I need an application that can help me...

[phobe]

I want an application that will let me know the surfing habits of my kids, find them anytime when they’re not at home and see what type of picture he’s taking and sharing with his friends. Is this possible? I mean tracking somebody and be able to know their location or what they are browsing or even who they talk to in their iphones?

 

[Fire&Blood]

Alternatively, you could do some real parenting. If you insist on spying on your kids/spouse, there are apps that won't go the full extent of conditions you set but will let you get a good look at what goes on in the phone. Do note that you will need a damn good excuse to grab their phones without them getting suspicious. Even then, you are underestimating kid's ability to figure out you hacked their devices.

 

[MotionMan]

I want an application that will let me know the surfing habits of my kids, find them anytime when they’re not at home and see what type of picture he’s taking and sharing with his friends. Is this possible? I mean tracking somebody and be able to know their location or what they are browsing or even who they talk to in their iphones?

How old are they?

Also, I found this the other day.

MotionMan

 

[dagamer34]

I want an application that will let me know the surfing habits of my kids, find them anytime when they’re not at home and see what type of picture he’s taking and sharing with his friends. Is this possible? I mean tracking somebody and be able to know their location or what they are browsing or even who they talk to in their iphones?

I think this is a far better way to handle the situation: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...-point-contract-teen-iphone-article-1.1229991

 

[MotionMan]

I think this is a far better way to handle the situation: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...-point-contract-teen-iphone-article-1.1229991

I wish I had thought of that.

MotionMan

 

[cbrunny]

I want an application that will let me know the surfing habits of my kids, find them anytime when they’re not at home and see what type of picture he’s taking and sharing with his friends. Is this possible? I mean tracking somebody and be able to know their location or what they are browsing or even who they talk to in their iphones?

I'm no legal expert, but something in me is just screaming "shockingly illegal."

 

[MotionMan]

I'm no legal expert, but something in me is just screaming "shockingly illegal."

As for the bolded part, "Corectamundo".

He is talking about tracking his own kids. You can do almost anything to your own kids (within reason), including electronic tracking.

MotionMan

 

[MotionMan]

I want an application that will let me know the surfing habits of my kids, find them anytime when they’re not at home and see what type of picture he’s taking and sharing with his friends. Is this possible? I mean tracking somebody and be able to know their location or what they are browsing or even who they talk to in their iphones?

How old are they?

FindMyFriends or FindMyiPhone will track iPhones. I would think there is something similar for Android.

As for surfing habits and pictures, have you thought of physically checking their phones?

MotionMan

 

[Chrono]

Jesus. That mom with the contract. I'd rather not have a phone! LOL.

 

[MotionMan]

Jesus. That mom with the contract. I'd rather not have a phone! LOL.

Do you have kids?

MotionMan

 

[JAG87]

Do you have kids?

MotionMan

While I absolutely agree with most points, I don't agree with some.

A gift is a gift, and the contract opens with "You are the proud owner". According to point 1, he's not. It is also implied that if he breaks the device, he is responsible for the repair costs. As an owner, If I break the device I can decide if to repair or not, as a borrower I don't have that choice. I would not sign that contract.

Also, if you put point 4 and 5 together (most kids in high school are at school from 8am to 3pm, plus homework and after school activities), when exactly does this kid get to use his iPhone? Just Saturday and Sunday? Man, I sure hope she's not paying a post-paid monthly plan for him. What a huge waste.

With power comes responsibility. And that mom is not teaching that to her kid.

 

[MotionMan]

While I absolutely agree with most points, I don't agree with some.

A gift is a gift, and the contract opens with "You are the proud owner". According to point 1, he's not. It is also implied that if he breaks the device, he is responsible for the repair costs. As an owner, If I break the device I can decide if to repair or not, as a borrower I don't have that choice. I would not sign that contract.

Also, if you put point 4 and 5 together (most kids in high school are at school from 8am to 3pm, plus homework and after school activities), when exactly does this kid get to use his iPhone? Just Saturday and Sunday? Man, I sure hope she's not paying a post-paid monthly plan for him. What a huge waste.

With power comes responsibility. And that mom is not teaching that to her kid.

I agree that, for my kids, that contract would require some tweaking. However, in my home, everything my kids "own" is subject to being taken away, temporarily or permanently, regardless of whether it was a gift or they bought it with their own money.

Also, I "gave" my oldest a phone, not just for her purposes, but for my own as well. If she breaks it, she is going to pay to fix it because *I* want her to have it for *my* reasons. If she broke something in the house that we both use, she is going to pay for it.

One does not learn responsibility by Osmosis. Responsibility is being given something with limitations and being able to stay within those limitations. I would guess that having a phone with limitations feels better than not having a phone at all. i would also assume that, as time goes by, the limitations, if they have been followed, will be loosened up.

MotionMan

 

[cbrunny]

As for the bolded part, "Corectamundo".

He is talking about tracking his own kids. You can do almost anything to your own kids (within reason), including electronic tracking.

MotionMan

Interesting. Did not know this type of surveillance was legal. What jurisdiction are you in?

 

[MotionMan]

Interesting. Did not know this type of surveillance was legal. What jurisdiction are you in?

It does not matter what jurisdiction you or I are in:

1. You can track your kids;
2. You cannot track someone (other than your kids) without their permission.

MotionMan

 

[soulcougher73]

I dont have kids, but i dont think id give them a phone at all. They can buy one when they are 18 if they want obviously. I grew up without one and never needed it, so can they.

 

[MotionMan]

I dont have kids, but i dont think id give them a phone at all. They can buy one when they are 18 if they want obviously. I grew up without one and never needed it, so can they.

Your parents grew up without color TV;
Your grandparents grew up without indoor plumbing;
Your great-grandparents grew up without a floor.

