain, "Care" purchases range from €3.99 to €55.99, "Plus" is €11.99 and "Ambient Sound" is €1.19. Mi Estela: the essentials are free; Premium is €9.99/month or €99.99/year per whole circle, in Spain.
Privacy and data
The Find My Kids App Store listing declares audio, photos, purchases and email linked to you, phone number for marketing, and identifiers for tracking. Permissions on the child's phone: location, audio recording and calls (INCIBE). Mi Estela: no ads, no data sales, no background microphone.
Minimum age
Find My Kids: the minor's age is requested when linking; rated 4+ (no minimum age confirmed). Mi Estela: from age 14 in Spain.
How to sign up for Find My Kids (Pingo)
- The adult installs Findmykids, enters their email and accepts the terms.
- Pingo is installed on the child's phone, their age is entered, the code is entered and permissions are granted.
- The child appears on the map.
And in Mi Estela: how to get started, step by step.
We answer your questions
Frequently asked questions
Can Mi Estela be used for an 8-year-old?
No. Mi Estela starts at each country's digital consent age (14 in Spain). For young kids, a parental control app or a GPS watch is something different, with different rules.
Can Mi Estela listen to my child's microphone?
No, and it never will. The microphone is only used when the person talks to Estela, records a voice note or makes a call.
Sources
- Find My Kids: Ambient Sound (official website)
- INCIBE: Find My Kids and Pingo
- App Store Spain: Find My Kids listing
Brands and names mentioned belong to their respective owners. This comparison is written by the Mi Estela team; if you spot anything outdated or incorrect, write to us at hola@miestela.app and we'll fix it.
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