The short answer: Life360 is the more complete product today. It runs on iPhone and Android, and it offers crash detection and emergency dispatch. Orma is for families on iPhone who care most about privacy: your locations are encrypted on your phone, and we have no ads and no data selling. Orma isn't on the App Store yet (coming soon), so Life360 is the one you can install now. All facts about Life360 are as of October 2026.
Orma vs Life360 at a glance
| Orma | Life360 | |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | iPhone only. Not yet on the App Store (coming soon). | iPhone (App Store) and Android (Google Play). |
| Price | Not announced yet. | A free app, plus paid Silver, Gold and Platinum memberships with a 7-day free trial. Prices vary by plan and country; see the App Store listing. |
| End-to-end encryption | Locations, places, alerts, photos and names. | We couldn't find a Life360 statement that location sharing is end-to-end encrypted. |
| Ads and data sales | No ads. No data selling. No analytics SDKs in the app. | Life360's App Store privacy details list location among data used for third-party advertising and analytics (App Store). Life360 told The Capitol Forum it began selling audience segments through LiveRamp in August 2024. |
| Location history | 30 days. | 30 days on Gold, with shorter history on lower tiers (App Store). |
| Place alerts | Arrival and departure alerts, with a radius you set for each place. | Place alerts; unlimited on Gold, limited on lower tiers (App Store). |
| SOS | Alerts your circle with your location. Does not call emergency services. | SOS alerts and 24/7 emergency dispatch are listed as membership features (App Store). |
| Crash detection | No. | Yes, listed in the app (App Store). |
Where Life360 is better
Be clear about this first, because it matters.
Life360 works on both iPhone and Android. If anyone in your family uses an Android phone, Orma can't help you. Life360 has an app for each platform (App Store, Google Play).
Life360 does more when something goes wrong. Its listing describes crash detection, 24/7 emergency dispatch, and roadside assistance, plus identity theft and stolen phone protection on the higher tiers (App Store). Orma has none of these. Orma's SOS alerts the people in your circle. It does not contact emergency services.
Life360 is here now. You can install it today. Orma is new and unreleased.
Where Orma is different
Encryption. In Orma, locations, saved places, alerts, photos and names are encrypted on your iPhone before they leave it. Only the phones in your circle hold the key. Our servers store ciphertext, so we can't read where you are. You can read how it works in our privacy policy.
Orma's servers still see some data. That includes your account email, which circles you're in, device IDs and push tokens, timestamps, and IP addresses in short-lived logs. We say so in the privacy policy because it's true.
Data practices. Orma has no ads, doesn't sell data, and has no analytics SDKs in the app. Orma is made by VivTech Solutions in India.
Simple, small circles. People join a circle by invitation only, and everyone can see who they're sharing with. A new phone only gets in after you approve it on a phone you already use, by comparing codes.
What has been reported about Life360 and location data
This is the part people ask about most, so here is the record, with sources.
- In December 2021, The Markup reported that Life360 was selling precise location data to data brokers.
- In January 2022, Life360 said it would stop selling precise, raw location data and phase out its deals with about a dozen brokers. The same report says Arity, an Allstate company, would still receive precise location data for driving features, and that aggregate data would still go to Placer.ai.
- In June 2025, The Capitol Forum reported that Life360 appeared to be selling thousands of audience segments, built from where users go, through LiveRamp's Data Marketplace. Life360 told the publication it does not share precise geolocation with LiveRamp, that it began selling audience segments through LiveRamp in August 2024, and that it plans to continue.
We couldn't load Life360's current privacy policy when we checked, so we don't describe its exact wording here. Read it yourself at life360.com/privacy-policy. Life360's App Store page says its privacy information is provided by the developer and not verified by Apple.
Which should you choose?
Choose Life360 if:
- Anyone in your family uses Android.
- You want crash detection or emergency dispatch.
- You want to install something today.
Choose Orma if:
- Everyone in your circle has an iPhone.
- You want your family's locations encrypted so the company can't read them.
- You want no ads and no data selling.
- You're happy to wait for the App Store release.
Consider both: Some families use a full-featured app for driving safety and a private one for everyday check-ins. Orma isn't meant to replace emergency services or a car's crash detection. On iPhone 14 or later, Apple's own Crash Detection can call emergency services after a severe crash.
FAQ
Is Orma free, and how does it compare with Life360's price?
We haven't announced Orma's price yet, so we can't compare. Life360 has a free app and paid memberships; check its pricing for your country, since prices vary.
Does Life360 sell my location data?
Reporting says it used to sell precise location data to brokers and said in January 2022 that it would stop (The Markup). In 2025, The Capitol Forum reported that it sells audience segments through LiveRamp, and Life360 said it doesn't share precise geolocation with LiveRamp (The Capitol Forum). Orma doesn't sell data.
Does Orma call 911 or 112 for me?
No. Orma's SOS alerts the people in your circle and shares your location with them. To reach emergency services from an iPhone, turn on Emergency SOS in iPhone Settings.
Can I use Orma if my partner has an Android phone?
Not today. Orma is iPhone only.
Is Orma available now?
No. Orma is coming soon to the App Store.
Life360 and other names are trademarks of their owners. Orma isn't affiliated with them. Details checked October 2026; tell us at support@ormacircle.com if something has changed.