See how silly that statement is if you carry it out to its logical extended permutations?

The main reason we got our oldest a phone is for emergencies and OUR (the parents') convenience. The side-effect is that she gets to have a phone to play with.

MotionMan

 

[Red Storm]

The main reason we got our oldest a phone is for emergencies and OUR (the parents') convenience. The side-effect is that she gets to have a phone to play with.

If it's just that you would get them a simple dumb phone that wouldn't have much else to offer besides communication.

I got my first phone when I was 16, a dumb phone just so I had something to make and receive calls. I imagine it'll be the same with my kids.

 

[MotionMan]

If it's just that you would get them a simple dumb phone that wouldn't have much else to offer besides communication.

I said the MAIN reason, not the only one. I also am a nice guy who likes giving his children nice things. She had a Touch, so an iPhone was a natural progression and freed up the Touch for Child No. 2.

I got my first phone when I was 16, a dumb phone just so I had something to make and receive calls. I imagine it'll be the same with my kids.

I imagine not (well, I guess it depends on how old you kids are now).

MotionMan

 

[Red Storm]

I imagine not (well, I guess it depends on how old you kids are now).

If I had to guess, I'd probably end up getting them a dumb phone when they are younger, kinda depends on if they need one, and a smartphone when they're around 18.

 

[MotionMan]

If I had to guess, I'd probably end up getting them a dumb phone when they are younger, kinda depends on if they need one, and a smartphone when they're around 18.

How old are they now?

MotionMan

 

[Red Storm]

How old are they now?

I don't have kids, this is future stuff.

My 12 year old sister has her own iPad Mini at home, but I don't see her getting a phone until she's around 16-18. That's how my parents are and I feel the same (and just as important, she doesn't mind, doesn't even want a phone right now).

Getting back on topic, as a parent I would hate to have to secretly track my kids. I think it's much better to be open with them and talk. Stuff like secret tracking can destroy trust and just cause them to hide more things from you.

 

[pm]

For the OP's question:
1. For iOS you can use Find My Friends to track via GPS, or alternatively, Find my iPhone. You can't track browser history or photos remotely that I know of.
2. For Android you can use apps like "SMS Tracker Agent" and others to do what you described. Search on Google's store.

As far as all the comments, I think different parents have different parenting styles. I gave my teenage daughter an iPhone 3G - I saw a good deal on one at work ($70 for the phone plus accessories and it came with a seriously tough pink Otterbox case included), and so I bought it, unlocked it and stuck it on T-Mobile's $15/month unlimited texting w/ 100 min calls (no data). Yes, it's an iPhone, but most dumb phones are around $40+ used... so it's not like the iPhone cost me that much more. She doesn't have data though and I locked down usage of most of the apps and she and I agreed to a verbal contract when I gave it to her regarding it ("keep it charged, keep it with you, don't use it in classes, don't use all the minutes, don't use it late at night when you are supposed to be sleeping", etc.) I disabled a lot of stuff on it - it has no data access anyway and no MMS access either - so a lot of the OP's concerns don't matter in my case... she can't do YouTube, browse, MMS text or anything else really. She can text us and her friends and make (a few) calls and listen to music, take photos and play games... and that's pretty much it.

And then for people that I'm overly censoring her... well, she's my daughter. I do what I can to try to be a decent father as best that I can. And she personally hasn't complained about any of it and instead seems very pleased that she has an iPhone at all.

I will say that with all of the stuff at school that she does, it's handy to be able to communicate with her so that if she stays late for some reason and we need to drive over to pick her up, we can talk to her. It's been pretty useful.

Lastly, for what it's worth, I'm not a hypocrite... my wife and kids can track me any time that they want using Find My Friends or Find My iPhone. I actually encourage them to when I'm cycling since I often ride alone which can be a bit unsafe. And they can borrow my phone whenever they want for whatever reason and if they want to look at my messages or browser history or whatever... it's fine by me. I hand the phone over to my family all the time to look things up since I have the fastest phone/data connection.

 

[MotionMan]

I don't have kids, this is future stuff.

So you know what kind of phone you would get for your kids in about 18 years? Really?

My 12 year old sister has her own iPad Mini at home, but I don't see her getting a phone until she's around 16-18. That's how my parents are and I feel the same (and just as important, she doesn't mind, doesn't even want a phone right now).

It seems that, around here, 11-13 is the age kids are getting phones. I even asked a Cantor friend of mine about his congregation and he said all 12 year olds have them.

Getting back on topic, as a parent I would hate to have to secretly track my kids. I think it's much better to be open with them and talk. Stuff like secret tracking can destroy trust and just cause them to hide more things from you.

Agreed. My oldest knows that I track her with FindMyPhone, that I check on her in Instagram (I her buddy/friend/whatever) and that, generally, I will know what she does and she better not screw up.

MotionMan

 

[pm]

It seems that, around here, 11-13 is the age kids are getting phones. I even asked a Cantor friend of mine about his congregation and he said all 12 year olds have them.

My daughter is 13. I'd estimate about 2/3's of my daughter's friends have their own cell phone. We've had a few parties - we had one at Halloween and another before Christmas - and I could see who had phones and who didn't by seeing how they called their parents to pick them up. I looked at the phones though, and very few have smartphones though.

 

[MotionMan]

My daughter is 13. I'd estimate about 2/3's of my daughter's friends have their own cell phone. We've had a few parties - we had one at Halloween and another before Christmas - and I could see who had phones and who didn't by seeing how they called their parents to pick them up. I looked at the phones though, and very few have smartphones though.

Almost all of my daughter's friends have smartphones.

Most of my 8 year old kid's friends have iPod Touches.

That is just the way we roll.

MotionMan