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Concerned Dad

S

Safemoneyguy

Lurker
Just back from the Sprint store and the tech guy recommended this site.

I am a Dad with a teenage daughter that has a Samsung Intercept.She likes to text her friends and I want to be able to see what she is doing and what texts she is receiving from boys without her knowledge. Yeah, I know that is spying but, a Dad has to do what a Dad has to do to keep her safe. Protect her from herself and boys until she figures life out.
 
Welcome to the Android Forums!

The challenge with Android apps sometimes is that they work differently on different phones. This is due to the fact that most phone manufacturers use different hardware. The best way to find out if it works is to contact the software developer to see if they've received any reports of issues on that type of phone... or to try it and find out.
 
and I want to be able to see what she is doing and what texts she is receiving from boys without her knowledge.
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What you want to do is illegal, even if you are paying for the phone. Spying on your daughter is no way to keep her safe, its a shorcut to losing her trust.

Do what every other parent does, talk to your children, and let them know what's right and what's wrong. If you are concerned about who she is hanging out with, then bring her friends over to meet them.
 
sitlet said:
What you want to do is illegal, even if you are paying for the phone. Spying on your daughter is no way to keep her safe, its a shorcut to losing her trust.

Do what every other parent does, talk to your children, and let them know what's right and what's wrong. If you are concerned about who she is hanging out with, then bring her friends over to meet them.
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No, it's not illegal to spy on your kid.

I would look to your carrier. Some of them have plans that do this.
 
I would also vote for spam. Sprint will give you the content of any sms/mms from any phone on your account.
 
I should think that Sprint rep would have to have a truly evil sense of humor to send a customer here with such a query. :D
 
I have a feeling that this would almost exclusively be up to your carrier. As far as a public app or something, I want to say that it's probably illegal. It could be used for sinister schemes and whatnot...you know...
 
goodm0urning said:
I have a feeling that this would almost exclusively be up to your carrier. As far as a public app or something, I want to say that it's probably illegal. It could be used for sinister schemes and whatnot...you know...
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Apps are only illegal if they are specifically designed for illegal use. I know in the US I have seen carriers advertise services where you can put tracking onto a second or third line. They are advertising it as a good feature for kid's phones.

As A.Nonymous said, it's not illegal to "spy on" your kids. They are not adults, and as a parent you are responsible for their behavior (or, you should be! too many parents are not).

I don't think it's fair to question the OPs parenting style based on the fact that we have NO information about the specific situation.


To the OP: I still think your carrier is the best place to look for a solution. The reason is simply this - If you install an app on your kid's phone they can 1) find it and be pissed off at you, and/or 2) find it and change the settings/uninstall the app whenever they want to do something you won't approve of.

Your carrier may be able to provide logs of texts messages. They may also be able to block certain services if you deem them to be necessary.
 
I do believe Sprint offers this feature through them. I think they offer it right on there web site actually.
 
aldamon said:
Agreed.
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Do spammers usually waste time completing the About Me section of their profile, and then posting messages that don't have advertisements or links to anything at all?


It's quite possible he's just a new user with 1 post. No harm in answering the question.
 
Safemoneyguy said:
...teenage daughter that has a Samsung Intercept.She likes to text...I want to be able to see what she is doing and what texts she is receiving from boys without her knowledge. Yeah, I know...
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Her face when she finds out you're doing stuff like this:
1301981565924.png




Seriously though, I would highly doubt there is anything out there for essentially a stalker application. If you're that worried about it, talk to her, and if you still find you need to, go your local sprint store. They can get you a printed out sheet of all the messages sent from her phone. They include the message typed, where it was going, when it was sent, etc. I would find that plenty invasive enough.





Going off a little here into the often pounded on question.... why? We all had to grow up at some point... let her have some freedom.
 
amlothi said:
Do spammers usually waste time completing the About Me section of their profile, and then posting messages that don't have advertisements or links to anything at all?


It's quite possible he's just a new user with 1 post. No harm in answering the question.
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Looks like his post was edited by a mod.
 
NZ_Nitro said:
have you thought about talking to her?
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Been talking and will not stop talking and explaining but, like all kids and myself when I was that age, she doesn't always listen. I know it seems like an invasion of privacy and I am struggling with it but I gotta do what I can to guide her to safety.
 
Thefoodman52 said:
Her face when she finds out you're doing stuff like this:
1301981565924.png




Seriously though, I would highly doubt there is anything out there for essentially a stalker application. If you're that worried about it, talk to her, and if you still find you need to, go your local sprint store. They can get you a printed out sheet of all the messages sent from her phone. They include the message typed, where it was going, when it was sent, etc. I would find that plenty invasive enough.





Going off a little here into the often pounded on question.... why? We all had to grow up at some point... let her have some freedom.
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Yeah, I am struggling with this for sure. I know the consequences both ways. If I don't do anything and bad stuff happens...not good. If I do spy on her that also has consequences. The problem seems to be the stakes are pretty high for making the wrong decision for her and me. We've always had an open relationship and have had "the talk" several times but most teenage boys have one thing on their mind. Damned if you do and Damned if you don't! We'll get through this. Thanks to everyone for all of their time and energy.
 
sitlet said:
What you want to do is illegal, even if you are paying for the phone. Spying on your daughter is no way to keep her safe, its a shorcut to losing her trust.

Do what every other parent does, talk to your children, and let them know what's right and what's wrong. If you are concerned about who she is hanging out with, then bring her friends over to meet them.
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I have to disagree. As a 27 year Law Enforcement Veteran I can tell you that what he wants to do is NOT illegal as long as he is the account holder. Some may consider it immoral but it does not violate law.

Parenting these days is a daunting task and sometimes we need to resort to extreme measures. It is not always possible to have the same talks my parents had with me and my brothers and sisters when I was younger.

I do agree that it will most certainly cause a breakdown in trust if and when his daughter finds out what he did. But considering the consequences of not being proactive I tend to believe he is doing what he feels is in the best interest of his daughter.

For the record, I do monitor my kids texts as well as their internet access. I do this on both their cell phones as well as their home PC's.
 
I have to disagree. As a 27 year Law Enforcement Veteran I can tell you that what he wants to do is NOT illegal as long as he is the account holder. Some may consider it immoral but it does not violate law.
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Is this just because of his daughter's age? If she is 18 or older, is it illegal? I thought it was illegal no matter how old they are, but especially if they are over 18. Say you are the account holder for your wife's phone, just because you are the account holder doesnt make it legal to spy on her phone. That's what I thought at least.
 
If you type 'text forward' in the app market, a few choices come up that claim to be stealth once it is set up on the phone. They email you all incoming and outgoing texts. The decent ones cost 6 or 7 bucks.
 
I understand the OP's position, and do not think there is anything "wrong" with monitoring you kids electronic use. With advent of new techonology it can actually make it harder to parent in some cases. I love my android phone, but realize even for me there are definite negatives overall in the way I live my life now. Too many people with their noses buried in their phones (raises hand) instead of living life more with those right in front of us. But I am getting off topic. I do agree that having honest and open conversations is the most important thing, but can understand a parent wanting to monitor what their kids do on these mini-tablet/smartphones.
 
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