I want to monitor my son android phone but I won't be able to access it physically, any other way?

sram

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 30, 2007
Messages
1,699
My son has an Asus ROG phone 2. I'm suspecting some of his activities. I was able to take the phone from him one time and install a parenting program but he was able to uninstall it. The problem was that it wasn't stealthy. Now, he is more cautious and will never allow me to get his phone which is always locked by his fingerprint. I want to install mspy on it but that requires physical access to the device. What are my other options? Anyway to plant something in his device without him knowing? By sending him something for example!?

Thanks.
 
My son has an Asus ROG phone 2. I'm suspecting some of his activities. I was able to take the phone from him one time and install a parenting program but he was able to uninstall it. The problem was that it wasn't stealthy. Now, he is more cautious and will never allow me to get his phone which is always locked by his fingerprint. I want to install mspy on it but that requires physical access to the device. What are my other options? Anyway to plant something in his device without him knowing? By sending him something for example!?

Thanks.
It sounds like the greater issue is one of trust, and software probably won't solve it. Spying on everything your son does on his phone shows that you don't trust him, but also aren't willing to confront him on what you think is going on — if you're really concerned, gather some off-device evidence and ask your son about it (politely and with an open mind).

Also, remember that if he's a teenager, and he sounds like he is, you're probably going to be in an arms race you can't really win; he'll probably spot what you install, remove it, and be even less trusting. Not to probe too far, but is he otherwise well-behaved? If so, maybe you should just leave the phone alone and keep an eye out for other suspicious behavior. And if he's not... well, address that first, as what he does on his phone is just a symptom of a larger issue.
 
As the son is tech-savvy enough to uninstall the parenting app, I think the parent has no chance of controlling any device that is used by the son.
If the son bought the phone with his own money, he could just buy another phone and hide it from his parents. There are plenty of decent smartphones in the $100-200 range.
Now, he is more cautious and will never allow me to get his phone which is always locked by his fingerprint.
Yeah, smooth move.

Fingerprint sensor is of course easy to defeat in most smartphones, you just have to make a replica finger with your son's fingerprint. You need basic crafting skills and easy to obtain household materials. Instructional videos galore on YouTube.
Then you can do something low-key like installing WhatsApp desktop on your PC and linking it to your son's WhatsApp account (same with any other messenger app that your son uses). This is not immediately obvious unless one looks for it in the account settings. Do note that this is perhaps useful in amassing evidence against your son, but not in stopping unwanted activity. As soon as you reveal that you can read his messages, he will again take measures to stop you.

If you want to fix the problems between you and your son, you need to see a professional therapist.
 
It sounds like the greater issue is one of trust, and software probably won't solve it. Spying on everything your son does on his phone shows that you don't trust him, but also aren't willing to confront him on what you think is going on — if you're really concerned, gather some off-device evidence and ask your son about it (politely and with an open mind).

Also, remember that if he's a teenager, and he sounds like he is, you're probably going to be in an arms race you can't really win; he'll probably spot what you install, remove it, and be even less trusting. Not to probe too far, but is he otherwise well-behaved? If so, maybe you should just leave the phone alone and keep an eye out for other suspicious behavior. And if he's not... well, address that first, as what he does on his phone is just a symptom of a larger issue.
You nailed it. It is a larger issue. He has been misbehaving lately. He is 19. I can't just force something on him. I'm afraid it can backfire.

Regarding the therapist part, I do agree but he refuses everything I offer. He doesn't listen to me. It happened suddenly. He was fine 4 months ago. I wanted to monitor to see if he is reading something screwing up his mind. God help me.
 
You nailed it. It is a larger issue. He has been misbehaving lately. He is 19. I can't just force something on him. I'm afraid it can backfire.

Regarding the therapist part, I do agree but he refuses everything I offer. He doesn't listen to me. It happened suddenly. He was fine 4 months ago. I wanted to monitor to see if he is reading something screwing up his mind. God help me.
I certainly appreciate your determination to care for him and hope things improve, but he's an adult now. You have to respect his boundaries within reason, and spying on his phone without his consent is definitely beyond reason.
 
Is he on your phone plan? If so your carrier may offer some basic tools.

If not there really isn't much you can do. There is certainly software out there like Pegasus that can do it, but that's probably out of reach for most normal humans.
 
Thanks to everybody who contributed to this thread. I don't want to turn it into a social problem thread as we are in smart devices forum, but anything can backfire. I tried it. That's why I'm being careful with what I do with him. He is either being super stubborn or developed a psychological problem. I don't want to use force as it might worsen the case if it is really psychological. He needs to see a therapist, but I don't know how to do that as he refuses to go outside.

Brick phone. Also, he's already looking at porn if that's what is bugging you.
Porn is censored where I'm . I'm actually afraid he is reading something really bad. He heavily relies on his internet knowledge without consulting real people.

Anyways, I found a way to monitor the websites he visits at least. It is a software supported at my router level. I got lucky I guess. Nothing needs to be installed on his phone, and I don't really need to check his whatsapp or social media apps as he doesn't use them much. He is friends with nobody. I may be wrong but he has been like this for some years now. He mainly browses the internet and play games. I can also monitor his other devices (A laptop and an Ipad).

Thanks again.
 
I rely on the internet when I don't want to converse with people. Don't think it's that strange. I've setup PFSense captive portal for guests wifi and traffic shaper for old roommates to keep from hoggin all the bandwidth. It does give links to every site visited if logged. Won't help with cellular though but will if he's on the local network.
 
I gave my 11 yr. old son my Pixel 5, and installed the Google family app thing, that gives me control of his phone, or at least lets me monitor apps and stuff on his phone.

If he ever uninstalled an app I put on the phone, or locked his phone without sharing the password with me. His phone would be gone. Over. Simple as that, I would take it and bring to my work office where he couldn't get it again, until he woke up and agreed to share his phone with me on a regular basis whenever I want to look at it.

Same with my daughter's phone, my Wife checks it almost daily reading the text messages and seeing what sites she's been on. My daughter is cool with it, nothing to hide, and she doesn't mind us looking on her phone, She knows if she says no, then I'll smash that phone with a hammer.
 
He's 19.. leave him alone lol

If my child is staying in my house, rent-free, eating the groceries I buy, for free, using the amenities I buy for him/her, for free, my child has no room to negotiate.

If you wanna get treated as an adult, you better live like one. None of this BS, obviously the kid here isn't mature at all. 19 doesn't mean you've matured, far from it.

I'd argue most people don't really act like an adult til they're 30.
 
Back
Top