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Reviewed on December 21st, 2022
Mspy offers a wide range of features at attractive price points. However, many of the features advertised failed to work. We cannot recommend Mspy as one of the best spyphone apps.
mSpy offers 29 features in a variety of affordable subscription packages. It also has several key components that its competitors lack. For example, mSpy supports the latest device platforms, including Android, iOS, PC and Mac, through its mobile and desktop monitoring software.
mSpy is a cell phone tracking app that is designed and aimed at parents who want to monitor their teenagers. Parents may find the mSpy-exclusive application blocking feature useful when keeping an eye on teens’ phone usage.
While mSpy provides solid monitoring software, we were unable to rank it as the best cell phone tracking app since most of the advertised features did not actually work during our mSpy review.
When we installed mSpy, it was automatically detected by antivirus. We also noticed that it does not automatically hide the download URL for the software or the downloaded APK file. This means it can be easy for the user to find mSpy and remove it from the device.
During the installation process, mSpy installs itself as a device administrator which adds a bit more security than an app installed in the Application Manager. Still, it is possible for the device owner to detect the software if they search, which could lead them to reset the phone to its factory settings – in which case, mSpy would need to be physically reinstalled.
“It can be easy to find out that mSpy has been downloaded to a phone.”
However, whilst installing as a Device Administrator adds a tiny level of security to stop the software from being removed, the device owner will get suspicious if they have an application installed that they cannot uninstall.
This can most likely lead to the device getting factory reset and that also means that Mspy will be completely removed and needs to be physically reinstalled again.
mSpy advertises 29 features on their website, making it appear to be one of the best cell phone tracking apps on the market. So, on paper, it looks like one of the best phone spy apps you can buy. However, after testing this product, we found that most of the features described online did not actually work.
For example, mSpy touts its ability to monitor popular chat applications, like Whatsapp, LINE and Skype, but the software does not capture stickers, status messages, pictures and attachments. In addition, the chats are not presented in a threaded view, making it difficult to follow the conversation.
mSpy also has no option to remotely control application settings, like on-demand GPS locations or delivery timers. These options are useful when monitoring subjects who are conscious of their device’s normal performance and may be aware of a program running in the background.
Fixed settings mean it can be easy for users with pre-paid or limited data plans to notice an increase in data usage. However, mSpy does provide the ability to choose Wi-Fi or 3G which can help address any data issues if the user is normally connected to Wi-Fi.
“Popular applications like WeChat and Facebook Messenger are not supported by mSpy.”
Mspy has no options to remotely control application settings like on-demand GPS locations or delivery timers. These options are extremely useful when spying on subjects who are very suspicious and aware of their device performance.
Fixed settings invariably mean detection by subjects on pre-paid or limited data plans.
Overall, mSpy advertises a number of useful and unique features, including application blocking, Snapchat spy and a keylogger. Unfortunately, our mSpy review found that many of these features did not function properly.
We used Battery Monitor and Data Usage to monitor battery and data usage during our mSpy review – both of these usage apps are available from the Android Play store.
“If you do not cover your tracks then it is easy to find Mspy.”
We ran a series of tests during a designated time period, which included typical activities most people carry out on a smartphone. We found that running mSpy during these normal processes did not have a huge impact on the battery life.
Regarding data usage, we saw a noticeable increase in transferred data with mSpy installed versus when the cell phone tracking app was not present on the device. Users with prepaid data plans or those who keep close track of their data usage would likely detect that something was running in the background.
Customer support at mSpy can be found either through email tickets or Live Chat. Live chat is advertised as 24 hours, although we found that Customer Care was sometimes offline. Other times after answering our chat, we waited long periods for each response from the support staff. Trying to ask multiple questions at once may take hours, which can be frustrating for those needing immediate assistance.
“mSpy support did not offer any suggestions other than reinstalling the software when we had issues – this never solved the problem.”
Email tickets generally received responses within 24 hours, although we found that our issues were often left unresolved. For example, when we enquired about certain features not working, including picture and video capturing, email tracking, Skype and other chat applications, we were always told to reinstall the software.
Reinstallation cannot be done remotely and therefore would require physical access to the device each time you have a software issue. Ultimately, reinstalling the cell phone tracking app did not resolve our issues and no further suggestions were offered by support. Many of the features failed to work consistently during our mSpy review.
In conclusion, mSpy is an okay cell phone tracking app. On paper it has a good amount of useful features, product offerings and an affordable price. However, after testing we found that most of the features did not work, the app was detected by antivirus and customer support was not helpful. Overall, mspy is not the worst cell phone tracking app, but it’s also not the best.
Mspy is available for iPhone, Android, iPad, Windows and Mac devices. They offer two different products with three different subscription plans for each. In addition to mSpy for phones, they also have mSpy for computers and a bundle package for phone and desktop users. Please note that our review is based on the Mspy Premium 1-year subscription for Android.
| mSPY Plan | |
| 1 month | $48.99 |
| 3 months | $28/mo |
| 1 year | $11.67/mo |
For the latest updates and to learn even more about the mSpy phone tracker app and Snapchat spy, visit their website.
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