Child ID App

Put safety in your hands using the FBI's new Child ID application for your mobile phone.

The FBI’s Child ID App
Putting Safety in Your Hands

08/05/11

You’re shopping at the mall with your children when one of them suddenly disappears. A quick search of the nearby area is unsuccessful. What do you do?

Now there’s a new tool from the FBI that can help. Our just launched Child ID app—the first mobile application created by the FBI—provides a convenient place to electronically store photos and vital information about your children so that it’s literally right at hand if you need it. You can show the pictures and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot. Using a special tab on the app, you can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities with a few clicks. There is no charge for the app.

The app also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing.


The FBI’s new Child ID app can be downloaded for free from the App Store on iTunes. Download App \| View Gallery Podcast: About the Child ID App

You’re shopping at the mall with your children when one of them suddenly disappears. A quick search of the nearby area is unsuccessful. What do you do?

Now there’s a free new tool from the FBI that can help. Our just launched Child ID app—the first mobile application created by the FBI—provides a convenient place to electronically store photos and vital information about your children so that it’s literally right at hand if you need it. You can show the pictures and provide physical identifiers such as height and weight to security or police officers on the spot. Using a special tab on the app, you can also quickly and easily e-mail the information to authorities with a few clicks.

The app also includes tips on keeping children safe as well as specific guidance on what to do in those first few crucial hours after a child goes missing.

We encourage you to share the word about this app with family and friends, especially during upcoming activities in your communities to raise awareness on crime and drug prevention. For its part, the FBI is working to publicize the app with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA)—its long-time partner in the National Child Identification Program, which provides a physical kit to gather your child’s pictures, fingerprints, personal characteristics, and even DNA to keep with you in case of emergency. The AFCA is producing a public service announcement about the app and will spread the word at various football games during the upcoming season.

Right now, the Child ID app is only available for use on iPhones and can only be downloaded for free from the App Store on iTunes, but we plan to expand this tool to other types of mobile devices in the near future. And we’ll be adding new features—including the ability to upload other photos stored on your smart phone—in the coming weeks and months.


Feel free to use this poster to promote the app. Download a high resolution version.

An important note: the FBI (and iTunes for that matter) is not collecting or storing any photos or information that you enter in the app. All data resides solely on your mobile device unless you need to send it to authorities. Please read your mobile provider’s terms of service for information about the security of applications stored on your device.

Put your child’s safety in your own hands. Download the FBI’s Child ID app today.

Resources:
- Updates to the App in October 2011
- Android version release in May 2012
- Full Content of the Child ID App (pdf)
- Download the Child ID App on iTunes
- Printable Brochure on the Child ID App (pdf)
- FBI’s Crimes Against Children website
- FBI Widgets