Texting is an integral part of modern people’s life. Both adults and kids use texting apps to communicate with one another and share the latest news. In fact, 97% of adults in the U.S. text weekly, while 33% of respondents prefer texts to other forms of communication.
On the one hand, texting is a convenient method to share information. But on the other hand, frequent messaging can provoke cybercriminals to leak your data by sending spyware hidden in a text message. What’s more, online predators can freely text your children.
So, it’s clear if you’re in search of text message tracking apps to protect your loved ones from getting into trouble. In this article, we’ll review the top 10 apps that let you see other people’s texts.
Table Of Contents
10 Best Apps for Text Message Tracking
1. mSpy
If you want to monitor SMS, iMessages, and social media chats on another person’s phone, mSpy can become your best text monitoring app. With its help, you can see the date and time stamps of each message, record everything that’s happening on the target phone’s screen, and use a Keylogger to check messages for restricted words.
Pros: Compatible with iOS and Android, no root/jailbreak, free trial, demo version
Cons: Can be expensive for multiple device monitoring
2. Eyezy
Another one we’d like to recommend to you is Eyezy. This text monitoring app is as good as perfect for reading their chats without being seen.
Want to read their text messages and even see those they deleted? As one can easily guess from its name as well, with this app, you’ll get an eyeful of all the texts they sent, received, and will quickly learn who they’re chatting with.
Pros: Free demo version, compatibility with iOS and Android, several pricing plans, excellent social media monitoring, and many other useful features
Cons: Support for multiple devices costs more
3. PanSpy
PanSpy is one of the best apps to spy on text messages designed to check another person’s smartphone activity. It can monitor someone else’s texts and social media chats remotely. However, the app is only compatible with Android.
Pros: Free trial, more than 20 monitoring features, user-friendly interface
Cons: Doesn’t support Mac and iOS
4. FoneMonitor
FoneMonitor is another phone activity monitoring tool on our list of the best apps to track text messages on another phone. It works on iOS and Android and offers subscriptions as cheap as $29.99/month.
Pros: Remote text message view, GPS location tracking
Cons: Just a few features in the basic version, the advanced version is costly
5. MobiStealth
As you can guess from its name, MobiStealth is a monitoring tool that works in a hidden mode. Its text monitoring feature was designed to let you see other people’s messages remotely right from your smartphone.
Pros: No jailbreak required, works on iOS and Android
Cons: Premium subscription is costly
6. TrackMyFone
Speaking about other apps to check other people’s text messages, we’d like to tell you about TrackMyFone. It allows you to read all sent and received text messages on someone else’s phone without accessing it.
Pros: Low price, compatible with various operating systems, remote screenshotting
Cons: Requires jailbreak, advanced features require rooting
7. XNSPY
The XNSPY app can intercept someone’s text messages for you, too. It offers jailbreak and non-jailbreak subscriptions, access to instant messengers, SMS, and social media chats. What’s more, it lets you view the conversations deleted by the target phone’s owner.
Pros: Broad functionality, intuitive interface, maintains the deleted data
Cons: No PC monitoring, can’t live stream cameras
8. iKeyMonitor
Another option to try is the iKeyMonitor parental control app. It allows users to see someone else’s text messages and chats, view SMS, and monitor apps on their devices. What’s more, it can record keystrokes and take remote screenshots.
Pros: Keylogger, remote screenshots
Cons: Pretty costly, customer support tools aren’t reliable
9. Auto Forward Spy
It is another good option for text message monitoring on iOS and Android. Auto Forward Spy allows you to see the target user’s messages and chats, calls, browsing history, GPS location, and other activities.
Pros: User-friendly interface, broaden functionality
Cons: High cost, no flexible monthly plans
10. WebWatcher
WebWatcher is designed for those who need to check on another person’s messages and other online activities. On top of standard monitoring possibilities, the app has an Alert Log that identifies risky behavior from the target user. The app costs only $10.83 per month.
Pros: Reasonable cost, no rooting required, Alert Log
Cons: Tricky to install, expensive Premium package
How Do I Install a Smartphone Monitoring App?
Before you can use a monitoring app, you need to install it correctly. Since most message-tracking apps have similar constructions, we review the mSpy installation process:
- Go to mSpy.com and create an account.
- Purchase a subscription depending on the target phone’s OS and features you need.
- Check your mailbox for the confirmation letter, your login credentials, and installation instructions. Make sure to follow them to a tee.
- Access the device you want to monitor and install mSpy.
- Log in to your mSpy dashboard and add a target device.
You’re all set up and can start monitoring another person’s text messages.
Why I Shouldn’t Use Free Apps to Track Text Messages
If you don’t know much about apps to see someone’s text messages, you might be tempted to try a free one. However, free apps can be dangerous both for you and the target person’s phone.
Free applications often contain spyware that allows scammers to leak your personal information, including credit card details. What’s more, poorly designed apps can harm the target person’s device, and you definitely don’t want to deal with that
Instead of wasting time seeking free apps, we recommend that you try a paid one for free. Most text monitoring apps offer a free trial and a basic subscription for a low cost.
Hello, are there any apps that can get location of a phone without having to access the phone and install an app?
Hi Ashley! If you do not have access to the target phone, you could try Scannero.io. It does not need any installation and provides access to their location.
I recently noticed when I text my friend it says “read by 1”, instead of “read”. It’s not a group chat. Could someone else be reading her texts
Hi Amy,
This may happen if your message was re-sent to someone by your friend. Depending on the messenger you use and its interface.
What does it cost to do this?
Please help, My phone was stolen in Mexico, the phone was recovered but the sim was taken. ATT refuses to help me in any way unless I can receive a otp to the number linked to that stolen sim. My only option s to go to an ATT store in the USA which ids not possible. Is there any spy software that can assist me in my case?