7 Best Spy Apps for iPhone in 2021

Susan Kennedy

When it comes to parenting, one of the biggest concerns for parents is the safety of their kids. And this does not just mean physical security of the child but also protects them from online threats. However, denying children access to the use of cellphones and the internet is nearly impossible in today’s day and age.

One of the best ways to monitor your child’s smartphone usage is by relying on a good iPhone spying app. This article specifically talks about spy apps for Iphone. If you are an android user, check out this article to know more about the best hidden spy apps for android. With the support of a monitoring app, parents, business owners, and spouses can now curb their curiosity and know what’s going on exactly on their target iPhones anytime they want.

Considering the fact that there are plenty of iPhone spy apps available on the internet for purchase, picking a reliable one may not be an easy task. You might just end up wasting your money on one that does not work properly. Fortunately, we have done all the legwork to test out the spy software available on the market and shortlisted some of the best spy apps for iPhone for you to start monitoring now.

How Does Monitoring an iPhone Work?

Monitoring of all Apple devices is mostly based on iCloud backups of the device. Every time backups occur, the spyware app will automatically sync and retrieve the necessary data. However, this also means that things that are not backed up on iCloud will not be available for monitoring.

This is the case for iPhone devices that are not jailbroken. Jailbreaking a device will open the gates to heaven where there are endless possibilities to track the device. But there are also some risks that come along with jailbroken phones. Hence, it is recommended for those who are less tech-savvy to stick with the best iPhone spy software for monitoring non-jailbroken iPhones.

Best Spy Apps for iPhone without Jailbreak & Without Installing App

Before we proceed, you would like to first clarify how such iPhone spy apps can work without having to jailbreak or install them into the iOS cellphone. Basically, the spying app totally depends on the iCloud backup of the iOS device where all the data and apps can be easily tracked. The two things that you will need to make tracking possible are to have the iCloud Apple ID and password of the target and to have iCloud backup enabled on the iPhone. Now, let’s jump straight into our top picks for the best spy apps for the iPhone.

Best iPhone Spy Apps

Have you ever wonder how to read someones text messages without their phone? Now that we have covered the basics, let’s dive straight into our top picks for the best spyware for iPhone devices.

1. mSpy

mSpy is one of the oldest names in the history of spy apps and is also on the top of our best iPhone spy apps list today. The spy app for iPhone is packed with several features that enable you to control an iPhone. The remote control features help you keep a close eye on the target.

However, if you happen to use a device with iOS version 7-9.1, the app will require you to jailbreak the iPhone meaning you will need physical access to the device to monitor the target. You can enjoy all the spying features without jailbreaking for iOS versions above 9.1. Below are some of the spying features available:

Calls, Contacts, and Text Messages

With so much social interaction happening every day on apps like Instagram, Telegram, Snapchat, and so on, it is incredibly easy for kids to make new friends or exchange numbers with strangers.

That’s why mSpy offers Text Messages and Call Logs features that keep your kid’s phone under complete surveillance. Checking out the Contact list will reveal all the saved numbers on the device along with the phone number and email associated.

Browser History

This is a very important feature for those who want to check how their kid uses the internet. All websites visited can be seen on the portal remotely once you click on the Browser History feature. The iPhone tracking app even lets you check the frequency, last date, and time of visiting the website.

App Installation

Just like the internet browser, Apple Play Store is filled with thousands of apps that contain adult content such as political hatred and nudity. So, it is just as important for you to know what apps your kid keeps on their iPhone. Thanks to mSpy, you can now check on all the apps installed on their device with a simple click on the Installed Apps section.

WhatsApp

mSpy lets you keep track of conversations happening on WhatsApp. It is an app to see if your spouse is cheating. By doing that, you can clear your suspicion of cheating partners and spouses to avoid misunderstanding. Once you go into the WhatsApp section, you’ll have access to all the people connected with the target person, and clicking on any side of the contacts will reveal all their chats.

