Whether you want to track and monitor what your child is doing on their Android phone or iPhone, monitor your employees, or secretly check who calls your spouse’s number, a spy app for mobile devices can help.
There are free and premium spy apps available for surveillance purposes, which track incoming or outgoing text messages, phone calls, and even locations.
Plus, the apps are usually hidden so that the end-user can’t detect them. They also track browser activity, GPS locations, and messages from social media apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Snapchat among others.
However, these mobile spy apps shouldn’t be used without the consent of the device’s owner, so we don’t condone their use in malicious ways. You may want to check out the applicable laws so that you don’t end up breaking any of them.
Without further ado, here are the best free spy phone apps for Android and iPhone that are used for monitoring and surveillance purposes.
Best Free Spy Phone Apps For Android And iPhone
1. Qustodio
Qustodio is a parental control app that helps you keep your kids safe on the web. The app works with Android or iPhone and is one of the best around.
You can limit time for games, see time spent on social networks, monitor their YouTube activity, track who they call, and know what your child is looking at.
The tool offers a full suite of features for spying on your kids to ensure they’re safe online. You also get excellent content filtering to block unsuitable content, and its free version is one of the most comprehensive as it enables you to set time schedules and rules.
Qustodio’s free option limits monitoring to one device and keeps only seven days of activity history.
2. OpenDNS FamilyShield
This is another parental control software that works like a spy app for mobile devices and computers too. The tool blocks domains on your whole home network automatically from the router and has ready-made blocklists you can choose from.
FamilyShield, a free service that blocks domains automatically, which OpenDNS has flagged under several different headings such as porn or sexuality, anonymizer or proxy, or tasteless.
The app can run on your Android and iPhone device or computer, and you can apply it to your router to filter the traffic that goes through it. You just have to change the DNS server numbers in the control panel.
The benefit of this is that it improves DNS lookup speeds on some internet service providers. As it filters everything from the router, the phones on your network benefit from these filters and you’re able to monitor what goes on.
3. KidLogger
KidLogger is another spy phone app that you can use on an Android or iPhone device. The app has the best activity logging that monitors keystrokes and apps used.
A free version is available with this app, but it only covers one device and doesn’t record audio. And it only tracks what your children type, the websites they visit, screenshots they take, and programs they use.
A voice-activated sound recorder is included if you’re worried about who your kids may be talking to online. And if they’re a little older, you can also select the options to monitor them while still giving them a little privacy.
It’s a well-rounded tool if you want to know what your kids or someone else in your home are doing and protect them from any danger that lurks online.
You can use it on computers and BlackBerry devices too.
4. mSpy
mSpy is a spy phone app for Android and iPhone that helps you find out what people are up to on their smartphones. This way, you don’t have to rely on a hunch to find out the truth.
The app features a phone tracker so you can monitor your child’s activity remotely without struggle. You can see all the messages and check the GPS location of the device.
You can monitor every tap and keystroke, see where they’ve been or where they’re going, know who they’ve called, see what they’re searching for online, read social media chats, and review text messages – including the deleted ones.
Plus, you can see the photos they’re sharing and receiving from others online all without being detected.
The app works in the background and encrypts or protects your data. It also provides activity updates of the targeted phone every five minutes. You get multilingual support with mSpy as it supports 180 countries.
5. Spyrix
Spyrix is a spy app in that it monitors what someone (mostly kids) types on their Android phone or iPhone. The keylogger helps you discover what the person searches for or the messages they type and provides advanced mobile monitoring solutions as well.
You can remotely view the typing activities whenever you want and monitor printers and clipboards too.
Among its powerful features include remote monitoring via secure web account, keystrokes logging, social media and email monitoring, screenshots capture, live screen, and webcam viewing.
You also get over 25 indispensable features for activity control including monitoring of GPS locations, call details, web activity, call duration, times or dates, view photos taken by phone, and URLs visited in a browser.
Spyrix also shows you the apps installed on the phone, messenger app logs, all email activity, cell ID locations, and restricts app usage. You can also uninstall apps remotely or update software automatically.
6. Kaspersky Safe Kids
For parents who want to spy on their kids or monitor how they use their phones, Kaspersky Safe Kids is a great spy app for phones.
Although it’s known as parental control software, you can still use it as a spy app on other devices – not just for your kids.
The software is available on multiple platforms and offers mobile-specific tools and screen time management. The free version helps you prevent access to inappropriate content online and manage apps used by time, category, or age.
There’s also screen time management so you can control overall device use.
The versatile app offers monitoring solutions for any operating system. If you want to get GPS tracking, social media monitoring, battery tracking, and other features, you’ll have to get the paid plan.
