Top 3 Android Phone Apps for Spying on Text Messages and Call History

I’ve had my new HTC Hero for about a month and I absolutely love android, and in the next few years almost everyone’s cell phone will be a “smartphone” – and android is set to take the lead over the iPhone with the number of android devices coming this year. With the app market transforming our phones into little computers, spy software has gotten more powerful, easier to install, and cheaper. And unlike the Windows Mobile and palm smartphones of previous years, todays smartphones are actually cool and fashionable for the average person. It has never been easier to pick up a Nexus One or Motorola Droid for your partner as a gift and turn it into a stealthy spy phone in just a few minutes.

I searched for all spying apps I could find that met 3 important requirements: hidden from both the app list and task managers, able to access the spy data online, and records at least text messages and phone call history.

SMS Box

SMS Box will forward and archive all your phone calls and text messages to a web database where it can be accessed. I tested this app out and it appeared to work as it says. A free version of this app is available, but it does not include the stealth feature. The paid version of this app does not show up in the app list and sells currently for 19.90 euros ($27.13).

Pros

  • Free version available
  • Easily installable from the app market

Cons

  • Limited features
  • App must be purchased on additional phones you want to monitor
  • No tech support if you have issues

SMS Box Web Screenshot

Mobile Spy

The first spy software to come out of the iPhone is Mobile Spy, and it now works on android phones along with a ton of other smartphones. Besides text message and call logging, mobile spy also records photos and videos taken with the phone, appointments, emails, and even logs GPS locations so you can track just exactly where that phone has been traveling to. Information is accessed remotely online and you can check out a demo of the interface on their website. A big advantage to mobile spy is that it also works on the iPhone, windows smartphones, and many other types of phones including blackberrys.

Pros

  • Works on many other types of phones
  • Alerts to new phone contacts is a cool feature
  • GPS, email, photo, and video logging steps up your spying power
  • Yearly purchase includes Sniper Spy for free, a computer monitoring software we rave about constantly
  • Phone support

Cons

  • Product is subscription based
  • No refunds unless you have technical difficulties that they are unable to help you with
  • Limited to 3 phones you may monitor, per subscription

MobiStealth

Update: We have recently reviewed MobiStealth and detailed exactly how to install it.

MobiStealth recently emerged as a solid competitor to Mobile Spy and shares many of the same features, but it has some more advanced features and comes in 3 different flavors of Lite, Pro, and Pro-X. The lite version is priced the same as Mobile Spy and has the same features except for photo/video logging. The Pro version is where it gets interesting – send a secret invisible text message to tell the phone to start recording the surrounding audio or retrieve the current GPS location, and the Pro-X version will record and upload phone call conversations for later listening.

Pros 

  • The most features in a single spy app
  • No limit to the number of phones you can monitor
  • Better online spy interface than SMS Box or Mobile Spy

Cons

  • Product is subscription based
  • Lite version has less features than Mobile Spy at the same price
Buy MobiStealth Spy Software for Android Phone

Conclusion

After trying and reviewing all 3 spy apps on my phone I found each one to have it’s advantages. If you just want to spy on text messages and call history quickly and on the cheap, SMS Box via the app market is your best bet only costing $30 bucks. If you need additional spying features such as GPS to know where the phone is traveling and photo/video/email logging to monitor for anything suspicious, Mobile Spy is a better choice. Finally, if you need more advanced features like the ability to record phone conversations and remote text message control over the phone then MobiStealth is the superior choice.

45 Responses to “Top 3 Android Phone Apps for Spying on Text Messages and Call History”

  1. BONEDADDY says:

    Wow, sounds like someone has been up to something…

  2. Concerned says:

    How do we check to see if it has been installed on our own phones and if we have been spyed on? Doesn’t this all seem to be somewhat creepy that there is no privacy left expect what is in our heads? Is that enough for some of you?

  3. LipsOfDeceit says:

    Hey guys, I’ve been dating my boyfriend for almost two years now, I live everything about him, except for the fact that whenever he talks to someone, he makes me feel like he is hiding something. I really don’t want to think negative of him, but my father cheated in my mother and lied to her the entire marriage. He defiled her in front of my older sister, younger brother and myself and later on started on us. I don’t ever want to end up like that. I respect my mom, I just never want to relive the pain. I trust him so much, but my dad and ex boyfriends messed up my mind. This is my longest relationship, I have never loved anyone this much and I want to make sure that I am not being fooled. I feel like I am cheating him by wanting to know more, but the devastation is giving me nightmares that make the whole confusion of my thoughts implode.

