Smartwatches designed for kids are helping parents ensure the safety of their children by being able to keep track of them via secure apps. The watches are relatively cheap for what they are capable of, however they are prone to being hacked which can put kids in danger.
There have been very serious security flaws identified in several watches. Researchers have tested the different watches which are equipped with real time location tracking and facilitate two way calls with selected contacts. Attackers can alter the location feature which will make parents think that their kid is somewhere else.
The watches tested for this feature are the Gator 2, Tinitell, Viksfjord, and Xplora smartwatches. The possibility of being exploited is a major concern because the watches store and transmit data without encrypting it. It has also been seen that the Gators SOS function is poorly implemented. Another major issue in these watches is that the data cannot be deleted.
The Tinitell is the only smartwatch with no vulnerability however, it was the only watch that offered limited features.
The companies are addressing the issue however, parents are advised not to buy the watches until it is confirmed that the companies have fixed the flaws.