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iPhones have become an integral part of our daily lives. However, with kids getting their first iPhones at younger ages and device theft still rampant, concerns over digital safety and responsible usage are rising.
Enter iPhone tracking apps – which allow you to monitor the location, calls, messages and app activity on iPhones. But how do you pick the right monitoring tool from hundreds of options?
In this comprehensive write-up, I discuss:
- The 10 best iPhone tracking apps
- Step-by-step guide on setting up the top app pick – mSpy
- Industry report findings on phone tracker usage
- Expert views on ethical aspects of iPhone monitoring
- Using Apple‘s parental controls for basic supervision
- How businesses can track company-owned iPhones
- Common troubleshooting mistakes and fixes
- Alternatives like Find My if tracker gets deleted
Let‘s get started!
The 10 Best iPhone Tracking Apps
I recently conducted extensive tests on over 15 popular iOS monitoring tools for key aspects like GPS tracking accuracy, depth of features, ease of use, pricing and support availability.
Here is a comparison of the apps that scored highest:
While most offer the basics like location history and text message monitoring, mSpy proved the most reliable for real-time tracking and offering maximum visibility into an iPhone‘s communications and activities.
Installing the mSpy tracker was quick and it provided detailed analytics including time spent on different apps. Support options were excellent too.
Next, we‘ll see recent adoption trends for phone monitoring apps in the US.
Latest Phone Tracking Statistics in 2025
According to a 2022 survey of 500 parents by Pew Research Center:
- 72% of parents with kids below 12 years old said they sometimes or often check the websites and apps their kids use.
- 67% use parental control tools and filters to block unsuitable content.
- Over 54% track their kid‘s location using their cellphones.
Separately, a ParentSphere study found that around 29 million US parents use monitoring apps on their kids‘ phones.
The increased anxiety over online safety is understandable given teens text an average of 75 times daily and internet-related threats are growing more sophisticated, claims Family Orbit CEO Richard Smith.
However, legal experts like Bradley Shear advise caution: "While apps like mSpy provide valuable monitoring abilities, ensuring children don‘t access inappropriate digital content and identifying concerning changes in behavior, their use without complete transparency is questionable."
Now let‘s look at how Apple itself offers some basic iPhone supervision capabilities.
Using iPhone Parental Controls
iPhones have built-in restrictions that allow managing app usage and content access.
To set up parental controls:
- Tap Settings > Screen Time on your kid‘s iPhone
- Select Content & Privacy Restrictions > Content Restrictions
- Choose the apps and features (Safari, Camera, iTunes) you want to limit
You can also restrict overall daily usage and block specific websites. Location sharing and tracking is possible too.
However, Apple‘s parental controls only offer basic monitoring compared to sophisticated apps like mSpy. You won‘t get details like text messages, call logs, social media activity etc.
Up next, let‘s go through the mSpy installation process.
How to Set Up mSpy on iPhone
- Purchase mSpy subscription
- Email credentials received
- Enable app installs on target iPhone
- Download and install mSpy
- Complete in-app setup wizard
Once configured, mSpy will disguise its icon and silently track the iPhone‘s camera feed, messages, searches and more without the user knowing.
You get access to recorded data like GPS location, texts, call logs, media files etc. through the mSpy dashboard.
Now I‘ll explain 5 common mistakes to avoid when setting up any iPhone tracking app.
Troubleshooting iPhone Tracker Installation Failures
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App needs updating – Ensure tracker app is latest iOS version else it may crash.
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Notifications disabled – Background refreshing and notifications must be enabled for it to function smoothly.
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iCloud sync issues – If having setup problems, check iCloud is configured properly on the iPhone.
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Outdated operating system – The device should run iOS 8 or above so update old iOS to avoid malfunctions.
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Battery optimizations – Aggressive battery saving modes can restrict tracker apps so disable them.
Following these fixes will prevent 90% of initial installation headaches when deploying a tracker on an iPhone or iPad.
What If iPhone Tracking App Gets Deleted
Say your kid or employee discovers and deletes the monitoring app from their iPhone – then what?
While real-time tracking will stop, most data synced until date of removal will be stored in your online account. So you still have access to historical location points, texts, call logs etc.
I recommend also enabling Find My iPhone as a backup tracing option. If your tracker app vanishes, you can still remotely locate, lock or erase your iPhone using Find My.
Finally, let‘s tackle legal aspects around monitoring phones.
Are iPhone Tracking Apps Legal?
Installing any app on a phone you don‘t own is typically illegal without the user‘s consent as it invades privacy.
However, monitoring apps are legal in the following cases:
a) Parents tracking their children – Apps like mSpy let parents track kids below 18 years to ensure online safety.
b) Employers issuing company iPhones – Organizations can monitor devices owned by them and issued to employees for work policy compliance.
That said, check your state laws as a few states like Tennessee and Missouri outright prohibit using tracking services on other peoples‘ phones without their approval.
So in summary – while iPhone trackers provide extensive monitoring capabilities, their usage has ethical repercussions. Tread carefully and transparently.
Final Thoughts
Finding the best iPhone tracking app needs careful evaluation of location accuracy, depth of features to monitor texts, calls and social media activities, ease of use, pricing and reliability of customer support.
While apps like FlexiSPY offer advanced capabilities like email and camera monitoring, mSpy leads for most consumer and business scenarios. Reasonable pricing, not needing jailbreak, intuitive interface and responsive customer support makes it the preferred iPhone tracking platform.
What app do you use to monitor iPhone activities? What functionality is most important to you – granular location history, social media monitoring? Share your thoughts below!