Here are ways you can use spy apps for productive purposes

We probably should not be telling you how to spy on devices, but before you fret, hear us out.  Spyware – the use of any programs or software to get information about a person on their phone – isn’t only used to illegally spy on people or gather evidence for blackmail or even catch a cheating partner – unethical.

But, we bet only a few of us have heard about ethical spyware or monitoring spyware, which can help you save your children’s life or your organisation from the employee who leaks your confidential information. 

We are going to tell you how and tell you the best spy apps to use to achieve various purposes.

The rise of spy apps

Romantic partners, employers, business partners, and parents are resorting to spy apps to have access to the trove of secrets people now store on their phones.

A report by Kaspersky, while conducting work on the product ‘TinyCheck’ – a software that allows phone users to discover and disable stalkerware on their gadgets – found that in 2020 stalkerware affected one out of every 100 mobile users in Kenya and Nigeria and malware every four out of 100 in South Africa.

“Our research shows that almost 54,000 users globally were affected by stalkerware apps in 2020. The fact that these are growing momentum in Africa should be cause for concern. And even though South Africa has not been affected by these attacks yet, it is only a matter of time before mobile users in the country start experiencing the dangers of stalkerware,” Lehan van den Heever, the Enterprise Cyber Security Advisor for Kaspersky in Africa said.

Nigeria, however, has justification for spying, reason the National Assembly, in 2021, approved a total of 4.86 billion naira for the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) to spy on and monitor WhatsApp messages, phone calls and text messages of Nigerians.

As much as spy apps have been on the rise largely for negative reasons including distrust among partners, we have some recommendations on how to use spy apps for more productive purposes.

A recommended use case for spy apps

With the steady advancement in technology, there is a growing need to give kids access to mobile phones and other internet-enabled gadgets. This brings a new concern among parents on how best to control the content they have access to, what they are watching, and to monitor who they might be talking to on the internet.

Spy apps can be used to keep tabs on the internet activities of your children.

What is a Spy Phone App?

Spy Phone Apps simply help you keep track of incoming and outgoing phone calls, SMS, GPS locations, browser activity, and messages from applications like Facebook, WhatsApp, Snapchat, etc.

How to use it?

You would need to have physical access to the phone, gadget or device you intend to monitor. For most Android and iPhone versions, physical access to the Mobile is required. You may also need to get the device rooted to be able to use advanced surveillance features on it. 

What is device rooting?

‘Rooting is the Android equivalent of jailbreaking. It is a means of unlocking the operating system which enables the user to install unapproved apps, deleted unwanted bloatware, update the OS, replace the firmware, and overclock (or underclock) the processor, customise anything and so on.”

Read also: How to uninstall the Microsoft Windows update causing problems for your apps

How to select a Spy Phone App?

You should always check with Customer Support to confirm whether your phone has the necessary support for downloading a spy app as not all phones can do this. 

How to spy on a cell phone?

• Step 1) Subscribe to one of the best plans and log in to your account
• Step 2) Select the type of device OS you need to monitor
• Step 3) Make sure you have full access to the target device and then click on Yes, I Do
• Step 4) Select your model and disable PlayProtected on the target phone
• Step 5) Open the target device browser and download the app
• Step 6) Your data will be ready after 2 to 4 hours for spying

Here are some apps to use in spying and how best to use them

Spy To Mobile

Spy To Mobile allows you to see incoming and outgoing SMS messages remotely, get contacts lists from your Kid’s phone, and access call history. By using this app, you can control a child’s location and provide safety to them.

How to use:

• This Spyware for smartphones offers current tracking technologies to get data from cell phones remotely.
• You can use it to read SMS messages, view call history, and contacts list, and get your Kid’s current location.
• This Spy App which can only be used for Android gadgets, allows you to collate all cellphone information in one account.

 PcTattletale

This is a mobile spy app that enables you seamlessly record videos. In addition, this app helps you to view instant messages, chats, social media, emails, websites, and more.

iKeyMnonitor

This is an easy to use Tracking App widely used as a parental control App to record keystrokes, calls, SMS, chat messages, website visits, screenshots, and more.

Spyzie

Spyzie is a highly advanced app that provides a Phone Monitoring Solution. This tool allows you to export as much monitored data as you need. It is one of the best Spy Apps and allows you to monitor all your Kid’s activities on WhatsApp.

Other recommendations:

• Spyera – Best to remotely monitor, iphone, ipad, Andriod phones and tablets
• Clevguard – helps set up geo-fence, alerts when your child enters or exits the boundary.
• MSpy – Best for Android & iOS Devices
• uMobix – Best for Kid’s Social Media Monitoring & Tracking
• Hoverwatch – Best for Android, iOS, and Windows
• Cocospy – Best for Rooted Devices
• eyeZy– Best for Employee Monitoring
• Clevguard – Best for tracking your children’s activity
• FlexiSPY – Best Overall
• Hooverwatch – phone track app in stealth mode. Totally undetectable to the target device user.

Indeed, Spy apps are not as bad as it sounds. Yet, spyware may reduce a certain level of trust that may exist before.