13 Best Android Spy Apps 2021
Why Do You Need Android Spy Software?
Parental Control
Nowadays, all children and teens spend a lot of time online. They text with friends, watch videos on YouTube, surf the Net, chat on Skype, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Viber, and share photos on Instagram and Snapchat. Unfortunately, all these apps can become a real problem if a kid watches violent content online or becomes a victim of online predators and cyberbullies. Luckily, the modern world has taken everything and turned it into an app. Now you can install a parental control app on your kid’s device and keep an eye on your kid remotely.
A modern spy app for Android lets parents know where their kids are located, what places they visit, what content they search on the Net, what they discuss with friends on social networks, and many more. Spyware for Android offers powerful features like GPS monitoring, GEO-fencing, call recording, URL monitoring, app blocking, listening to live surrounds, keylogging, etc. In fact, such monitoring apps make parents’ lives much easier, allowing them to spy on kids from any place in the world via an online account. Android spy APK helps you prevent kids from communicating with people who look to be trouble, ensure that children don’t watch any inappropriate content on the Net, or check if they’ve reached the destination safely.
Employee Monitoring
Other than that, some employers use spy software to track their team members’ activities. Spy apps at the workplace help companies investigate employees’ unlawful actions, detect slackers, prevent data leakage, and boost the team’s productivity. Additionally, spyware is installed on employees’ smartphones to record all communications with the company’s customers and ensure that employees provide the service the company managers expect. Employers can also monitor the staff’s GPS location if their work implies driving around the city.
No doubt that many people wonder how to spy on Android. This article will tell you about the best spy apps for this operating system with the most powerful monitoring features in 2021.
Is It Legal to Use an Android Spy App?
Before checking the list of the best Android spy apps 2021, let’s look through the legal considerations connected with spy apps. Tracking apps must be used only for legit purposes, like parental control and employee monitoring. Parental control software is legit in the USA and UK when parents use the program to protect their kids from online dangers (by the way, child’s wellbeing and looking after kids are included in the list of parental responsibilities). Parents are also allowed to decide what kind of content their kid can access across the web and block any unwanted websites.
Speaking of employee monitoring, it is also legal in most countries if the employer notifies their team that they are being tracked. As a rule, installing employee monitoring software on the team’s devices without their consent is not legit and breaks your team’s privacy.
Moreover, if you want to install an Android spy app remotely on a device you don’t own, note that such monitoring is illegal. For example, using a monitoring app to catch your boyfriend cheating may lead to a breach of federal and state laws. Even if you’re married, you mustn’t ignore your partner’s privacy and can’t use Android spy apps to expose a cheating spouse. It’s better to consult your state and federal laws to avoid privacy breach fines before installing spyware on somebody’s device.
Without further ado, let’s check the list of the best monitoring apps for Android devices.
Best Android Spy Apps 2021
EvaSpy
This is the best spy app for Android by far. EvaSpy allows remote monitoring of any user activity on Android devices and offers more than 50 powerful features. The major features include monitoring social networks and chats (Facebook, Snapchat, Viber, Whatsapp, Tinder, Skype, Instagram, and more), GPS tracking, call logs, recording media files, and spying on the list of contacts, text messages, and running apps. EvaSpy records the data silently and sends it to the online dashboard that you can access from any web browser.
What is more, the app records live surroundings via the microphone and camera, letting you know what’s happening near the device. With this spy app, you’ll never wonder if your kid has reached the destination or if he/she has gone to an unwanted party since EvaSpy shows you the target’s location with a path and timestamps as well as notifies you once the device reaches unwanted locations.
Pros:
- reasonable pricing;
- powerful GPS monitoring with paths, timestamps and alerts;
- chat tracking;
- call log capturing;
- hidden mode (the app runs silently on the device);
- easy to install (no root required).
Cons:
- the online panel contains plenty of features, so you’ll need some time to get used to it.
mSpy
MSpy (affiliate link) is specifically designed to monitor kids and teens remotely. It lets you check the list of all inbound and outbound calls with time, duration and caller information (contact name and phone number), so you can monitor the people who talk to your kid and prevent a child from communicating with unwanted contacts. You can also record Facebook, Instagram, and Tinder activities to ensure that your beloved one doesn’t share some personal information with strangers in social apps. For this purpose, you can also check the media stored on the kid’s device. With mSpy, you’ll know what your kid is up to by recording all visited URLs.
Other helpful features include spying on Snapchat, Whatsapp, Skype, Telegram, Hangout, Viber, and Line, checking contacts, calendar, emails, and installed apps, monitoring GPS locations with paths and routes. This app provides you with a complete solution to prevent kids from online bullies, predators, and other strangers.
Pros:
- many monitoring features;
- a free trial;
- fast setup;
- remote monitoring;
- doesn’t require a user’s credentials.
