Mothers no longer have to depend on guilt to make sure that their kids return their calls. A mom in Texas has found a foolproof way to get her kids to call her back; she developed an app that would disable her kids' phone when they ignore her calls and texts.
The new app, called "Ignore No More," has found its way in the Google Play Store and is sure to become a hit with controlling parents.
To make the app work, parents would have to install the app on their smartphone and the phones of their children. When the child acts out and doesn't pick up the phone, a parent can exert control by locking the device. This is a basically a two-step process, a parent would only need to type in their child's name and then enter a secret password that's at least four digits long. Once a parent does that, the phone would be automatically locked, preventing their child from going on the Internet or playing games. The only way to unlock the phone would be to return a call from their parents.
Sharon Standifird, a mother of two, developed the app after she became angry because her teenage children didn't return her calls.
"It went from a frustration to a worry," Standifird said.
She developed the idea for the app when it became clear that her kids were okay but were ignoring her calls.
"We need to develop an app that just shuts their phone completely down and they can't even use it," she said.
She went on with the project in spite of not having a background in app development. Standifird, who is a Gulf War veteran, had to start with learning the basics of creating an app.
"I got on the Internet and I literally just started researching how to develop an app," she said.
Standifird demoed her app using her son Bradley's phone. When she locked his phone, the screen went blank. When the child attempts to activate the phone, a list of contacts that the parents have specified would show up. To get the password to unlock the phone, the child would have to call someone in the list.
The app is currently available for $1.99 at the Play Store.
