Smartphone app Life360 helps users find criminals who live nearby Life360 shows you where criminals live. IT'S used by tens of millions worldwide to track the location of family and friends - but Life360 is now being used in the US to hunt down murderers, rapists and child sex offenders. A furious debate is erupting about whether Australian privacy laws should be changed to allow the public to track down neighbourhood criminals through a website or app. Smartphone app Life360 is embedding criminal records into its app that enable ordinary civilians to view where criminals live on a map, and discover what their address is, what they look like and what their crime is. Life 360 helps you track your loved ones on an interactive map. The app, created in 2008 by American developers, is similar to Find My Friends. Its main use is to help families stay connected throughout the day. Users can simply open Life360 and view where their family member or friend is located on an interactive map. But Life360 has a darker side, which it doesn't openly advertise on its family-oriented site. It allows users to view crime spots and criminals living within communities the United States. These alerts are represented by orange and grey pins on the map. When an orange pin is selected, it displays the time and date of a crime and a description of the incident. When a grey icon is clicked on, a full profile of a criminal - including a mug shot, full name, date of birth, height and weight, residential address and crime committed - are displayed on the screen. The map shows where the user is located, and the crime spots and criminals that surround them. These alerts give details about crime incidents. While releasing criminal records to the community through their app, Life360 has remained tight-lipped on their sources, saying only that "they received data from a service provider," and that they have "no way of adding or editing information that is shown." The legitimacy of the criminal records has been called into question though, with Federal Police experts questioning how often the content is updated to reflect the actual status of criminals. Profile of a rapist. The Life360 app developers told news.com.au that they use a third-party vendor to access and share information about safety threats. "Many Life360 users find it helpful to not only use our app to stay connected with their family and friends, but also to be aware of their surroundings," a spokeswoman said. Other users opt to turn off this feature, which removes the information from their map. We do not divulge our third party vendor relationships. The grey icons represent criminals living in San Francisco. It's enough to scare anyone. President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, Stephen Blanks, is firmly against the idea of introducing technology like this into Australian society. "There are some websites in Australia which publish [limited] information about people who have been released from jail," he said. They are very problematic because they undermine society's interest in having people who complete their prison sentences, be rehabilitated into society. Where do you draw the line? Are you going to publish information about people who have committed traffic offences ... or shoplifting offences? There's so many ways in which this idea can be abused. It would be very irresponsible to introduce an app like this to Australia. He went on to say that "Australia has a strong interest in helping people overcome their criminal past and become successful and productive members of the community." "Products like this make it harder for people to do that," he said. The profile of a child sex offender. But there are many who think this level of transparency will make a huge difference in creating safer, more open communities. Angela Younas, a Scottish mother, praised Life360 on a blog. As a mum I've always been worried about the safety of my child. It seems in this day and age there are more threats than ever out there in the real world. We feel like we can't let our children play freely outdoors and we worry about them even stepping outside the front door," she wrote. After conducting a search on the internet a few months ago, I discovered an app called Life360. [This] app is truly amazing! [A] feature I noticed was the warning of nearby sex offenders. This feature only allows you to see sex offenders in the USA but it's still handy if you travel there often or take a holiday there. While the UK doesn't allow the release of criminal records, Ms Younas was able to view the criminal profiles on the interactive map by zooming out of Great Britain, navigating over to the USA, and zooming in on any city. An American couple from Fort Worth, Texas, who wish to remain anonymous, shared their perspective on Life360. As a young couple that has grown up in a culture of open information and community sharing, it is good to be able to see a full picture of what is going on in your community and how best to protect your family and live the best life possible. This app does exactly that. Criminals living in Fort Worth, Texas. It's no wonder Americans want to know if the person next door is a sex offender. Melbourne woman Dominique used the app while travelling in the USA on a holiday recently. "I think it's a fantastic app from a safety perspective, and although daunting in its additional uses, this type of information is important," she told news.com.au. If only we had the same capabilities here in Australia - I'd sleep a little more sound at night if I could see the dangerous people [and their] location in my neighbourhood. But Life360 will not be showing criminals living in Australia, at least with the current laws. Access to criminal records in Australia is protected under the Privacy Act 1988. Privacy Commissioner, Timothy Pilgrim said "Criminal record information is classed as 'sensitive information' and this is given additional protections under the Privacy Act. Organisations covered by the Privacy Act must ensure they comply with their obligations under the Act when handling information about individuals' criminal convictions. News.com.au contacted the Australian Federal Police, who declined to comment. Is it right to use an app to track criminals, and should it be available in Australia? The American government believes information like this should be available for all to see. Do you agree? The profile of a kidnapper. In possession of child pornography. Entice a juvenile to perform sex acts. The profile of a murderer.