How do you set up your phone for a safer Halloween night of trick-or-treating?

Before trick-or-treating, charge every phone to full, turn on temporary location sharing for just the night, test Emergency SOS, and add a flashlight shortcut and something bright for drivers to see. Timed sharing that expires on its own gives peace of mind without year-round tracking.

It is getting dark, the costumes are on, and one kid has already raced ahead to the next porch light — while their phone is sitting at 12 percent. Short answer: before you leave the house, charge every phone to full, turn on temporary location sharing for just the night, make sure Emergency SOS works, and set up a flashlight shortcut plus something bright for drivers to see. Why it matters: drivers are the biggest danger on Halloween night, and a dead or silenced phone turns a simple two-minutes-apart moment into real panic.

Location sharing that switches itself off after the evening gives everyone peace of mind without turning into year-round tracking.1. Charge every phone before you go, and toss a small power bank in a pocket if you have one.2. Turn on location sharing for the night only.

On iPhone, open Messages or Find My, choose Share My Location, and pick one hour or until end of day. On Android, open Google Maps, tap your profile picture, choose Location sharing, and share for a set number of hours with a parent or trusted adult — then confirm it stops when the time runs out.3. Test Emergency SOS and check your emergency contact is set.

On iPhone, hold the side button and a volume button together; on Android it varies, so look in Settings under Safety & emergency.4. Put the flashlight on the lock screen or in quick settings, turn the ringer up loud, and agree on check-in times every 30 minutes plus a firm time to be home.5. For younger kids without a phone, write a parent’s phone number on their wrist, add a glow stick, reflective tape, or a light-up accessory so drivers can see them, stick to well-lit streets you know, and cross at corners.Pro tip: Do NOT leave location sharing running after Halloween.

Always pick the timed option so it expires that night on its own — the common mistake is choosing “share indefinitely” because it is the first button you see.Ad’s take: The timed share is the sweet spot, if you ask me. You get to relax a little, they get their big-kid night, and nobody is being tracked on a random Tuesday in February.