What Is mSpy?

mSpy is a stealth monitoring app that runs invisibly on your child’s phone, capturing virtually all their digital activity and sending it to a secure dashboard you can access from any device. Once installed, there’s no app icon, no notifications, nothing your teenager can see or disable.

If you’re wondering ‘what is mSpy and how does it work?’ – you’re not alone. Many parents ask ‘does mSpy really work?’ when seeking the best parental control apps. It definitely does, but it’s centred more around surveillance than other less invasive parental control apps like Bark or Net Nanny. Because every parent’s situation is slightly different, we’ve compared Bark vs mSpy in detail to help you decide which is the more appropriate tool.

Thanks to features like mSpy’s keylogger parents have complete oversight of what their teenager is doing on their phone, even seeing unsent messages or secret passwords they keep. Of course, for many parents this is, sadly, necessary. Traditional parenting advice simply doesn’t work with today’s smartphone-obsessed teenagers.

Understanding the hidden dangers of social media such as sextortion and deepfakes has become essential for modern parenting, and traditional approaches to safeguarding our loved ones from these very real risks sometimes fall short.

Having interviewed dozens of parents who’ve used mSpy, I’ve heard numerous horror stories, from discovering their kids was being cyberbullied through mSpy’s chat logs, to a 27 year old man trying to meet their 15 year old daughter for a ‘date’ via Snapchat. As well as a family who used the mSpy GPS tracker because their son was constantly lying about which friends he was visiting. That particular couple were desperate to believe their son, but they knew he was hanging out with a known local drug dealer, and they felt they had to intervene.

Let’s be very clear about one thing before continuing: you should only use mSpy on devices you own or have parental authority over. Using it on other people’s phones without permission is illegal. However, in some cases mSpy is used as a tool to rebuild trust in relationships between consenting couples who want to show they have nothing to hide from their partners, which we’ll touch on in this review.

How mSpy Works

mSpy works by installing monitoring software directly on Android devices or accessing iPhone data through iCloud backups, then continuously uploading captured information (calls, texts, social media activity, location data) to a secure online dashboard that parents can access from any device. The entire process runs invisibly on the target phone, with no notifications or visible apps after setup.

mSpy Installation Process:

I found that the setup process varies significantly depending on whether your child has an Android or iPhone:

Android Phones: Installing mSpy for Android is much more straightforward than setting up mSpy for iPhone. You only need about 10 minutes of physical access to your child’s phone. mSpy provides an installation file that you download directly onto the device. The process involves granting various permissions (which mSpy walks you through step-by-step), and whilst there are several prompts to accept, it’s straightforward if you follow the instructions. Once complete, mSpy captures everything on Android – calls, texts, social media, location, the lot. The mSpy app automatically goes into stealth mode after setup.

Many parents ask ‘how does mSpy work on Android?’ – the simple answer is comprehensive monitoring through direct app installation.

iPhones (iOS): This is where things get more complicated. You have two options, neither perfect. The easier method uses your child’s iCloud credentials to pull data from Apple’s backup servers. You don’t install anything on the phone itself, but you’re limited to what Apple backs up – call logs, texts, some photos, but not full social media conversations. The data also updates slower than mSpy on Android, sometimes only when your child’s phone backs up overnight.

For those wondering how does mSpy work on an iPhone, you should be aware upfront that the process differs significantly from Android due to iOS restrictions.

The second option for using mSpy for iPhone involves jailbreaking the device itself, which unlocks full monitoring capabilities but requires technical knowledge most parents don’t have (and voids the warranty). If you can manage it, jailbreaking gives you the same comprehensive access as Android.

Data Collected:

Once running, mSpy logs practically everything: every phone call (who called, when, how long), all text messages (including deleted ones), conversations on WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, and 30+ other apps, real-time GPS location with history showing where they’ve been, every keystroke typed (searches, messages, passwords), and all photos and videos on the device.

This information gets organised in an online dashboard that you access from your computer or the mSpy phone app. It’s laid out clearly by category – calls, texts, each social app separately, location maps, photos, etc. You can search by keyword, filter by date, or focus on specific contacts you’re concerned about.