Pros

  1. The quick setup process for the iPhone without jailbreaking.
  2. An iPhone spy app that lets you track WhatsApp.
  3. Gives you access to all photos and videos on the iPhone.
  4. Ability to block apps to provide better control over kids.
  5. Offers 24/7 multi-language support.

Cons

  1. Slow updates.
  2. Older iPhone models need to be jailbroken.

2. uMobix

This spy app for iPhone lets you track the iOS phone and get updates for all the activities very easily. In fact, the spy app is so easy to use that you won’t even need any special guidance to install it. Many of the iPhone activities can be seen straight away on the dashboard such as recent 5 most called contacts, recent 5 most messages, lost known GPS location, and other target iPhone activities such as calls, messages, photos, videos, etc.

Below is a list of monitoring features offered:

Calls, Contacts, and Messages Tracking Features

uMobix gives you details of the calls made and received by the iPhone. Even missed calls can be tracked and revealed remotely to you via the portal. In the app, you’ll see the name of the person along with the phone number, call duration, date and time, plus type of call (missed or incoming and outgoing).

The list of contacts saved on your kid’s phone will also be available to the parent for you to check if there are any unknown contacts in there with bad intentions. The spy software also records addresses, emails, and photos of the contact person stored on the phone.

You can also check any SMS or iMessages sent from the iPhone via the portal to know who your targeted person is chatting with. All sent and received messages and their timestamp can be seen through the iPhone tracking software.

Browser History and Browser Bookmarks

Any parent will be worried over the wrongful use of the internet by their kids as there are thousands of horrendous content available that are age-sensitive. To save your kids from such risk, you can rely on uMobix to keep an eye on the browsing history and bookmarks.

Other Features

The mobile phone monitoring software even offers other advanced features such as tracing of WiFi connections that the device was connected to without jailbreaking the iPhone. The spying app even lets you keep track of notes made on their iPhone.

Pricing

uMobix offers 2 plans for concerned users and they are the Basic plan and Full plan.
The basic plan costs $29 .99 per month
Full Plan costs $39 .99 per month, $44.97 for 3 months, $49.99 for 6 months, or $89.88 per 12 months.

Pros

  1. Clean and easy-to-use interface.
  2. Ability to view contacts that are added or deleted.
  3. Ability to recover deleted calls and messages,
  4. Able to track the iPhone without the need to jailbreak.
  5. Quick data syncing.

Cons

  1. Slower updates for social chat apps.
  2. No updates on videos.

3. XNSpy

XNSpy lets those who want to monitor their child’s iOS device by mining their iCloud backups. While this method means you can track the iPhone without installing the app or physical into the device, it does not provide real-time updates. All you need is your target’s iCloud credentials for remote control tracking on their smartphone usage.

XNSpy monitors an immense number of online activities which includes other third-party communication apps. The list below talks about some of the advanced features included:

Location Tracking

XNSpy will get the device’s location once per hour using the Find My iPhone feature. However, this may trigger an email to the iCloud account owner.

Installed Apps

XNSpy will list all the apps installed on the device to let you check what applications are installed on the device. However, it does not let you block out specific apps from being installed on the iPhone.

Text Logs

XNSpy also logs all SMS texts, iMessages, calls, as well as other online communications. Customers will be able to see the full details of the text-based messages.

Pros

  1. Remote Installation Support where XNSpy takes full responsibility for helping you download and install its tracking app on your targeted iPhone.
  2. Good compatibility with new and old iOS versions
  3. Advanced monitoring features like remote call recording, device lock, data, wipe, and other advanced features without paying too much.
  4. one of the most reliable iPhone spying apps that gives you good monitoring features on iOS devices without physical access to the device or need for jailbreak.

Cons

Needs an iPhone to be jailbroken to track instant messaging apps.

4. Spyic

Spyic is a good spying app for non-jailbroken iPhones for your partner, spouse, kids, and employees. The app features multiple amazing functionalities that make tracking the device rather complete in every aspect. This app has been relied on by countless people all around the world with plenty of success stories in monitoring their loved ones and partners with Spyic’s help.

