New age kids are equipped with the best smartphones these days. They are at a pretty vulnerable age where they cannot decipher between right and wrong correctly. There are so many text message forwards which keep floating around which involve a lot of inappropriate content. Parents would never want their kids to get subjected to such unsuitable text messages. Also, text messaging is a medium through which a dangerous predator can reach your child and harm them in many ways. This is why it is very essential that the parents must intervene and keep a check on their child's text messages. But you might wonder how can I monitor my child's text messages on iPhone without the child getting annoyed. Here, we discuss various ways through which this can be made possible.
Part 1: The Benefits of Monitoring Text Messages on Kid's iPhone
As parents, you would naturally be concerned about your child's wellbeing and safety. This worry keeps changing depending on the age of the kid. You would take numerous steps on a daily basis to ensure that you create a secure space for your child.
You would of course want to give your child the freedom and space which they deserve and would not want to pry into their personal life. But, several scenarios in the recent past have made it an absolute necessity for parents to keep a check on their child's text messages.
Even though your child may be old enough to decide which clothes to shop for, they may lack a sense of judgement with regards to whom to text and whom not to. The prime benefits of using the text monitoring features of several monitoring apps is as follows,
You can prevent cybercrime.
Your child can be saved from being bullied through text messages.
You can prevent a scenario wherein your child's identity is stolen.
Avoid them from sexting.
You can always tell them not to talk to any strangers, but with the vast digital world, nobody remains a stranger in the eyes of young kids. Even the predators are perceived as a friend by your children.
This is why iPhone parental monitoring text messages have become an absolute necessity. You may wonder how can I monitor my child's text messages for free. Read on to find out!
Part 2: 10 Best Software for iPhone Parental Monitoring Text Messages
1. mSpy App
Through mSpy app you can remotely monitor text messages on your kid's iPhone. It is one of the leading parental monitoring apps which are great to keep a check on the daily activities of your child on their iPhone. This way you can make sure that they are safe and sound at all times. It has a lot of advanced features apart from the text message monitoring.
Other Features:
WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessage, Snapchat, Hangout, Telegram, Line, Tinder, Kik, Viber and Instagram monitoring
Monitor calls
Set restrictions on incoming calls
Track all the sent and received text messages
Track real time location
Geo-fencing
Manage and block installed apps
View all the photos and videos
Check internet activity
Block websites
Keyword alerts
Check outgoing and incoming emails
2. Qustodio App
This is one of the most popular text monitoring apps which already has a number of satisfied users. It is specifically designed to manage, supervise and protect your child remotely. This app gives a platform for easy monitoring of text messages sent or received on your child's phone.
Other Features:
A comprehensive dashboard displaying child's iPhone activity.
Set limits on the usage of iPhone.
Great filtering technology against harmful content.
Block pornography
Manage apps and games
Real time location tracking
Panic button for emergencies
Access social media activity on platforms including Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and so much more.
3. Mobistealth App
Mobistealth app is not just made for the mobile phones but it can also be used to monitor the activities on computer or PC as well. It can monitor call and text messages and offers a non-intrusive way of keeping a check on the text messages received or sent on your child's iPhone. The extensive features of this app give a comprehensive way to monitor and keep your child safe.
Other Features:
Monitor the emails
Check real time location
Monitor Snapchat, Viber, WhatsApp, Line and Facebook
Keylogging
Surround recordings
Call recording
Access pictures and videos
Check the installed apps
Access web browser history
4. Spyzie App
This app provides the perfect solution for all those parents who are looking for a platform to access the information on their child's iPhone to keep them out of trouble. You can use this for phone monitoring on Android as well as iOS phones and tablets. Spyzie can track all text messages on the target device with ease and also comes with a very useful keylogger feature for tracking any type of keystroke inputs. You need not jailbreak your device in order to use this app.
Other Features:
View call history
Check call logs
App blocking
Screen time restriction management
Real time location tracking
Geo-fencing
Wifi logger
Check emails
Keylogger
App activity access
View all photos and videos
5. PhoneSheriff App
Are you constantly worried about how the technological development relating to phones is damaging your child's mental and physical health? Are you wondering how can I monitor my child's text messages? Phonesheriff is an app which provides parents the peace of mind by letting them in on the daily activities of their kids on their smartphones which includes viewing and monitoring text messages on the kid's device.