Key Features

Having tested this extensively and talking to dozens of long-time mSpy users, here are the features that consistently proved to be most valuable for family safety:

Call & SMS Tracking

Every call your child makes or receives gets logged with contact details, timestamps, and duration. For text messages, this spy text messages app captures complete conversations and creates a comprehensive record of who your child is communicating with and what they’re discussing. Even if your child deletes a text thread, mSpy can often still retrieve it – on Android it logs texts in real time, and on iPhone it can pull texts from iCloud backups.

This is a very strong tool if you suspect your teenager is speaking to someone they shouldn’t be, or are worried about what they’re speaking about with friends. Even better, mSpy has keyword alerts. This means you don’t need to read everything they’re saying – which most parents probably don’t want to do – but you’ll be alerted if they mention red-flag words such as “suicide”.

Every incoming and outgoing call is logged with the contact name (if it’s saved on the phone), number, date, and duration. In the dashboard you can see a list of all calls and tap a contact to view details, such as how long the conversation lasted and whether it was incoming, outgoing, or missed.

Social Media Monitoring

This is where mSpy truly excels. As a comprehensive social media spy app, mSpy monitors conversations on more than 30 social media and chat apps, including WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram DMs, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, Discord, Tinder, Skype, Kik, LINE, Viber – and dozens more platforms teenagers use (ones a lot of parents often haven’t even heard of, myself included). On Android, you can read full conversations as if you were looking at your child’s phone directly.

I’ve spoken to parents who’ve caught cyberbullying through Instagram DMs, discovered inappropriate adult contact through Snapchat, and identified concerning friend groups through Discord chats. These conversations happen where parents traditionally can’t see them – mSpy shines a light on secretive apps.

On Android, mSpy can directly read app data if the phone is rooted, but it also has a built-in screen recorder feature that periodically screenshots active apps to catch content that isn’t otherwise accessible, such as disappearing Snapchat messages. On iPhone without jailbreak, social media monitoring is more limited: you might only see timestamps or notification logs for certain apps, not the full message content, due to Apple’s restrictions.

Real Use Case: One parent I spoke to using mSpy found exactly that – their daughter was chatting at 1am with an older individual on Snapchat and making plans to meet up. Thanks to mSpy’s chat logs, the parent intervened and prevented a potentially dangerous encounter. This kind of insight is where mSpy truly shines: it gives you information that allows you to take action in the real world.

GPS Location Tracking

GPS tracking updates every few minutes, showing exactly where your child is and where they’ve been, including route history (which friend’s house are they stopping off at, for example). The mSpy GPS tracker provides real-time location updates and the geofencing feature lets you set up ‘safe zones’ (home, school, trusted friends’ houses) and ‘forbidden zones’, sending alerts when your child enters or leaves these areas. For more advanced geofencing options, check out our guide on setting up emergency alerts & geo-fencing.

The location history is particularly valuable. If your teenager says they were at the library studying but you discover later there was an incident, you can check mSpy’s timeline to see exactly where they actually were. For families considering dedicated GPS solutions alongside monitoring apps, our best GPS tracking apps guide covers all available options.

After using mSpy for a few weeks, I can say the geofencing function is one of the most valuable tools for concerned parents – knowing if your child deviates from their usual route after school, or goes somewhere they shouldn’t could prove critical. The location tracking isn’t turn-by-turn ‘live’ like some dedicated GPS trackers such as Life360, but the (roughly) fives-minute interval is typically sufficient to monitor whereabouts.

Keylogger

The mSpy keylogger is the feature that captures everything your child types – Google searches, social media posts (even ones they delete before posting), notes, and messages in apps mSpy doesn’t directly monitor. This acts as a safety net, ensuring you don’t miss concerning communications or behaviour. Almost nothing is off-limits, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to check.

mSpy’s keylogger works by recording every keystroke typed on the target device. The keylogger organises entries by the app in which they were typed and the timestamp.

For example, you might see an entry like: WhatsApp – ‘I’m grounded this week so I can’t come’ – typed at 5:42 PM. This feature can even potentially reveal usernames and passwords (though ethically, you should be cautious with that information).

The keylogger is particularly useful for catching things that might not be saved as a message. Perhaps your teen typed out a Facebook post and then deleted it, or they are using a chatting app that mSpy doesn’t directly support – the keylogger would still catch what they typed. It’s also a backstop: if, for instance, a message doesn’t get logged due to no internet at the time, the keylogger might still record the text before sending.

Media Access (Photos & Videos)

mSpy supports remote access to all photos and videos on your child’s phone, including screenshots of conversations, inappropriate images they’ve received, and content they’ve created. You can view and download files remotely.