The Spyic account’s dashboard shows many of the device’s activities including the list of most calling contacts and the last known position. Parents will also be able to check the most activities and 5 recent contacts with most messages of the target device on their account dashboard.

Here are some of the top features of Spyic:

Tracking of Messages, iMessages, and Calls

Customers get all the updates on new messages, iMessage, and calls on the target device the moment they set up the iPhone with Spyic. One great thing is that Spyic does not just give you updated information but you can also see older messages that are available or synced on the iOS device’s iCloud.

Browser History

Considering the hundreds and hundreds of sites on the internet that children should stay away from plus random pop-ups that will force them to click on those sites, it is crucial for parents to track the browsing history of their kid’s iOS device. This is where Spyic steps in to help make sure your child steers clear away from these sites.

GPS Tracking

Spyic understands how panicking it can get for parents when they find that their kids have not returned home after a certain time, and worse if their iPhone is not reachable for any reason. But you won’t have to worry anymore once you have Spyic installed on the target mobile phone as the spy app will constantly update you on your kid’s current location.

Photos, Videos, Applications, and Contacts

Right after you’ve set up your iPhone spy app, you will have instant access to all the photos and videos that are captured on the target iPhone. So you can quickly check your iPhone monitoring app account whenever you suspect your child is keeping inappropriate content on their device.

Aside from internet browsers, app stores can also contain adult apps for the iPhone where children should never access. Spyic has an Application feature that will help you make sure your child’s iPhone does not contain any inappropriate adult app. Similarly, contacts saved on the target device can also be checked easily.

Social Media Tracking

With the increasing reliance on instant messaging, it is important for you to also be able to check what’s going on in your target’s WhatsApp and LINE accounts. All sent and received messages via WhatsApp and LINE will also be available for you to check. However, the spy app, unfortunately, does not let you keep track of activities on Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and other platforms.

Pricing

Spyic comes in three different pricing plans: Premium, Family, and Business to monitor multiple iOS devices without jailbreak.

Premium Plan: $49.99/r month or $129.99 for 12 months.
Family Plan: $99.99 per month for 5 iOS devices
Business Plan: $399.99/month for 25 iOS devices

Pros

  1. Reveals the list of calls received and made on your account dashboard.
  2. Easy access to calendar events.
  3. Ability to check all the saved contacts on the target phone.
  4. Ability to track the iPhone without jailbreak

Cons

  1. GPS positioning features are not as accurate.
  2. Unable to download videos from target iPhone.

5. Highster Mobile

Highster Mobile is a powerful monitoring software designed to help users spy on iPhone devices. The spy app was designed for iOS and Android products and comes packed with a host of features to make it extremely easy to spy on an iPhone. Highster Mobile gives you full access to everything in the target device, including phone calls, text messages, and even GPS locations.

Highster Mobile will track and record all smartphone activity before uploading all collected information to a personal online Control Panel that users have full access to. The information uploaded can be accessed and viewed from any browser, as long as the device is connected to the internet. All you need to do is key in your login details and you’ll have all the info displayed neatly on the dashboard. Below are some of the top features of Highster Mobile:

Tracking Text Messages and Call Logs

With texting and calling being the most popular forms of communication, Highster Mobile offers you complete access to all incoming and outgoing SMS activity and call log on your target iPhone. With this, you can easily monitor outgoing and incoming text messages, including videos and photos sent. The iPhone spy app even reveals the number of calls and the duration of each phone call. What’s most impressive is that the spy app lets you record all calls to listen to later.

GPS Location Tracking

The Highster Mobile iPhone spy app uses high-tech GPS technology to accurately pinpoint your iPhone’s location. With the GPS tracking feature, you can always know the real-time location of the person being tracked. The iPhone spy app also gives you the location history of the target phone, so you can track where and when the target person was at.

