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Cell phone tracking apps

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
We have three teenagers. Two of them drive. One of them we really don't have any concerns with but in the event of an abduction or something horrible. . .sure would be nice to attempt to track the phone. One of them we don't worry TOO much about but probably should keep a closer eye on in terms of websites visited, etc. The other child. . . Pretty much needs a lot of monitoring for multiple reasons I won't get into.

In doing some research, the options are overwhelming. Some of the programs are no longer available for sale. Some aren't even legal. I have no desire to monitor phone calls, record them, remotely look thru their cameras, etc. They are kids. They are going to make mistakes. They need to learn from them. BUT, if they are frequenting inappropriate websites I'd like to be alerted. If they aren't answering their phone, I'd like to see where they are. If I suspect illegal activity, I AM going to monitor. Don't bet me wrong, I truly do not want to be a "helicopter parent". They will know about their phones being monitored much like we have told them all their phones will be made available to us at anytime should we want to check in on them. Don't like it? Too bad. Our job is to raise them. We need to keep them safe. We need to provide their basic essentials. A cell phone is a bonus for them.

That said, looking for something to monitor website history, text messages, and track location if needed on cell phones. Anyone have some experience? If you would prefer to PM me, it will be kept confidential.
 

Wildlife

Denny
Supporting Member
5,248
191
Ross County, Ohio
We have three teenagers. Two of them drive. One of them we really don't have any concerns with but in the event of an abduction or something horrible. . .sure would be nice to attempt to track the phone. One of them we don't worry TOO much about but probably should keep a closer eye on in terms of websites visited, etc. The other child. . . Pretty much needs a lot of monitoring for multiple reasons I won't get into.

In doing some research, the options are overwhelming. Some of the programs are no longer available for sale. Some aren't even legal. I have no desire to monitor phone calls, record them, remotely look thru their cameras, etc. They are kids. They are going to make mistakes. They need to learn from them. BUT, if they are frequenting inappropriate websites I'd like to be alerted. If they aren't answering their phone, I'd like to see where they are. If I suspect illegal activity, I AM going to monitor. Don't bet me wrong, I truly do not want to be a "helicopter parent". They will know about their phones being monitored much like we have told them all their phones will be made available to us at anytime should we want to check in on them. Don't like it? Too bad. Our job is to raise them. We need to keep them safe. We need to provide their basic essentials. A cell phone is a bonus for them.

That said, looking for something to monitor website history, text messages, and track location if needed on cell phones. Anyone have some experience? If you would prefer to PM me, it will be kept confidential.

If your children have phones provided and paid for by you, then I'd tell you to contact your provider to see if they can help you. Some do have applications/online website to access some user/customer data.

GPS tracking that is free for the most part, I would suggest Life360.com

You'll be able to track phones/users quite accurately with some history. There's an upgraded version that you'll have to pay for if you'd like to have more professional features.

They are other apps out there that will track everything and anything that someone can do on a cell a phone, such as texts, browser history, social media accounts/activity and so on.

I'd suggest that you keep digging into your research cause it's available fairly easily online at a cost. Keep in mind, for most all of them though, you'll need to have physical access to each phone to install/load and configure the application, which can be a challenge if you're tying to be discreet about it at all.

Good luck in your pursuit for a good solution!.
 
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hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Thanks Wildlife. Life360 was the first one we checked out. The reviews were not good although quite funny. Maybe the paid version has better reviews. I'll check it out.

We have Verizon. They do offer a couple options. Looks like $10/mo for coverage which offers a large part of what we are looking for but not quite all. That is $120/yr. I'm seeing some others with more options for less money. One would think the cell phone companies wouldn't get so greedy. They are already making a killing.
 
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OO2

Well-Known Member
2,566
111
In the Uplands
Not sure what platform (iPhone/Android) you all are on but iPhones have a location sharing option where you can constantly share your phones location with another iPhone/iPad.

No help for the other monitoring though.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
Other than my wife, we are all Android here. Probably a good thing or we would be looking into multiple apps. Looks like most are either Android or IPhone.
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
We have Verizon. Ended up going with the Verizon plan at $10/mo. Seems they all have their short comings. For example, finding your kid isn't going to happen if their location is turned off in settings. We shall see how it goes. They also offer access to track text messages at no cost. Not sure if we will use this service or not. I think simply telling the kids we have this ability AND are willing to implement it IF they give us a reason should be a decent deterrent.

One of my favorites thus far is blocking hours. Their phones are now disabled after 1030pm-1130pm (depending upon the child) during school nights. No need to be on YouTube watching videos at midnight. If they are working on homework and need access after hours all they need to do is ask. I'll unlock it. I have also blocked access to certain types of internet activity. I was a teenager boy once. I didn't have access to this stuff. They don't need access either.
 

Sgt Fury

Sgt. Spellchecker
I have an iPhone and there is a find iPhone app that is pretty accurate and is free. Maybe android has a similar app. It doesn’t monitor activity, but will give you the location of the phone when it is turned on.