To view the content you’ll see in the dashboard there’s a section for photos and one for videos, displaying thumbnails of each file. You can click them to see the full image or playback the video, and there are usually timestamps for when the media was created or saved.

On Android, this works seamlessly – mSpy just fetches all the media files from the device. On iOS without jailbreak, mSpy can show you photos that are in the iCloud backup (which often includes the camera roll), but it might miss items that haven’t been backed up yet or were saved in third-party app folders.

This feature is particularly useful for parents to spot any inappropriate photos or videos – whether it’s risqué selfies, screenshots of concerning content, or anything else you’d want to know about. It’s also useful just to ensure your child isn’t being exposed to explicit content.

Screen time management

This is where mSpy lags compared to some competitor parental control apps. You can block apps or even lock off the phone from your dashboard, but you can’t set individual time limits for different apps and functions. It’s an ‘off or on’ situation, so you’ll need to keep on top of it.

mSpy also lacks the sophistication to block content by category, such as NSFW content, or self-harm content. For example, you can’t get it to block R-rated shows on Netflix, while leaving your kid to watch the age-appropriate content on the platform. Again, it’s all-or-nothing.

mSpy Extreme

This is where it all gets a bit ‘007’. The mSpy Extreme Plan offers everything that the Premium Plan does, but adds ambient recording, remote access to the phone’s camera, plus call recording. This means you can literally listen into to what’s going on around your kid’s phone and see what their camera does, as well as fully eavesdrop on their phone conversations.

Incredibly clever technology, but I caution you to think hard about whether it’s necessary to have these features. Even our children have a right to some privacy, so unless you suspect your kid is being bullied in person in the classroom, rather than online, I wouldn’t recommend it. The ultimate goal is always to build trust with our kids, but it’s good to know that these tools exist for extreme circumstances.

Ease of Use

As mentioned, installing mSpy was straightforward on Android but a little more involved on iOS. On the Android device, the guided setup took roughly 10 minutes. You do have to allow quite a few permissions, but mSpy’s installer walks you through each step clearly. It’s not difficult, just a matter of following the prompts carefully.

For iOS, I opted for the no-jailbreak iCloud setup. This took longer – after entering the iCloud credentials, it took a couple of hours for the initial backup data to sync down to the mSpy dashboard. mSpy warns that the first sync can take up to 24 hours, depending on when the device last did an iCloud backup.

Dashboard and Usage:

Once mSpy is installed, daily use is very simple. You don’t actually use the phone app at all (on Android it hides itself anyway). All the monitoring happens through the mSpy dashboard, which you access via your web browser or the mSpy mobile app.

I primarily used the web dashboard on my laptop and occasionally on my phone’s browser. It’s cleanly laid out and user-friendly – even if you’re not very tech-savvy, the interface is straightforward. The left sidebar lists categories (contacts, calls, SMS, each social app by name, locations, etc.). Clicking any category brings up a detailed log or map in the main pane.

One thing to note is that the sheer amount of data can be overwhelming at first. If your teenager is very active on their phone, you might see hundreds of WhatsApp messages, dozens of Snapchat chats, etc., all rolling in. It takes a bit of time to organise what you want to pay attention to. This is where learning how to talk to your kids about online safety becomes crucial – monitoring is most effective when combined with open communication.

mSpy Cost & Pricing: How Much Does mSpy Cost Per Month?

mSpy’s pricing reflects its comprehensive capabilities, and whilst it’s not cheap, most parents find the cost reasonable for genuine safety monitoring. 

*Annual plans offer significant savings over shorter subscriptions. In the UK storefront, Premium is the main advertised option; Extreme and Family Kit pricing appeared in the U.S. checkout flow.*

The mSpy cost per month varies by plan. The Premium Plan is the most popular choice, because it includes everything most families will ever need for full monitoring. It’s worth noting that taking an annual subscriptions significantly reduces the monthly cost. To be honest, most families spend more on streaming services or mobile phone plans than that, so the Premium annual plan actually represents reasonable value for comprehensive family safety.

mSpy doesn’t offer a free trial or free version. They do have a refund policy, but it’s a limited 14-day money-back guarantee – basically, you can get a refund within 14 days only if you meet specific conditions. It’s not a ‘no questions asked’ refund; they require a valid reason. User reviews on Trustpilot show a 4-star rating from over 4,000 reviewers, which generally indicates good service, though some users do report issues with the refund process.