Otherwise, the free plan has a decent amount of features you can use to monitor the phone users wherever they go.
7. Mobile Tracker Free
Mobile Tracker Free is a quality spy and monitoring app that offers many free features and is easy to install and use. The app can help you monitor the device user’s activity on social media and text messages – incoming or outgoing – without rooting their phones.
The free solution also tracks and records incoming, outgoing and missed calls, SMS/MMS sent or received, GPS locations to retrieve your child or other user’s location online, and messages received or sent on social networks.
You can also track all images and pictures taken or received, recover images or photos that the person has deleted, and take a phone capture, photo, or ambient sound.
8. iKeyMonitor
iKeyMonitor is another good spy phone app that’s popularly used as a parental control app. The app lets you spy on or monitor the device user’s text messages, installed apps, calls, keystrokes, social media, and more. For parents, you can use the app to block games or apps, set schedules to record phone surroundings, and limit screen time.
Plus, you get alerts when dangerous or inappropriate keywords are detected on the user’s phone.
Specifically, iKeyMonitor offers monitoring features for websites visited, calls, SMS, screenshots, surroundings, keystrokes, and chat messages on social media. You also get to use the GPS tracking and geofencing features with the free plan.
iKeyMonitor works with Android and iPhone devices, and its free plan is easy to use for you to start monitoring the target Android or iPhone you want.
9. Mobisafer
Mobisafer is a free spy phone app for Android and iPhone that helps you back up all the necessary data remotely and automatically. The app can track and record SMS, calls, phone locations, and social media messages or chats among other information.
The best part is that it’s completely hidden on the phone so you can track the device without being detected. No one will know you have installed it on the target device unless you tell them.
The app also doesn’t have pop-ups or ads, making it one of the safest to use when spying on someone’s device. The data it records is kept in a secure, online cloud and uses secured AES encryption and SSL (secure socket layer) technologies and techniques for information transfer and storage.
Data is synced between the app and the target device frequently. You can track the target phone from wherever the person goes in the world and view or delete the data when you’re done using the app.
Plus, Mobisafer doesn’t carry malicious software or adware. The data is entirely encrypted but you can decrypt it when you log in to your account.
10. CellTracker
CellTracker is one of the best spying apps for phones that’s used because it’s free.
The app can track and record all activity from the target phone including browsing history, call recordings, photos, videos, live location status, social media alerts, emails, SMS, web-filtering, and many more.
CellTracker is completely invisible so you can stay hidden from the target device. Plus, it automatically backs up SMS, calls or WhatsApp messages, and GPS locations to your account.
The app can track mobile activity free of cost and is designed for Android phones. It’s easy to install and use in less than two minutes, with a simple dashboard from which you can view all the data you want.
It also works in background mode, giving you real-time updates about the target device’s activities every 15 minutes – and you don’t have to root the phone. The app works without root permission so you won’t even need to disable Play Protect settings.
11. LogsKit
LogsKit is another spy phone app that helps you monitor the target device. The app remotely tracks and controls Android devices but can also track activities on a computer.
It works in stealth mode once you install it and uploads all the logs of the activity you want to monitor or track.
The app monitors each activity remotely and secretly, including GPS locations and location history logs, incoming or outgoing and all call history, browsing activities, and photos taken, deleted, or locked on the target device.
You can also see all the sent, received, or deleted text messages, notifications, and social network messages, along with keylogs.
The surveillance app can do multiple tasks without you getting detected or found out. It extracts logs from phones and sends logs to your account and over WiFi or mobile data via the target device.
12. KidsTracker
This is a free mobile spy app that tracks MMS, SMS, calls, locations, and social media. The app is free to use and is undetectable on the target phone.
However, it works mostly on Android devices tracking and recording all user activity like live location, browsing history, photos, videos, emails, SMS, social media notifications, contacts, web-filtering, installed apps, and more.
The app is installed on the target device and takes only two minutes to install after which you can access any data via your account from the target device on your phone or computer.
Using this app helps you protect your kids, know their locations, trace or measure your workers’ activity, and verify all your worries about your spouse or significant other.
KidsTracker works with any mobile operator network and in any location at no cost. It is free to install and use with great features that let you store data on your dashboard and see what the user of the target phone is doing.
13. PanSpy
Want to track what your child or other person is doing on their phone? PanSpy is a great phone spying or tracking app that monitors all the activity on the target device.
You can view complete call history and call recordings, including rejected, missed, incoming or outgoing calls, and see the target device’s contact list – names, numbers, emails, and more.