Cons:
- if you want to use all spying features, you need to root the device.
Spyera
Spyera (affiliate link) also offers one of the best spy apps for Android. This software gives you a vivid picture of what your kids are doing online, even if you’re not present. The app spies on most popular social apps such as Viber, WhatsApp, Skype, Line, and Facebook. With Spyera, you can listen to all phone calls your kids make or accept in real-time. One of the most powerful features is audio and video surveillance that allows spying on live surroundings via the microphone and cameras. Further, you can read all text messages, MMS, and emails to find out what your beloved one is up to.
The tool lets you track locations and visited websites as well as media files stored on the target device. It’s easy to install and use, so you don’t need to be tech-savvy to start monitoring Android devices with Spyera. The software is absolutely invisible on smartphones and tablets. All the recorded data is sent to your online account.
Pros:
- remote real-time monitoring;
- live surrounds tracking;
- easy to use.
Cons:
- no free trial;
- some people will find the PRO version expensive (the price starts at $24,99 per month).
FreeAndroidSpy
This tool is a free spy app for Android undetectable to the monitored user. The app is compatible with smartphones and tablets and offers some good monitoring features. This tool lets you learn who your child communicates with by providing contact monitoring. Parents can also learn kids’ current location, which is really helpful when your child starts going out without adults and when you’re worried if he/she is safe outside. Besides, FreeAndroidSpy lets you access the user’s media files like photos and videos.
The app is 100% invisible, so your kids won’t know that you are monitoring them. Since it’s a free hidden android spy app, it offers a limited number of features. If you want to track all activities, you’ll have to purchase another paid app offered by the company.
Pros:
- offers a spy app for Android free of charge;
- tracks GPS location, contacts, and media files;
- easy to use.
Cons:
- the free version is limited in features.
FlexiSpy
This solution is perfect both for parental control and employee monitoring as it runs in hidden and visible modes. As usual, it helps you track the target’s GPS locations and activities in WhatsApp, Viber, Facebook, Skype, Line, and more. In addition to phone call recording, it can listen to calls on Skype, Facebook, Viber, and Line. This is an essential feature as now kids usually use social apps to make calls. FlexiSpy lets you monitor SMS, emails, and photos stored on the Android device. The app records web history for you to know what content your kids access across the web.
Besides, FlexiSpy has an in-built keylogger that records all keys pressed by the smartphone user. To spy on what’s happening near the target device, you can enable the microphone and camera live monitoring. If you’re an employer looking for a monitoring solution to track your team’s activities, you’ll find the application monitoring feature helpful. The tool allows remote monitoring via an online dashboard.
Pros:
- live surrounds monitoring;
- hidden and visible modes;
- tracking of social apps.
Cons:
- no free trial;
- the prices are rather high.
MobileTracker free
With this MobileTracker, you’ll forget about wondering how to spy on Android for free. MobileTracker lets you spy on SMS and MMS, GPS locations, photos and images stored on Android, and instant messengers (WhatsApp, Facebook, Hangouts, Line, Kik, Skype etc.). It also has some powerful remote control features like audio recording and taking a picture from afar. The tool allows you to block access to all applications if you want to restrict your kid’s device usage.
Besides, you can track all visited websites and block unwanted URLs to prevent teens from inappropriate content. The app also takes care of your child’s company as you can track all contacts your beloved one calls. The logs are stored on your online account so that you can spy on the device from any place and any web browser. If you need a powerful free Android spy app, download it right now and enjoy its spying features.
Pros:
- a free app;
- many monitoring features;
- remote control.
Cons:
- the setup is rather complicated.
XNSpy
XNSpy is the best Android spy app without rooting available on the market today. The developers leave it for you to decide if you want to jailbreak the device, but the app will become more powerful after rooting. The features with root include call monitoring with timestamps and caller info, SMS recording, IM chats tracking (WhatsApp, Facebook, Viber, Line, Skype, Kik, and Tinder) with shared media and texts. Moreover, the app allows spying on GPS locations and visited websites.
The app lets parents get their hands onto photos and videos stored on the monitored device. It also detects who your kid communicates with more often (according to the call logs) and lets you keep your child away from bad company. If you’re worried that the monitored person leaves some particular perimeter, you can set up alerts, and the app will notify you if the beloved one leaves school or home without letting you know.
Pros:
- monitors Android devices without rooting;
- tracks most popular social apps;
- offers a GEO-fencing feature.
Cons:
- without rooting the target device, you’ll get fewer features;
- no free trial.
Spyic
You should choose Spyic when it comes to looking for the best undetectable Android spy app. Spyic has an abundance of monitoring features and has already helped many parents prevent their kids from cyberbullying and online strangers. The app is easy to install and doesn’t require root. It is installed within 5 minutes, runs silently without the app icon, and can be removed from the device remotely with just one click.