    I know this is for the spy app, but the thought of me spying on him is inhumane.
    I know this is an effortless post for everyone, but I guess I just needed to let my mind rest for a second :/
    Thank you for your time

  4. dactarian says:

    Does this app work on iphone4? I only ask because I have a android phone while my wife has an iphone 4. I strongly suspect she is cheating on me or at the very least lying about where she is going.

  5. Ryan says:

    There are ways to remotely view logs and whatnot (like pictures)
    You would need the following:
    A computer
    Wifi (the device you want to connect to must be on the wifi)
    For both windows and Mac computers, the application called “cyber duck” (it’s free)
    A basic knowledge of directories, and a little patience, as doing something wrong can and will mess up your loved/unloved ones phone/Device.
    (this is all free mind you)
    Knowledge of going into your router

    •To start off, make sure the device is connected to the wifi, you don’t need to have immediate possession of it, the person could even be using it.
    •Go into the router (if you don’t know how, you go to your web browser URL, type in (without quotes) (usually) “192.168.0.1” or “192.168.1.1”. This is your default gateway. Or in laymans terms, your routers IP address.
    (if you don’t know what your default gateway is, email me at the email provided). If you successfully done that, there should be a prompt saying username and below it password. Leave both blank, or type admin/admin, or type admin/leave blank. If that is done successfully, you should see a weird menu of options. Goto your Dynamic address table, and there should be a table/columns with devices names and IP addresses. You are looking for the IP address associated with the device you wish to spy on. Once you find that out, write it down and close your browser.
    •Open cyberduck. (Cyberduck is basiclly a tool used for SSHing into devices and transferring data/files without a chord.) There should be a drop down bar on the second screen (first screen is probably a welcome screen, just close out of it). Click on the drop down bar and select (send me an email if I’m wrong, haven’t used it in a while) either “FSSH transfer” or “mobile transfer” (I am probably wrong). Below that will be an IP address field simalir to 192.168.x.x (x is any number up to 255). Put in your loved/unloved device IP address.
    •since this is probably your first time using cyberduck/SSHing, put for the username (without quotes) “alpine”. For the password (without quotes) put “root”. Those are the default logins.
    •hit connect. If you are successful, you should see a bunch of directories. Now here is the tricky part. Since I’ve never used SSHing in this way, I don’t know how to goto the folder with texts. You can probably google where the directory is located for texts.
    However, there a few other places that can provide some information.
    •for pictures, goto var>mobile>media>(iffy on this one) either 100APPLE or pictures. That should contain all the pictures they had normally taken, whether it’s hidden or not.
    •for logs/downloads, goto var>mobile>media>logs. That should be ONE of the few places to see what Internet sites the device has visited.
    •another place for logs (I believe/theriotcally) is applications>safari>logs or history. That would probably give you any unereased history.

    If that helped, I’m glad. I personally have never needed to use this kind of thing, and hope I never have to. My email (personal, so I’ll actually look at it) is “[email protected]”. And if you would like more direct help, add me on Facebook. My name is Ryan Alexander Akers, and my picture is of a white guy with aviators on and wind blowing back my hair. The timeline picture should be a spoof of Slipknot with Corey on the bottom right.
    All I ask is for some advice on how to recover from a breakup that was entirely my fault. Not even sure if it was a complete breakup. Preferably women, as I was dating a gal.

    Hoped this helps.

  6. Miketelis says:

    All the spy apps in the android market mostly rely on GPS location only and their price is also very high. To track the SMS’s Call, GPS and recording it will cost much price but recently I came across a new app in the market “Snoop: Phone Spy & Tracker” which gives all these features for free up to two users and its working great. You only have to send a SMS to the phone being spied. SMS contains cool brain storming Game which when he installs automatically starts snooping, and even if the game is uninstalled it continues to snooping and he cant ever stop the running services.
    The Coolest feature I observed is once in a week you will get an environment recording from the phone being spied, specially the record after person calls somebody.
    Try it, its completely FREE !!!
    Download it from google play store https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teen.tracker

  7. miker says:

    is there an option to only upload data when on wifi and not over mobile data connection?

  8. Eboneey says:

    I understand that you can not get data off the phone without installing the software onto the target phone…is it possible to use the IEM number of the phone to get a code to unlock the phone? I have seen ads that if you give the IEM number they send you a code to unlock the phone. Will that work? And if so does it give you the current data off the phone…text msg, phone book, etc?

  9. Mary says:

    I want to buy this and I do have access to my husbands phone but how do I install this? Is it hard?

  10. valerie says:

    My husband and i currently dont live togther and hes been so distant i know for a fact he’s cheating i caught him on his yahoo account didnt say anthing because i still wanted to see what he was emailing….. but before i knew it he changed his account information. Could u help at all???? i dont have access to his computor or his phone is that a problem ?

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