We have provided our younger children with a smartphone and we want to exercise a form of control over it, so as to always know what they do and where they are "> parental control" or " parental control " that work in all respects as a spy app, to know everything that is done on the smartphone and to obtain, in real time, the position of the smartphone placed under control. For the guide we will show you the apps that can be installed on any Android smartphone, so that we can always check the activity of our children even when they are away from home; we do not recommend using these apps to control adults (although technically possible), as it is a very serious crime.
NOTE : the site does not assume any responsibility, direct or indirect, for the improper use of the apps indicated in this article. Use them at your own risk.
READ ALSO: Keep an Android mobile phone under control
Check / spy on another's phone (Android)
The apps that we are going to report are available on the Google Play Store as a parental control app, but they include many spy components to see what our minor children or people we intend to control are doing on the phone (possibly minors and placed under the our protection). The app is visible in most cases, although it is often difficult to uninstall or modify without knowing the administration password.Screentime
ScreenTime is an application that each parent can install on their children's phone to find out how they use it and, optionally, to block the use of certain applications.
After installation, at the first start, you are asked to enter your e-mail address, which will then be used to access the control panel from the PC. A password must then be set and the phone is immediately monitored.
In the app options you can activate or deactivate a daily limit on the use of the phone, the blocking of some apps and the times during which you do not want your child to use the phone.
Once the app is configured, you can then access the ScreenTime website from your computer, log in with the same email account used for registration and check the various statistics by activating, if you wish, sending via email the daily activities done with the mobile phone. The app also allows you to set a Web filter for the pages to be visited and to track in real time the position of the child's smartphone, thanks to geolocation.
The app is available for free for 14 days then you will have to pay a monthly subscription; at the end of the test, however, we can use the Web filter and the geolocation system without time limits.
This application is among the best because, if used without putting too many restrictions, it does not stand out and does not display any warning on the phone . In the end, almost, the person who uses the controlled phone may not even notice it (if not going to scroll through the installed apps).
Google Family Link
Another service that we can use to control or spy on our child's Android phone is Family Link, provided directly by Google. The service is available through two free apps: Family Link for parents and Family Link for children and teenagers.
With this app, simply set our Google account as parent (therefore supervisor of each activity) and set Google accounts on our children's Android smartphones as users to be controlled (thus creating a family group on Google).
In a few simple taps we will be able to manage which apps they can use, which apps they use most often on the phone, set usage limits, remotely block the use of the phone and view the position of the device in real time. Using the Android system libraries, the app cannot be bypassed easily, ensuring a high level of security and control over phones and Google accounts set as "children".
We can learn more about Family Link by reading our Parental Control guide on your children's mobile phone with Google Family Link .
Qustodio
Another very useful app to control and spy on an Android phone of one of our children is Qustodio.
By installing this app on our smartphone and on the phones of the people to be controlled, we can view the apps used at any time, the time spent with the screen on, monitor the SMS and the calls made or received and keep track of the position of the phone, using geolocation (if deactivated it can activate it, even remotely). The app is designed to be simple to use, even for minors who are aware of its presence: they can in fact press the Panic Button when they are in difficulty, so as to immediately report their position to the relative who controls the app.
The service allows you to control a device for free; if we want to control multiple phones, we will have to buy one of the packages offered by the app itself.
Kroha
Among the parental control apps we also recommend Kroha, available for free for any Android device.
By associating the app with our device and our children's devices, we will be able to monitor the access time of our children, block apps, track the position, check the websites visited, activate a night mode, activate a mode eye protection, monitor incoming calls and SMS.
Unfortunately, the app is available for free for only 3 days, after which you need to purchase an annual user license ($ 12 a year), in order to control up to 5 devices.
To retrieve the real-time position of the phone to be checked, we open the WhatsApp app on it, we open the chat with our contact, we press the Attachment icon (in the form of a paperclip), we select the item Location, we provide permissions access to geolocation so we tap on the item Location in real time .
Press on Next and select the maximum time with which we want to share the position (from a few minutes up to 8 hours); from now on, just open the chat of the contact checked on WhatApp to see in real time its updated position and its movements.
In this regard, we can deepen this type of control by reading our guide to the App to send the position from the mobile or be followed in real time .
Conclusions
To spy on our child's phone it is not necessary to become 007 agents, but just use some parental control apps available for devices with Android operating system.If we are looking for secret apps to spy on a phone, we recommend reading our guide to Apps as a secret agent for Android to spy, track locations, messages and more . To check our own phone or recover it in the event of theft, simply install one of the anti-theft apps for Android to control and block the mobile phone remotely from the PC, so you always know where to find our smartphone, exposing the criminals.