Spyic monitors text messages, calls, social apps, locations, media files, keystrokes, web activities, calendar, running apps, and more. With this app, you’ll keep an eye on a child’s chats on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Telegram, Wechat, etc. Web-browser history is recorded with URLs, title, visit frequency, and added bookmarks. If you’d like to track 2 or more devices, you can do it from one online account.
Pros:
- online demo;
- no root required;
- undetectable app.
Cons:
- doesn’t monitor live surroundings;
- a limited number of available languages.
Spapp Monitoring
This company offers 2 good solutions for Android users: a monitoring app and an Android spy camera. A spy cam app is perfect for monitoring photos taken on the target device. It also allows you to send remote commands to Android, and it will take pictures using both cameras. The Spapp Monitoring app has more features than the spycam app does. It tracks GPS locations, paths, calls, text messages, browser logs, etc.
The calls are not recorded, but you can view timestamps, contact info, and the call duration. If you want to add call recording, you need to pay extra for it. Without root, you can spy on WhatsApp notifications. Rooting the device lets you track full-text conversations.
Pros:
- Android spy camera;
- remote settings;
- rooting the device isn’t obligatory.
Cons:
- to use all monitoring features, you need to root the device.
MobileSpy
MobileSpy offers the best Android spy app free trial — you can enjoy its features at no cost for a whole week. The app is compatible with most Android smartphones and tablets. With it, you can spy on phone calls, visited websites, GPS locations, media files, etc. Besides, you can get alerts on unapproved user activities (GEO-fencing, profanity, keywords, contacts). You can access all logs from a live panel.
The app is also helpful when the device has been lost or stolen, as you can lock it from your account remotely. Distant monitoring also allows viewing the device screen from afar. The app tracks social messengers (Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp) and Gmail. You can also access the phone book from an online account and ensure that your kids don’t talk to strangers.
Pros:
- live panel;
- a 7-day trial;
- compatibility.
Cons:
- the screenshot capturing feature is compatible with rooted Android devices only.
iKeyMonitor
With iKeyMonitor, parental control and employee monitoring get pretty easy. It helps you provide your kids with online safety as it tracks SMS, Snapchat, WhatsApp, IMO, Instagram, Tinder, Telegram, Viber, Hike, and many more apps. Further, the app records call logs, GPS locations, paths, clipboard events, web history, keystrokes. It can record phone calls, letting you know who your beloved one talks to.
iKeyMonitor allows spying on what’s going on near the device and taking pictures remotely. If your kid spends too much time with the device, you can set the screen time limit. Besides, the app offers an app blocker to restrict unproductive apps like YouTube or some other unwanted apps the user shouldn’t access. The new logs can be found on your online account, in email or FTP and LAN. The app also gives you access to the user’s notes, reminders, and calendar.
Pros:
- powerful monitoring features;
- several ways of log delivery;
- live surrounds tracking.
Cons:
- the free version is limited in features;
- the paid version isn’t cheap.
SpyHuman
SpyHuman is an all-in-one monitoring software for Android. The app doesn’t require root to start spying on your target and offers a 7-day free Premium plan trial. Here is the list of features the tool has: call recording, call logs, call restriction, GPS tracking, SMS recording, keylogging, WhatsApp and Facebook monitoring, media tracking, app tracking, and blocking. The tool allows you to record live surroundings, so you’ll find out what your kids gossip about.
You can also enable or disable WiFi from your online account. The app can be used as an anti-theft solution since you can set alerts on SIM change. Many of these features can be used free of charge. Premium plan costs as little as $9,99, which is much cheaper than other spy apps.
Pros:
- a free trial;
- a cheap premium plan;
- no root required.
Cons:
- before purchasing the app, you need to install it on the target device;
- the installation process is rather complicating.
SpyBubble
With this tool, you’ll forget about wondering how to spy on Android remotely. The app sends you detailed info about the user’s location, routes, calls, text messages, WhatsApp chats, and visited websites. The app allows you to keep an eye on all Gmail emails, photos, and videos stored on Android. The app is easy to use and install. Besides, it lets you check if your Android device is compatible with the software before you purchase it.
The SpyBubble app is undetectable to the user and has an online control panel to track all user activities from any place. According to user reviews, the app is reliable and intuitive.
Pros:
- 100% undetectable;
- easy to use;
- powerful features.
Cons:
- the subscription costs start at $20 per user per month.
To sum up, now it’s pretty easy to track Android devices. You can find some free solutions with the most useful recording features that will make your parental control and employee monitoring more powerful and convenient. If you’ve tried out other solutions for spying on Android devices, share your experience with me in the comments below.