PanSpy tracks text messages including those sent or received, and you can download images or video attachments from text messages to your own phone or computer. You also get to view conversations on social media – WhatsApp, Facebook, Skype, Viber, and more – and monitor the texting of each app.
The app also tracks past locations of the device and the path the user takes, current whereabouts, and you can mark locations and set geofencing to get alerts when the person enters or leaves a particular zone.
PanSpy also monitors internet activity – what is read or watched online, saved bookmarks, and you can track the WiFi access point the device is connected to and get keyword or phrase alerts instantly.
14. Family Orbit
FamilyOrbit is a mobile phone spy app that helps you find, monitor, and share content with others. It keeps you connected with your loved ones so you can know where they are, see their photos, and connect during emergencies.
With the app, you can track locations in real time, create family places and get instant push notifications or emails when someone arrives or leaves, check in or send panic alerts, and share photos securely and privately with other users.
The app also lets you create child accounts and convert them into a parental control tool so you can set speed limits to know when they’re overspeeding, check the photos, contacts, WiFi details, battery information, and more.
15. IdentityWatch
This is a free all-in-one spy phone app that you can use to monitor the target device. It comes with instant background check reports and secures the data you get from the device.
The highly-rated app is from PeopleFinders, and helps you protect your loved ones along with their related data.
It offers instant background check reports so you can verify people by their names, reverse phones, emails, and addresses.
You can download it for free and enjoy unlimited people searches, and also monitor devices to know the person’s identity and other information. You can also access reports at a fee, or pay monthly fees to get as many reports as you like.
16. SpyTM
SpyTM is a phone spying app that tracks locations, reads contacts, keyloggers, WhatsApp chats, screenshots, call recordings, notifications, and more for free.
The app doesn’t need root permission to perform its services, so you’ll go undetected in your detective mission. Data is also encrypted using advanced end-to-end encryption technology so you can see the data.
Its features include tracking contacts, calls (logs and timelines), SMS, GPS location, browser activity, installed apps, device information, file managers, keystrokes, social media, Tinder, and more.
You also get free virtual numbers to get messages online from any country including the US, UK, Poland, India, and more.
17. Easy Phone Track
Easy Phone Track helps you keep track and spy on your kids or employees and other users of the target device. You can get information about calls, messages, photos, websites visited, GPS locations, and more.
You can also control the target device remotely using this phone spying app by sending SMS commands. You can start or stop WiFi or GPS connections, restart settings, take pictures, record surroundings, list contacts, and more on the target device.
You can also block phone calls and SMS to protect the user of the target device, especially if it’s your child, or block people you don’t want bothering them.
18. Spyzie
Spyzie is used by many people to track target devices – whether it’s your child or an employee’s device. The revolutionary mobile monitoring app works with Android and iPhone devices and tracks the target device’s data.
You can track and view call logs on the monitored device, see sent and received text messages, view contacts, browser history, track current location, view photos, and install apps.
You can also see the content of their calendar activities, especially if you’re following your co-workers or employees to know what they’re up to.
19. FlexiSPY
This is a powerful spy phone app for Android and iPhone that lets you spy on the target, monitored device for free. The app comes with unique features such as call recording, but you can actually listen in on the calls at the time of the call, which other apps don’t offer.
You also get access to the target phone from the first day without the user suspecting anything. You can use it on Android without root permission, but on iPhone you’ll need root permission.
It offers parental control features as well, and you can track the user’s online activities, log on/off activity, uninstall/deactivate remotely, and stop software from being installed.
You can also send remote commands from the web, perform automatic remote updates, and get dashboard alerts.
Check out some of the best FlexiSPY alternatives.
20. GuestSpy
GuestSpy is another free spy phone app that tracks calls, text messages, social media messages, sketchy sites visited by the user, location, and other activity on the phone.
The app is only available for Android users, though. You can use it to monitor and track calls, GPS locations, live voice recordings, spy on messages, and check contacts.
The app also sends you alerts and notifications to your own device and works without being detected so you’re able to do anything on the target device without getting caught.
Wrapping Up
There’s so much happening on mobile devices these days, whether it’s on your child’s phone or your employees’ gadgets.
If you want to spy on what they’re doing to make sure they’re safe and not doing inappropriate things at home, school, or work, any of these free spy phone apps can help you monitor their devices so you can be in-the-know and enjoy some peace of mind.
Tom loves to write on technology, e-commerce & internet marketing.
Tom has been a full-time internet marketer for two decades now, earning millions of dollars while living life on his own terms. Along the way, he’s also coached thousands of other people to success.