Other Features:
Real time location tracking
Internet browser history
Check call history
See what all apps are installed in the target phone
Check all the photos on device
Check the list of contacts stored
6. Pumpic App
If in case you are a parent who wants to protect your child in the online world, you must definitely try out Pumpic app. This app has been especially developed for the parents who are worried about whom their kids are interacting with online. Through this app you can ensure that your kids are safe by tracking any type of text messages and calls. You can easily manage or block text messages whenever you want.
Other Features:
Check the calendar and the contacts
View browsing history
Block inappropriate websites and apps
Check the chats on social media platforms
Remote controlling
Real time location tracking
7. FoneMonitor App
Through FoneMonitor app parents worldwide can remotely track any kind of information that you feel the need to monitor on your child's phone. It is compatible with both the Android as well as the iOS devices of almost all versions. When it comes to child's safety, this app makes phone and text messages monitoring an easy ordeal. An ideal text monitoring app!
Other Features:
Check browser search history
Track GPS location
Access the social media activity on popular platform like Snapchat, Facebook, WhatsApp and so much more!
Preview videos
Check the calendar events
Track the apps installed
8. Mobicip App
If you feel the need to protect your family in the online world, this app is ideal for you. It has an extensive list of interesting features which prove very beneficial in supervising your child's activity online on their iPhone. You can effortlessly manage all the activities on your child's phone which includes supervising text messages and filtering content through this app.
Other Features:
Limit screen time
Block inappropriate websites
Manage games and apps
Track location
Supervise the videos
Advanced level of internet filtering
Access browser history
Can be used by a co-parent as well
Easy setup
Comprehensive dashboard
Remote monitoring
9. Surfie App
This app is packed with several advanced features for the iPhone activity monitoring of your child. You can easily customize and manage the activities and data installed on your child's iPhone. Most importantly, you can easily manage and monitor text messages iPhone with Surfie. With so many online risks, apps like Surfie have become an absolute necessity.
Other Features:
Offensive content blocking
Screen time management
Block games and apps
Alerts of social networking
Real time location tracking
Geo-fencing
Customizations
10. Highster Mobile App
With this app you can remotely access all the information on your child's phone and that include all text messages on the target device. You can easily check iMessages as well. You can do this to ensure that they are not in any sort of danger or are not talking to any stranger who can cause some kind of harm to them. This app is compatible with iPhone as well as Android phones and tablets.
Other Features:
Real time location tracking
Live control panel
Check the videos and photos stored
Check call logs
View browser history
Access social networking logs
Stealth camera
Part 3: FamiGuard: Best Tool to Monitor Child's Online Activity
If in case you and your family are using Android devices and not the iOS ones, instead of the above mentioned apps, you can use FamiGuard app. This is a highly efficient app which is perfect for phone monitoring of Android phones. It is highly recommended that you try out this app once using the trial version before opting for the premium version of the app.
Main Features:
Real time location tracking
Block inappropriate apps
Block unsuitable websites
Check incoming and outgoing text messages
Monitor the calls received and made
Geo-fencing
Screen time scheduling
Pros:
Setup is very easy
Easy installation
The location tracking feature is excellent
The inappropriate content blocking feature works very well
Comprehensive dashboard which can be easily customised
Helps in preventing dangerous scenarios like cyberbullying, catfishing, identity being stolen etc.
Cons:
The trial period for this app is less.
Part 4: The Urgency to Keep Children's Internet Safety
There is an urgent need for parents to take the necessary measures to keep their children safe online. UNICEF released a statement saying that almost 175,000 kids are going online for the first time on a daily basis. There have been other studies stating that one out of the three online people is a kid and almost nothing is being done to monitor their activities online or developing any measures to safeguard them.
With so many children going online there can be a number of dangerous scenarios which can easily affect the young children's mental health. Situations such as cyberbullying, exploitation, abuse, private information abuse etc can easily reach your children if you do not take the necessary measures as a parent to monitor and safeguard them.
The primary step which must be taken by every parent is to make their children aware about the danger lurking in the online world. You should give them a clear picture about how to safely use the internet for their advantage and not to misuse them.
Also, at least till a certain age their online activities should be monitored by every parent so that you can react quickly whenever the need arises.
Some things needs to be done on an urgent basis with regards to this or the innocent young children would get adversely affected and it would be too late for you to do anything about it. Make use of the apps mentioned above to monitor text messages iPhone and take a step towards better parenting.
By Tata Davis
professional in software and app technology, skilled in blogging on internet
Thank you for your feedback!