Is mSpy Safe?

A common question asked ‘is mSpy legit?’ and ‘is mSpy safe to use?’ Let’s examine that now.

Security & Data Privacy:

For the most part, mSpy is safe to use. All information from the target phone to mSpy’s servers is encrypted using strong protocols. mSpy uses RSA 4096-bit public/private key encryption and AES-256 bit encryption for stored data – the same level financial institutions use.

That said, in 2024 mSpy suffered a security breach in which attackers accessed customer support tickets, some of which contained sensitive information. And it’s the third security breach to happen to mSpy since it was started in 2010. Something to keep in mind.

Legal & Ethical Use:

Using mSpy is legal only under certain conditions. You are allowed to install mSpy on a device you own and have the authority to monitor, which means parents or legal guardians can legally install it on their kid’s phone under UK law, as well as most international jurisdictions. But it’s not legal to secretly install mSpy on a spouse’s or partner’s personal phone without permission – that would violate privacy laws in most places.

For families wanting to implement monitoring as part of a broader safety strategy, it’s worth reading our guide on setting up parental controls guide to understand all available options. Additionally, ensuring your home network is secure is crucial – check out our guide on how to secure your home Wi-Fi network for comprehensive protection.

Encryption & Certifications

Can mSpy be detected? Well, mSpy is designed to be very difficult to detect, especially on Android where it runs completely hidden after installation. Using mSpy for iPhone using the iCloud method, there’s no app installed at all, making detection nearly impossible. However, tech-savvy users can sometimes find traces if they know where to look in system settings.

mSpy Mobile Apps for Phones & Tablets

For monitoring the data, you can simply log into the mSpy dashboard through any web browser (it’s mobile-friendly). There’s also a parent mSpy app version available for Android/iOS, but many just use the web interface.

On Android targets, the mSpy app runs fully hidden – after installation the app icon disappears and it’s not detectable under normal phone usage. It continuously runs and requires internet access to send logs to the server. Unless someone knows specifically what to look for in system settings, they’re unlikely to discover it.

On iOS targets using the no-jailbreak iCloud method, there’s no app installed at all on the child’s iPhone – data is fetched from iCloud backups. If you jailbreak an iPhone and install mSpy, then it behaves similarly to Android (running invisibly in the background).

My Personal Experience with mSpy

These are some of the highlights from my personal experience while putting mSpy through its paces.

Test Device 1: Samsung Galaxy A52 (Android 13):

I installed mSpy on a spare Android phone that I use for evaluations. The process was smooth – I used the download link that’s provided in the mSpy account setup email and downloaded the APK, then followed prompts. You have to wade through a lot of permission toggles (Accessibility, Device Admin, etc.), but it was all clearly explained. Once done, the mSpy icon vanished from the app drawer – the app was hidden and began its work.

Within minutes, data started appearing in the mSpy dashboard online. I was impressed how immediate it was: an SMS I sent from that phone showed up almost instantly in the log, and a test WhatsApp conversation I had appeared under the WhatsApp tab with the full message text and the contact name. GPS updates were coming in every few minutes as I drove around – I could literally watch the route update on the map with only a slight delay.

I did not root this Android phone (rooting isn’t required), yet I still got a ton of info. For instance, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger chats were captured through the screen recording technique – I saw screenshots of the conversations in my panel, which effectively let me read the messages. One thing I noted: mSpy was not easily detectable on the Android. The mSpy app was named “update service”, although if someone is savvy enough to check how much battery it uses it could look conspicuous, as it uses a lot. There was no notification icon though, and unless someone knew to dig into system settings or unusual areas, they wouldn’t find it.

Test Device 2: iPhone 11 (iOS 17):

Here I tried the non-jailbreak setup. After purchasing the mSpy subscription, I chose the iOS (no jailbreak) option in the dashboard and entered the iCloud login for the iPhone (note: two-factor authentication was enabled on that Apple ID, so I had to grab the code that Apple sent and enter it – a required step). Then I had to wait.

The mSpy control panel showed a status that it’s syncing data. As expected, the initial sync took a few hours to pull the first batch of info. I made sure the iPhone was plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi (to trigger an iCloud backup). Eventually, the dashboard populated with the contact list and some iMessages. I could see iMessages content between this iPhone and others, which was great (these included some deleted iMessage threads, since iCloud had them). I also saw recent calls and SMS.

