There was a time when spy applications were uncommon, expensive, and troublesome to install and practice. Gratefully, those days are gone. Today mobile phone spy applications are inexpensive, easy to install and frequently available. The advanced spy apps are intended for not just skeptical spouses and concerned parents. These are a valuable business tool to eliminate distractions and unnecessary processes, enhance employee productivity, protect company assets and evade data breaches. This article discusses the installation process, detailed features, pros and cons of the high-tech cell phone spy app.
How Does The Spy App Work?
Android spy software facilitates parents, spouses, and employers to supervise the activities of their children, partners, and workforce performed on their mobile phones. However, you need to take on-paper consent from your employees and adult family members to track their mobile phone activities before the purchase and installation of the app. Once the app is installed on the target phone, the information stored on that phone (such as messages, call logs, photos, internet browsing history etc.) automatically gets uploaded to an online account. The end-user can access that account from any device providing confidential credentials. The target device can remotely be monitored and controlled through the same account.
What Are Core Features?
We have rounded up here the main features of the Cool Spy mobile app to give you an insight of the high-tech tracking apps.
Spy on Messages
The app allows the end-user to read all type of messages including SMS, multimedia messages, voice messages and Instant Messages received on and transmitted through the target device. The phone number of communicating parties and the time of communication can be noticed.
Spy on Calls
Similar to messages, all incoming and outgoing calls on the targeted phone can be recorded and downloaded in various formats. The phone calls history and IM voice calls history provides you with the call duration, time, and contact details of the caller and receiver.
Track Locations
You can track the current and earlier GPS locations of the targeted mobile phone and can mark locations to prevent the target from entering those areas. This feature facilitates parents to know the whereabouts of their children and stops them from entering unsafe zones.
Monitor Web Surfing
The employers can monitor the web surfing activities of their employees within the working hours. The app provides user-friendly statistics showing the time, duration and frequency of visiting each website. It helps to eliminate distractions and internet abuse by the employees.
Track Social Media and IM Apps
Teenagers and underage children spend most of their waking hours on social media platforms. It makes it crucial for parents to monitor their social media activities with an aim to protect them from cyber bullies, predators, online offenses and other social media risks. On the other, the employers can monitor the social media accounts of their employees to prevent them from publicizing inappropriate or confidential company information on social networking sites.
The spy app allows users to track the popular social media and instant messaging apps including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, WhatsApp, Tinder, Kik, Viber, Line, Vine, Hike, Hangouts, IMO, Yahoo Messenger and others. The text messages, voice messages, pictorial messages, media file sharing, friends list, and social media posts can be tracked with the app.
Listen to Surroundings
The mobile apps allow the user to remotely activate the microphone of the targeted device to listen to the surrounding sounds and voices. This feature helps employers to listen to the employees’ conversations to deal with workplace gossip.
Record Surroundings
As well as the microphone, the user can operate the front and back cameras of the targeted phone to watch and record the happenings nearby the device. The user can either take pictures or record short videos to identify the whereabouts, company, and activities of the target.
Capture Screenshots
Whatever appears on the mobile phone screen of the targeted device can be captured with screenshots. It helps the user detect what the target is doing on its mobile phone in real-time.
Track Emails
The emails received and transmitted through Gmail account can be tracked to prevent the data breach. The content of the email, time, and email addresses of sender and recipient can be viewed.
Keystroke Logging
In addition to email tracking, the employers can get the email address, username and password keystrokes applied to the onscreen keyboard of the targeted phone. These keystrokes help to login to the email accounts of the employees to closely watch their activities.
View Phonebook
The contacts stored in the phonebook of the targeted device can be viewed; new numbers can be added and unwanted numbers can be deleted. The contacts saved with the wrong name can be identified.
Set Preferences
The spy app allows the user to set preferences for monitoring. For instance, if you are an employer who only wants to track emails and web surfing activities of employees and not their GPS location, you can prevent the app from tracking unnecessary information.
What Are Pluses?
- The app to spy cell phone allows call recording.
- It works with complete secrecy without alarming the target.
- It is a cross platform app compatible with Android OS and iOS supported devices.
- It supports all mobile phone networks.
What Are Minuses?
- The target phone must be rooted/jailbroken to unlock all features.
- It does not allow web filtering.
- It does not allow setting screen time limits for children.
Price
There are monthly, quarterly and yearly subscriptions of the spy app with different packages varying with the target device operating system and selected features. The one-month subscription of the app starts from $18 and goes up to $37.
The Bottom Line
There are scores of mobile phone spy apps readily available on online sources. The spy app you choose will vary depending on your needs. If you want to monitor your employees, your requirements can be different from the one who is looking for a tool to safeguard offspring. Choosing an appropriate app as per your requirements is the key because a wrong choice cannot just cost you monetary loss but can put you in an unfavorable situation.
Addison is a journalist, Social media expert and blogger. He is passionate technology writer and contributes towards mobile & PC apps, cell phone spy software and business management.
