StepSafe Kids media resources

StepSafe Kids is an affordable cellular GPS tracker for children with autism, ADHD, Down syndrome, and other special needs who are prone to wandering. Founded by 17-year-old Ashwin Chunchu in Toronto, StepSafe uses real cellular GPS rather than Bluetooth-based tracking, ships with its microphone permanently disabled so it cannot listen or record, and costs $9.99 USD per month or $249 USD once for lifetime service, compared with competitors such as AngelSense charging up to $780 USD per year in subscription alone (AngelSense pricing verified August 5, 2026).

Ashwin Chunchu is 17 and based in Toronto. Before writing a line of product spec, he spent six months talking with more than 100 families of children who wander, in autism, ADHD, and Down syndrome communities, about what existing trackers get wrong.

What he learned shaped everything: nearly half of children with autism attempt to wander from safe settings, and accidental drowning accounts for 71% of the deaths that follow. Yet the most trusted tracker on the market costs families $540 to $780 USD a year in subscription alone (pricing verified August 5, 2026). Families call it the disability tax: the more your child needs protection, the more you pay for it.

So he built the alternative those families asked for: real cellular GPS that works anywhere with cell coverage, wearing options designed for kids with sensory sensitivities (clip or lanyard), a permanently disabled microphone so schools cannot object, and a price a single-income family can sustain. StepSafe Kids launched on Kickstarter on August 4, 2026, with manufacturing handled by JIMI IoT, which ships over 1.7 million tracking devices a year.

• What it is: a clip-on cellular GPS tracker for children who wander, with real-time location, geofenced safe zones with entry and exit alerts, location history, and a remotely triggered audible alarm
• Kickstarter: ran August 4 to September 3, 2026, and closed funded. Estimated delivery: February 2027
• Pricing: $119 USD for the device plus $14.99 USD a month, or $299 USD once for Lifetime Pro with no monthly fee ever. These are late pledge prices and hold until devices ship, after which retail is $149 USD and $399 USD
• Nearly half (49%) of children with autism attempt to elope from a safe environment (National Autism Association, citing the Interactive Autism Network)
• Accidental drowning accounts for 71% of deaths following wandering incidents among children with autism (National Autism Association six-year mortality study)
• Children with autism are 160 times as likely to die from drowning as the general pediatric population (Guan J, Li G. Injury Mortality in Individuals With Autism. American Journal of Public Health 2017;107(5):791-793, via Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health)
• Privacy by design: the microphone is permanently disabled and cannot listen, record, or be switched on by anyone, including us, which also makes the device acceptable in schools
• Connectivity: embedded SIM included, no phone plan required. The tracker works across the United States and Canada
• Shipping: primary markets are the United States and Canada. Other countries depend on final backer counts and regulatory certifications completing
• Battery: up to 4 days on a single charge, roughly twice-weekly charging
• Hardware: manufactured by JIMI IoT. StepSafe's FCC, ISED and CE certifications are all in process, the Canadian ISED with Nemko, an accredited certification body. Any certification held on the manufacturer's platform is theirs, not ours, and should not be reported as StepSafe holding it

• A 17-year-old founder taking on a safety market priced for institutions, not families
• The disability tax angle: families of special needs children routinely pay up to $780 USD a year for basic safety technology (pricing verified August 5, 2026, sources at stepsafekids.com/pricing-sources)
• Child safety with real stakes: wandering is common and its most frequent fatal outcome is drowning, yet most families have no plan
• Community-designed: built from interviews with 100+ affected families, including the choice to permanently disable the microphone

News

• NOW Toronto“This 17-year-old Mississauga entrepreneur created a GPS tracker for children with autism and ADHD”, by Patricia Dolor.
• Mississauga News“Mississauga teen builds affordable GPS tracker for neurodivergent kids who wander”, by Ayesha Ghaffar, August 21, 2026. Covers the founder’s reason for building it and the absence of any Canadian equivalent to an Amber Alert for elopement.
• Modern Mississauga“Modern Entrepreneur Profile: Mississauga’s Ashwin Chunchu”, July 30, 2026. Covers why StepSafe was built, cellular GPS versus Bluetooth tags, and the decision to permanently disable the microphone.

The Mississauga News story was carried across Metroland titles including The IFP, InsideHalton, Brampton Guardian and Caledon Enterprise.

Listings and directories

• Gadget FlowProduct discovery platform listing.
• Tech StarterCrowdfunding and hardware discovery listing, August 22, 2026.
• Closing The GapAssistive technology product guide and producer directory.
• SearchingCProduct discovery platform listing.

Shared by

• @areacode416ix on Instagram
• 905hub
• Explorer Channel on Facebook

Some third party listings illustrate the product with images they created themselves. Those images are not ours, were not supplied or approved by us, and do not depict the device. Official product photography is in the press kit below.

Everything below is in the kit, organised into folders. Free to use with credit.

• /product device photography, four shots
• /founder founder headshot, plus a founder-with-device shot
• /logos wordmark, icon, app icon, usage notes
• /graphics comparison table, app preview, how it works, pricing card, dated pricing source
• /text boilerplate, founder bios, key facts with citations

Ashwin Chunchu, Founder
ashwin@stepsafekids.com
Replies within a day. Interviews welcome.

• Website: stepsafekids.com
• Kickstarter: kickstarter.com/projects/stepsafekids/stepsafe-kids-real-gps-for-kids-who-wander-made-affordable
• Instagram: @stepsafekids
• X: @stepsafekids
• Facebook: StepSafe Kids