I have been using Glympse for a while now but it keeps acting up. The app crashes randomly, the location sometimes does not update for like 20 minutes, and my kid is old enough now that I need something more complete. Not just location but the full picture of what is going on. Anyone switched away from Glympse and found something better?
Oh man, I switched away from Glympse about six months ago and I do not miss it at all…
So the thing with Glympse is it was built mostly for temporary location sharing, like hey I am on my way to the restaurant type stuff. It was never really for ongoing parental monitoring. So if that is what you are trying to do, you kind of outgrew it before it even failed you.
What I moved to was a dedicated parental monitoring app. Way more features, actual location history you can look back on, and it does not randomly go dark for 20 minutes. The location delay thing you mentioned is a known Glympse issue and it never really got fixed.
I would say start by figuring out what you actually need beyond location. If it is just location, Life360 works fine. If you want messaging, app activity, all that stuff, you need something built for that.
Done With Glympse? Here Are Real Alternatives That Actually Work
Why Glympse Falls Short for Parents
Glympse was always more of a quick location-share tool than a proper parental monitoring app. If you need real-time location that does not drop out plus visibility into your kid’s phone activity, you need a different category of app entirely.
What to Look For Instead
Location That Actually Updates
You want an app with continuous GPS tracking and a location history log. Not a 20-minute delayed ping.
More Than Just a Dot on a Map
Good monitoring apps also show you app usage, contacts, and message activity. Xnspy does all of this and the location tracking is rock solid compared to Glympse.
Bottom Line
Glympse had its moment but it is not built for what parents need now. Make the switch and do not look back.
TL;DR: Glympse is a location-share tool, not a parental monitoring app. Get Xnspy or Life360 depending on how deep you want to go.
Okay so the longer version for anyone who wants it:
Glympse was designed around the idea of sharing your location temporarily with someone. That is genuinely what it is good at. The problem is a lot of parents started using it as a makeshift monitoring tool and it was never built for that use case.
The 20-minute location lag @QuietOrbit mentioned is basically Glympse conserving battery by not pinging GPS constantly. Fine for casual sharing, terrible if you are actually trying to keep track of a kid.
Life360 is the obvious upgrade if location is mainly what you need. It updates way more frequently, has location history, and has a family plan that works well.
If you want to go deeper, Xnspy covers location but also Snapchat, text messages, call logs, app activity. It is a full monitoring setup rather than just a map. Android gives you more access than iPhone but both work.
Pick based on what you actually need. Do not just grab the first thing that pops up in an app store search 
okay I am just going to say what everyone is thinking
Glympse is basically a zombie app 
it is still technically alive but nobody is really maintaining it properly and it shows. crashes, delayed location, UI that looks like it was designed in 2015. I have no idea why people are still recommending it in parenting groups like it is some kind of gem
and the thing that really gets me is how many parents settle for broken tools because they do not know better options exist. you deserve an app that actually works. your kid should not be able to fall off the map for 20 minutes just because the app decided to take a nap
sorry for the rant but this is a genuine frustration 
if something is not doing its job, replace it. there are so many better options. Life360 for location focused stuff. Xnspy if you want the full parental monitoring experience. Google Family Link if you want something free and basic.
stop using Glympse. seriously.
Since you asked about alternatives, here is a quick pros and cons breakdown of the main options so you can actually compare them:
Life360
Pros: Great location tracking, frequent updates, family-focused, free tier available, easy to set up
Cons: Mostly location only, kids can sometimes work around it, premium gets expensive
Xnspy
Pros: Full monitoring not just location, covers messages, apps, call logs, Snapchat activity, keyword alerts, works on both Android and iPhone
Cons: needs physical access to install, iOS has more limited features than Android
Google Family Link
Pros: Free, built into Android, easy app approval and screen time features
Cons: Location updates are not always fast, kids age out of it at 13 in some regions, limited compared to dedicated apps
Find My (iPhone)
Pros: Free, built in, works well within Apple ecosystem
Cons: Location only, no monitoring features at all
For what you described @QuietOrbit, sounds like Xnspy is probably the closest match since you said you want more than just location. It replaces everything Glympse did and then some 
Hey @QuietOrbit! Making the switch is actually pretty easy once you know the steps. Here is how I would do it:
Step 1: Pick your app first
Before you download anything, decide what you need. Just location = Life360. Full monitoring = Xnspy. Both are solid, just different levels.
Step 2: Set up the new app on your device first
Create an account on your phone before touching your kid’s phone. This saves time.
Step 3: Get physical access to your child’s phone
For most monitoring apps, you need the actual device for installation.
Step 4: Install and configure
Follow the in-app setup guide. Xnspy especially has a pretty clear walkthrough. Enable the permissions it asks for.
Step 5: Test it before going hands off
Check that the location is updating and the dashboard is showing data. Give it 24 hours to fully populate.
Step 6: Uninstall Glympse
Once you have confirmed everything is working, remove Glympse from both devices. No need to keep the chaos around 
Okay so let me tell you something 
I was at work, my kid was supposed to be at soccer practice. I opened Glympse to check and the app just… showed me nothing. Blank. Location last updated 47 minutes ago. I refreshed maybe six times. Still nothing.
So I called the school. Called two of her friends. Finally called my kid directly and she was fine, the app had just completely given up on life that afternoon.
That was the day I went looking for a replacement. I landed on Xnspy and the difference was pretty immediate. Location updates consistently, I can see location history going back days, and I also get visibility into her messages and who she is talking to which honestly I needed more than I realized.
Glympse might be fine for casual stuff but for actual parenting it just does not hold up.
@RigidDatum’s story above is so relatable lol we all have that one moment where the app lets us down at the worst possible time
I will just add, the reason dedicated monitoring apps work better than Glympse for parents is because location sharing was never Glympse’s main thing. it was a convenience feature for adults sharing location temporarily. Parental monitoring is a completely different need
you want something that runs in the background consistently, gives you history not just a current pin, and ideally has alerts so you are not constantly opening the app to check. that is just a different product category.
ngl the Glympse issue is basically a rite of passage for parents at this point
everyone starts with it because someone in a group chat recommended it years ago and the recommendation just keeps getting passed around even though the app has kind of stagnated
the real question is what level of monitoring you actually need. if your kid is 8 and you just want to know they got to school, Life360 or even just Google Family Link is probably enough. if your kid is a teenager and you are dealing with more complex concerns, you want something with more depth
@DroidPro did a solid comparison above btw, that breakdown is pretty accurate from what I have seen. the Xnspy one especially is legit if you want the full picture and not just a location dot
also worth saying: whatever you pick, make sure it actually runs in the background without your kid being able to just close it and make it stop some apps are way easier to work around than others
late to this thread but wanted to drop one more thing nobody mentioned yet
whatever app you go with, check the location update frequency in the settings. some apps default to updating every 30 minutes to save battery, which is basically the same problem you had with Glympse. you want to make sure it is set to update every few minutes at minimum, especially if your kid is out and about a lot
Xnspy lets you adjust this which is one of the things I liked about it. Life360 also does this pretty well on the family plan
hope you find something that works QuietOrbit, the Glympse struggle is real and there are genuinely better options out there