SMS Tracker – secretly track Text & Picture Messages, Calls, Locations & visited Websites
by Paul Wilks
Oct 11, 2012 9:52 AM –
Install
SMS Tracker is a communication and security app that tracks and logs SMS messages (text messages), MMS messages (picture messages), calls, locations and visited websites. If you are a parent who wishes to monitor the movements and communications of your child or teenager, SMS Trackers allows you to do so via a secure web browser interface. From Google Play Store comments, it seems to be used a great deal by suspicious partners too!
Price: Free 7-day Trial, Tiered Monthly Service Fees
Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Medium Maturity
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Very effective, thorough and accurate!
- Simple to use!
- Intuitive web interface!
- Little impact on battery!
Cons
- Highly intrusive. In my opinion it has to be seen as an absolute last resort in protecting a deviant teenager.
- Cannot track messages and content sent via email or third party messaging apps like Kik or WhatsApp.
Features:
SMS Tracker is an app you install on your child or teenagers mobile device. The app is hidden so no icon is displayed, but the app closely monitors a number of factors, including; SMS messages, MMS messages, web access, location and calls. All this data is aggregated and displayed in an easy-to-use and secure web interface. This means you can track (nearly) all incoming and outgoing communications on a specific device.
The information is displayed in a useful web interface which you log into remotely. Principally there are headings for SMS Log and Breadcrumbs. SMS Log shows all texts, MMS messages, call logs and visited websites. Breadcrumbs displays locations information collected from GPS monitoring. The site also shows a large map where you can plot the location of the device.
The app is essentially a subscription service which you can pay for on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis. Prices vary but you can opt in and out of different services. So, if you just want to keep track of your child’s location you can pay only for that service. Likewise if you just wanted to track text messages, etc. For the full package, the monthly cost is just under $11, quarterly this is around £22 and the annual subscription is just over $65.
As a service, SMS Tracker is very thorough and detailed, simple to use and comprehensive. While it’s a great service, I have reservations personally about this level of surveillance upon a teenager. Sure, perhaps if a kid has fallen in with a bad crowd and you want to protect them, an app like this could be vitally important. However, the first solution surely should be to have open lines of communication and ultimately, trust. Apps like this, while great on terms of functionality, seem to be clear marker that you don’t trust your teenager, period. The problem is, there will be aggressive and utterly paranoid helicopter-parents that alienate and isolate their child even more by using an app like this.
Watch on Mobile
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SMS Tracker – Tracker screen
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SMS Tracker – Message info and location
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SMS Tracker – Monitor GPS locations
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SMS Tracker – Zoom in and out
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SMS Tracker – Account
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SMS Tracker – Settings
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SMS Tracker – Hints
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SMS Tracker Account Activated
Usefulness:
If you need to track your Android-sporting child, there are few apps that are quite a good at doing so as SMS Tracker. You can monitor all incoming and outgoing messages, as well as calls and GPS location. While it doesn’t (yet) snoop on the content of calls it is, by all means, very thorough.
Ease of Use:
For parents who feel the need to use this on their kids’ phones or, if you would read the Play Store comments, partners suspicious of their spouses activities, it is very easy to use. Simply download the app onto the phone, register and access the dashboard on the website and it will secretly monitor everything on the device.
Frequently Used:
This will depend on the level of service you require, how much you trust your child and how often you choose to check out the website, and not via an app for parents. Information is updated constantly so you can use it as often as you see fit.
Interface:
The app itself has no real interface, besides a registered screen you can only access by opening the app on the Google Play Store (remember, there is no icon displayed in the app draw). The web interface, however, is really good and very simple to use and navigate.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Child Safety,
Family Security,
Logging,
MMS,
Monitoring,
Secure Cellphone,
security,
SMS,
SMS Tracker,
SMS Tracker Agent,
Text Message Tracker
Categorised in: Communication
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