However, I noticed some gaps: for example, WhatsApp and Snapchat sections were empty – because without a jailbreak, mSpy can’t grab those from an iPhone. Also, location updates were only as recent as the last iCloud backup – which in my case was maybe every eight hours. That means I didn’t get real-time location, more like periodic location snapshots.

So, using mSpy on a non-jailbroken iPhone is definitely a ‘lite’ experience compared to Android. It’s fine if you mainly care about texts, calls, and maybe GPS history, but it’s not going to show you Facebook Messenger chats or Snapchat pictures. mSpy iPhone reviews often mention these limitations, which is why many parents prefer Android for comprehensive monitoring.

Dashboard & Support:

Throughout my test, I used the web dashboard daily. It became second nature to log in and skim through new logs. I particularly liked the keyword alert function – I set a test alert for the word ‘game’ and sure enough, I got a notification in the panel when that word appeared in an SMS. Navigation in the dashboard was easy; I never felt lost despite the abundance of data. The ability to export logs as CSV was handy when I wanted to backup some info.

I also interacted with mSpy’s customer support during this period to gauge their responsiveness. I sent an inquiry about an issue I simulated: I purposely messed up the WhatsApp capture on Android by revoking a permission, then asked support why I wasn’t seeing WhatsApp messages. They replied within about eight hours via email, which was decent. The first response was a bit templated (they pointed me to a help article about ensuring the notification access was on, which was relevant). I followed up to clarify, and the second response came a day later with more detailed troubleshooting. In the end, they did help me resolve it. Overall, support was polite and did solve the problem, but it wasn’t instant live-chat by any means.

In summary, my personal take is that mSpy delivers on its promises on Android fully, and on iOS partially. I was able to see an eye-opening amount of information from the Android phone – frankly, it felt almost spooky how much I could monitor. On the iPhone side, I got useful data but not the whole picture, reminding me that the iOS environment is tougher to penetrate without breaking Apple’s rules.

Who It’s Best For

mSpy is primarily designed for parents monitoring teenagers (13-17) with genuine and serious safety concerns, though it can also serve individuals investigating personal situations and small businesses monitoring company devices. The app works best when there are legitimate reasons for comprehensive oversight rather than casual curiosity. It’s a strong line of defence when you’re sure your kid needs safeguarding, but less of a tool for simple peace of mind and encouraging healthy online habits, like limiting screen time.

mSpy for Personal Use

mSpy can be a powerful tool for individuals who need to investigate a personal situation – for instance, a person who suspects their partner of infidelity and has mutual agreement or legal right to monitor. However, I must stress the consent and legality: if you’re going to use mSpy on a partner’s device, it should be with their knowledge or on a phone you own together.

mSpy for Business

mSpy isn’t designed as an enterprise solution, but a small business owner could use it in a limited capacity on company-owned smartphones provided to employees. However, mSpy’s license covers up to three devices on the Family Kit – it’s not built for managing dozens of devices.

Business use would also require employee consent in most jurisdictions. If your goal is to monitor productivity or web usage of employees, there are other tools that might be more suitable.

mSpy for Family

This is where mSpy is squarely aimed and most successful. Parents of teenagers will find mSpy extremely useful if they’re at a point where they need granular insight into their child’s digital life. It’s best for parents who have serious concerns or specific reasons to monitor closely – for example, if your teen has shown risky behaviour, fallen in with a questionable crowd, or been a victim of bullying or grooming before.

For younger kids, or teenagers who show no signs of being in immediate harm’s way, mSpy is too heavy-handed; something like Qustodio that focuses on blocking bad content and limiting screen time might be more appropriate. But for older teens, those standard parental controls sometimes fall short – that’s where mSpy fills the gap by revealing everything. Parents should always prioritise building strong lines of communication first, before resorting to something like mSpy.

Perfect for families with teenagers (13-17) where:

• You have genuine safety concerns about online activity
• Traditional communication has broken down
• You’ve discovered concerning behaviour and need complete visibility
• Your child has been victimised online before
• They’re using social media extensively with people you don’t know

Not appropriate for:

• Young children (under 12) who need content filtering more than monitoring
• Families where basic parental controls and open communication work fine
• Parents who can’t handle discovering uncomfortable truths about their teenager’s life
• Situations where you’re just curious rather than genuinely concerned about safety

The reality is that mSpy shows you everything – including normal teenage behaviour you might find uncomfortable but isn’t actually dangerous. You need to be prepared for the complete picture of your teenager’s digital life.