Social Media and Instant Messaging Monitoring

It is undeniable that social media and instant messaging play a big role in our daily communication, and Highster Mobile makes sure that that aspect is also well-monitored. The iPhone spy app allows you to monitor across different social media and instant messaging platforms.

Keyword Notifications

This is probably one of the best features of the Highster Mobile spy app. The best iPhone app will instantly notify you when it detects any specific words being used on the target device. You can also easily set these keywords on your dashboard.

Remote Camera and Microphone Activation

The Highster Mobile spy app for iPhone can remotely activate the phone’s camera and microphone to let you know what’s happening around your target. This feature helps you take pictures of its surroundings and eavesdrop without the target person even knowing. The photos taken won’t be stored on the cell phone but instead get uploaded directly onto the Control Panel.

Highster Mobile Pricing

The iPhone spy app currently offers 2 subscription plans that need to be paid upfront. It isn’t a monthly subscription package and you’ll only need to make a one-time payment to begin spying.

Basic Edition – $29.99

Pro Edition – $69.99

Pros

  1. The app comes packed with quality phone monitoring functionality.
  2. 30-days money-back guarantee.
  3. One-time payment only to enjoy monitoring forever.
  4. Simple and easy to operate the spyware.

Cons

  1. Limited monitoring features.
  2. No live technical support.

6. Flexispy

FlexiSpy was incorporated in 2006 and is among the top spy apps for iPhone monitoring in stealth mode. The iPhone spy app offers a great number of advanced features for iOS devices such as call recording, remote video capture, photo capture, and even instant messaging monitoring on Facebook, Instagram, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Kik, LINE, and others.

The company designs, develops, and supports all of its products with its own in-house experts. With this, the company is able to stand behind all of its products with top-quality customer services, extensive documentation, and an unmatched refund policy.

As mentioned earlier, FlexiSpy is one of the most feature-rich spy apps with plenty of advanced functionality to do a lot of things. If you’re looking for an all-rounded spy app that’s easy to use, then this might just be the best choice. Below are some of the app’s features to help you effectively spy on iPhone:

Phone Call Tracking and Recording

Flexispy takes call tracking to another level by allowing you to record and intercept live calls. The recording feature is even extended to calls made on other apps like Facebook, Hangouts, LINE, Skype, Viber, and Whatsapp. The iPhone spy app records all call logs and uploads them to the online dashboard for you to check at a later time.

Environment Recording

This is one of the most striking features of the iPhone spy app as it lets you turn the target iPhone into a surveillance device by activating the mic, front and back camera of the device to keep you updated on where and what exactly is happening around the phone.

Website Blocking and Filtering

In addition to tracking your target’s browser activities, this is one of the best iPhone spy apps that lets you block and filter a number of inappropriate websites. Parents can use this feature to restrict kids from indulging in unsuitable activities and any potential cyber threats.

Keyword Alerts

The spy app for iPhone can detect certain keywords on the iPhone that you set in your keywords list like “porn”, “drugs”, “rape”, etc. Once the keywords appear on the phone, the app will send you an immediate notification so that you are fully aware and notified.

GPS Tracking and Geo-fencing

Flexispy software has a promising GPS tracking feature that will maintain a log of the target user’s movement throughout the day. On top of that, you can even set up “safe zones” in a map with the geo-fencing feature to allocate allowed and forbidden visiting zones.

FlexiSpy Pricing

Flexispy has the same packages across all devices, regardless of whether you want to download and install it on an Android, iPhone, iPad, or desktop computer. That being said, not every package is available for every platform and they all have different numbers of features. Flexispy has three different packages: Flexispy Lite Package, Flexispy Premium Package, and Flexispy Extreme Package.

