‘Kids at risk’: Why Aussie parents are fuming
The Aussie parent of a primary school child has lashed out after their son had a fall, exposing a huge tech fail that is affecting many more.
A major update to a popular parenting app has triggered a furious backlash from families across Australia, with countless parents reporting their children’s safety smartwatches are no longer functioning correctly.
Hundreds of users say the update to their Spacetalk app has left many kids unable to reach their parents when needed.
The app connects to the Spacetalk smartwatches worn by children. The devices are often relied upon as their only way to contact parents during the day.
The Australian tech company specialises in smartwatches designed for children and is marketed as an alternative to giving them an iPhone.
The device pairs with a parent’s phone to optimise safety, allowing approved calls and texts, location tracking and the creation of safe zones through the app.
They’re particularly popular during the times of day when children may be travelling between school and home on public transport.
At the beginning of the week, the company announced it would be rolling out a series of app updates, promising a refreshed design and a smoother performance.
However, the brand is now facing an avalanche of angry complaints online.
“Talk about sh**tting the bed, Spacetalk. This new app release… nothing works,” a parent wrote.
“Can’t even log into the app. It’s asking to register again and then that fails. Sent my child out today with this as the only means of contact, then it’s unusable,” another said.
“Was the update created by BoM website designers?” a third joked.
Another furious parent declared: “YOU HAVE DESTROYED IT.”
On Reddit, one Australian parent detailed how the situation quickly became dangerous after their disabled primary school-aged child was suddenly unable to call for help after falling.
“Spacetalk removed the critical feature of allowing my son to call people in his contact list who don’t have the app. Yesterday, he had a fall from his wheelchair at school and could not call for help because all of his school contacts were gone,” they wrote.
Alongside the post was an open moving letter directed at the company which called out the fact the struggling child was left in strife because he “could not call the office, his principal or his teacher for help”.
“Spacetalk, without notice, you have removed a critical feature from its products and in doing so put children at risk of serious injury, so you can make a bit more money,” it read.
“This is not good enough. And as far as I am concerned, you have breached your obligations to your consumers and you put my son at risk.”
The poster ended by urging other parents to lodge formal consumer complaints with ACCC.
Many have expressed anger over what they describe as a lack of support from the company.
“One hour and no response from live chat and over 24 hours and no support via email,” one user wrote.
“This is a safety issue. No replies to support chat; not even AI standard replies, we are just being ignored. And it’s not ‘a few’, there are hundreds of us with the same problem. This is a defective product,” another mother said.
A post on the company’s social media accounts from CEO, Simon Crowther, attempted to shed light on what had gone wrong on Tuesday.
“Dear Spacetalk community, over the weekend we upgraded to our new Spacetalk App and underlying technology. The upgrade was a necessary step to offer our customers more stability, security and capabilities,” it read.
“Since then, some of our Spacetalk Watch customers have been experiencing issues with their devices. I know many families rely on Spacetalk to help keep kids safe and connected, and I am genuinely sorry for the worry and inconvenience this has caused.
“This issue is limited to Spacetalk Watches and is not affecting mobile or app-only customers. Our team is working urgently to restore normal service for everyone affected.”
He added that some devices had already begun returning to normal.
“We’ve already resolved several of the issues affecting Spacetalk Watches, and many families are now seeing their devices return to normal. Our team is working around the clock to fix the remaining issues as quickly and safely as possible.
“Based on what we know today, we expect resolution for affected customers within the next day or two. We’ll continue to share updates on our website and social media as we make progress.”
news.com.au has contacted Spacetalk for further comment.
Originally published as ‘Kids at risk’: Why Aussie parents are fuming