For parents wondering whether monitoring is right for their family, consider reading our guide on keeping your family safe with technology, which covers different approaches to digital safety based on your family’s specific needs and values. You might also benefit from our guide on how to create healthy family technology rules as part of a balanced approach to digital parenting.

mSpy Reddit & Forum Insights

Here’s what real users are saying on Reddit and other forums about mSpy:

‘Caught my teen skipping school in real-time with a GPS ping – worth every penny.’ One parent shared that mSpy’s live location tracking alerted them when their son left school midday, allowing them to intervene immediately.

‘iCloud sync is sloooow, but once it’s in, you see everything.’ This comment highlights a common theme for iPhone users. Many note that the no-jailbreak iCloud method requires patience but eventually provides comprehensive data.

‘The stealth mode is legit – my kid had no clue I had mSpy on their phone.’ Numerous users praise how hidden mSpy is on Android. People often report testing their child by asking if anything was odd on their phone, and the kid never noticed anything.

On the flip side, browsing forums also reveals some complaints: Some iPhone users struggle with initial setup and end up contacting support or asking for refunds when data doesn’t populate fast enough. Another common discussion is about updates – when Apple or Android push a new OS update, people ask if mSpy still works.

Alternatives & Competitors

mSpy consistently ranks among the best phone spy apps 2026 for comprehensive monitoring, while Bark focuses on AI-powered alerts and other competitors like uMobix prioritize faster data sync. The choice depends on whether you need complete visibility (mSpy’s strength) or prefer filtered notifications (Bark’s approach).

When comparing the best phone spy apps 2026, mSpy consistently ranks among the top spy apps for parents. Whether you’re looking at spy app reviews, phone spy app reviews, or specific iPhone spy app for parents options, mSpy remains a leading choice.

mSpy is one of the top players in the phone monitoring space, but it’s not the only option. Parents often compare mSpy vs Bark, FlexiSpy vs mSpy, and other spy app reviews before deciding. Depending on your specific needs or budget, a different parental control app might even be a better fit. Here’s a quick comparison of three popular mSpy alternatives:

When to choose them:

uMobix vs mSpy: uMobix has aggressively positioned itself as a direct competitor. In testing, uMobix did push data to the dashboard slightly faster than mSpy – for example, new SMS and GPS coordinates updated almost instantly. It also didn’t require rooting to get content from more apps; uMobix can pull data from some apps on Android without the root access that mSpy would need. If you need the fastest reporting and support for a huge range of apps, uMobix is great. However, mSpy’s interface is a bit more refined and, importantly, mSpy has geofencing (uMobix lacks that). Choose uMobix if real-time updates or slightly broader app coverage matters more to you than geofencing. Choose mSpy if you want a more polished experience or need features like geofences. You can find out more in our uMobix review.

eyeZy vs mSpy: EyeZy is a relatively new app that markets itself heavily on being user-friendly with smart alerts. Its ‘Magic Alerts’ can let you know proactively if certain keywords (like ‘drugs’ or ‘meet up’) appear in your child’s messages, which mSpy doesn’t do – with mSpy you’d have to manually look or set a manual keyword notification. EyeZy’s interface is slick and modern, and for some users it’s easier to navigate. It also has a feature called ‘Connection Blocker’ to block websites or Wi-Fi, which mSpy lacks. If you prefer a fresh UI and want AI alerts to save you time, eyeZy could be a good choice. But if you already are comfortable with mSpy’s style or need a more mature product, mSpy is tried-and-true. Read more in our dedicated eyeZy review.

Hoverwatch vs mSpy: Hoverwatch is a ‘lite’ spy app that is more budget-oriented. Its standout benefit is you can monitor up to 5 devices relatively cheaply compared to mSpy’s cost for just 1 device. It also has a PC monitoring component – if you want to also see what’s happening on a Windows computer or Mac, Hoverwatch provides software for that (mSpy doesn’t monitor computers). However, Hoverwatch’s mobile features are not as comprehensive as mSpy’s. You’d choose Hoverwatch if price is a big concern or you need multi-device including PCs, and you’re okay with core features only. For any high-stakes monitoring or iPhone coverage, mSpy is far superior. See our Hoverwatch review for more.