Flexispy Lite Package

1-month: $29.95

Flexispy Premium Package

1-month: $68.00

3-months: $99.00

12-months: $149.00

Flexispy Extreme Package

3-months: $199.00

12-months: $349.00

7. iKeyMonitor

iKeyMonitor works under stealth mode as it remains hidden while tracking the iOS phone activities which is what makes it one of the greatest iPhone spy apps. Although tracking of non-jailbroken iOS devices can be very limited, iKeyMonitor provides as many tracking features as it can that does much more than any other best iPhone spy apps. Here are some of its advanced features:

Photos, Videos, Calendar, Notes, and Schedule

Just like many good iPhone spy apps, iKeyMonitor lets users track photos that exist in the target’s iPhone without jailbreak. Users can select the Photos option on their control panel where all the photos including screenshots, clicked photos, received via social media apps, Bluetooth, and so on will appear.

Similarly, the spy app also gives you access to all videos, notes, and calendar activities stored on the iPhone. An additional feature that parents may love is the possibility to set a schedule for your kids as to when they should be doing their homework, and lunchtime.

Social Media Monitoring and Audio Tracking Features

Every single chat from WhatsApp and LINE can be read easily with iKeyMonitor, along with the date and time of the messages. Other than that, iKeyMonitor even helps you extract all conversations that happen on the phone such as in other chat tracking apps like Tinder, WeChat, Viber, IMO, Hike, and QQ. The iPhone spy software even lets you listen in on voice messages.

GPS Tracking and Geo-Fencing

The spying software keeps you up to date on your loved ones’ location to make sure they’re not going somewhere they’re not supposed to. iPhone spy apps understand the difficulty in stopping your child from going far away from home and it’s impossible to track their location 24/7, hence iKeyMonitor offers geofencing features that let you create imaginary fences. Once the app for iPhone detects the iOS cell phone leaving the pre-set green areas, it will immediately send you a notification.

Other Features

You can trust that these spy app features do not end here. They include other amazing features such as the Alert feature to give you updates when your child uses faulty language when talking to someone as well as Call History and SMS tracking to make sure your kids are not talking to someone dangerous.

Pricing

iKeyMonitor has a free and paid version that costs $29.16/month. Obviously, the paid plan will have more features than the free one but we still love the fact that the company offers a free version of it.

Pros

  1. Stealth monitoring app on an iPhone.
  2. The free plan is available for a lifetime.
  3. Able to track the iPhone without jailbreak
  4. 3-days free trial for the paid plan.

Cons

  1. The app only reveals browsing history for jailbroken phones.
  2. No app blocking features.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that your kid’s safety is the top priority for most. But it is nearly impossible to keep an eye on your child 24/7. In your absence, you can now rely on spying apps to help take care of your child just as you do. Android spy app works differently as compared to what we mentioned, therefore we hope it gives you a better knowledge of how it works on iPhones.

Tracking the kids via the best spy apps might give you some hints on the physical and mental harm your kid is going through. Aside from that, spying apps are also an effective tool to make sure your employees are working under the set rules or to confirm any suspicion about your spouse.
So, select any of these best iPhone spying apps mentioned in the list above and you can trust that they will do a good job for you reliably.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best iPhone monitoring software that does not require jailbreak?

All the apps listed above are best for monitoring iOS devices without the need for jailbreaking, but Spyic and mSpy are definitely our top selection.

Can spyware be installed on an iPhone remotely?

Yes, just like how it is for its rival, Android, you can remotely install spyware on an iPhone if 2FA is turned on.

Are there any free spying apps for monitoring iPhone devices?

Yes, there are free spyware in the market that offer free monitoring. An example includes iKeyMonitor which we have included in our article today.

Are monitoring apps illegal?

No, it is not illegal to install monitoring apps on devices that you own. Hence, it is totally legal to have monitoring applications downloaded in your kid’s iOS cellphone that you purchased or company devices. However, it is illegal to install a tracking app that records, tracks, forwards calls, or messages on someone’s mobile without their permission. In fact, it could potentially be a felony, resulting in more than 1 year in jail.

Can someone see you through your mobile camera?

Yes, someone can hack into your mobile camera without you knowing with applications out there specifically made for such malicious intent. GhostCtrl is an infamous example of such spyware that works for Android and iPhone.

Leave a Comment