The choice depends on whether you need complete visibility (mSpy) or prefer filtered alerts about potential problems. For lighter monitoring, Bark focuses on AI alerts for concerning content rather than showing you everything. For device management, Qustodio or Norton Family offer screen time controls and content filtering but limited visibility into social media conversations. Other options in our best AI-powered parental monitoring apps guide offer similar features with different approaches to privacy and monitoring.

What’s New in 2025

mSpy’s 2025 updates focus on enhanced remote capabilities (camera/mic access), faster iCloud syncing for iPhone users, improved dashboard interface, and better compatibility with the latest Android and iOS versions. These improvements address previous user complaints about speed and functionality.

The developers of mSpy have continued to add features and improvements. Here are a few of the notable updates and changes in mSpy as of 2024-2025:

Remote Camera & Mic (Extreme Plan): mSpy introduced a game-changing update – the ability to remotely access the target phone’s camera and microphone on demand. If you have the Android Extreme plan, you can now secretly snap photos or even record live video via the phone’s camera, and likewise remotely activate the microphone to eavesdrop on the surroundings. This essentially turns the phone into a remote spying device (again, only use responsibly!). For iOS, the comparable ‘Ultimate’ plan allows some of these features after jailbreak, but on stock iOS this isn’t available. This update rolled out in late 2024 and was a big reason some users upgraded to Extreme.

Improved iCloud Sync Speed: mSpy has optimised its no-jailbreak iOS data syncing. They claim around a ~20% improvement in how quickly data from iCloud appears in your dashboard in 2025 versus a year ago. In practical terms, iCloud backups (if frequent) will upload data a bit faster to mSpy’s servers. While it’s still not real-time (and still much slower than Android direct data), this tweak does make the lag a tad less frustrating. Some content which used to perhaps update only overnight might now update a couple of times per day.

Dashboard UI & Filter Updates: The mSpy web portal got a minor facelift for 2025. The interface is cleaner, and they added better filtering options – for example, you can now filter social media logs by specific app or contact more easily, and a new search function allows multi-keyword search. They also improved the categorisation of data, grouping some new apps and dropping support for some old ones (notably, mSpy removed the defunct Twitter/X and YouTube monitoring features which weren’t very effective). The addition of an Instagram Viewer mode was new – it lets you see Instagram account info and profiles anonymously via the dashboard.

Compatibility and Stability: mSpy now supports the latest OS versions – Android 13/14 and iOS 17 fully. In early 2025, they updated the app to ensure it works with Google’s newer restrictions on background services (keeping the stealth intact). They also streamlined the installation flow for Android 12+, reducing the number of steps a bit. Under the hood, mSpy 8.6.2 (the latest version as of mid-2025) is more efficient in terms of battery usage and data usage.

Final Verdict

mSpy delivers exactly what it promises: complete, invisible monitoring of your child’s smartphone activity. For parents facing genuine safety concerns about their teenager’s online behaviour, it provides unparalleled insight into their digital life.

The stealth-mode operation is impressive (particularly on Android), and the depth of information is comprehensive. However, the premium pricing and iOS limitations mean it’s not suitable for every family.

At the end of the day, mSpy essentially shows you everything – including normal teenage behaviour you might find uncomfortable, but isn’t actually dangerous. You need to be prepared for the complete picture of your teenager’s digital life. And it will not help you build trust with your kid, this is complete surveillance.

For parents wondering whether monitoring is right for their family, consider reading our guide on how to use technology to keep your family safe without invading privacy, which covers different approaches to digital safety based on your family’s specific needs and values.

In my opinion, mSpy earns its high rating by being the most thorough phone monitoring solution available for parents who genuinely need it. The limitations are real, but for families facing serious digital safety concerns, the comprehensive oversight justifies both the cost and complexity.

Bottom line:

Choose mSpy if: You have serious concerns about your teenager’s online safety, previous incidents suggest they can’t be trusted with unrestricted phone access, you need evidence of concerning behaviour, or traditional parenting approaches aren’t providing the safety oversight you need.

Don’t choose mSpy if: Your child is young enough for standard parental controls, you’re just casually curious about their phone activity, you can’t handle seeing the full reality of teenage digital behaviour, or you have privacy concerns about such comprehensive monitoring.

Updated (January 2026). I’ll update if any significant changes roll out (or if I change my mind for something better).