Texting App for iPod Touch with Web Monitoring?

[dreamwave6]

Hi everyone,

My son is a typical 15 year old. We are very concerned that he is now getting into the whole "sexting" thing. As such, we want to be able to monitor any texting that he does. His cell phone is not a smart phone. As such, none of the conventional spy applications will work on it. Of course, he conveniently deletes his texting histories on his cell phone all of the time.

So, what I would like to do is deactivate texting on his cell phone and install a texting app on his iPod touch. I know that there are tons of texting apps available for iOS. What I would like to find is one that keeps a record of all texting conversations in an online account that I can access via the web. This way, I can monitor what he is doing.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[ucfgrad93]

For my daughter when she was younger, we told her that we would check her phone periodically. If there was no history, then the phone was taken away.

 

[gks]

Hi everyone,

My son is a typical 15 year old. We are very concerned that he is now getting into the whole "sexting" thing. As such, we want to be able to monitor any texting that he does. His cell phone is not a smart phone. As such, none of the conventional spy applications will work on it. Of course, he conveniently deletes his texting histories on his cell phone all of the time.

So, what I would like to do is deactivate texting on his cell phone and install a texting app on his iPod touch. I know that there are tons of texting apps available for iOS. What I would like to find is one that keeps a record of all texting conversations in an online account that I can access via the web. This way, I can monitor what he is doing.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks!

A typical problem you'll find here is that you can usually delete individual texts in any iOS app. So he could easily just delete the texts he doesn't want you to see.

I'm not a parent, so I can't really relate, but I was a kid at one point. I'm 28 now, however, I can remember being his age. I'd try to respect his right to communicate with friends. You clearly don't seem to be against that so I don't think that's an issue here.

Discuss the situation with him. It might be embarrassing for you and for him but make the rules up with him and have his input. Don't just "here's the rules, you must follow them." Get his input and set the expectations accordingly. At least this way he'll have some sense of "I helped set these rules and so at least I feel they're fair."

This can go a long way and it's something I wish my parents would've done with me. Granted, they gave me a lot of rope because they didn't understand technology and it was basically my domain.

If you're concerned specifically about the sexting thing, I'd suggest looking up reports of kids getting into trouble for it and showing those to him. Police arrests, blah blah blah. Show him that it isn't a good idea and that it can land him in a big load of trouble due to the underage nature of it.

Good luck.

As far as I'm aware there are no applications that will let you monitor the texting that happens on those applications. Therefore, you got the (hopefully) helpful advice above. I didn't intend it to be condescending, unhelpful, or out of line in any way. Only the way that I think I would handle the situation if I were in your shoes.

 

[Maverick1337]

Man I wish I got an iPhone when I was 15.

Anyways, as stated previously, there are no apps that will monitor the texting. However, the more you smother him the more he will rebel. You'll need to just talk to him without a demanding tone and help set the rules. I'm not even close to being a parent but any kid will tell you that if they have proven time and time again that they are responsible and trustworthy, they want their parents acknowledge that. Of course there is some doubt in the parents' minds but that is normal.

If you want to totally breach his security, I found this software on google. Very reputable and has great reviews. You might want to look into it.

http://www.mobile-spy.com/

Video of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCwbYmOCC5A&feature=player_embedded

 

[Mr Kram]

if you have your own ipod/iphone, you can install the same app and use the same credentials. i have text plus on my iphone, 2 ipod touches and ipad and everything is synced.

 

[dreamwave6]

Interesting idea, Mr. Kram. A question for you...if one or more text messages are deleted on one device, are they then immediately deleted on the other devices?

Thanks!

if you have your own ipod/iphone, you can install the same app and use the same credentials. i have text plus on my iphone, 2 ipod touches and ipad and everything is synced.

 

[Apple...]

Interesting idea, Mr. Kram. A question for you...if one or more text messages are deleted on one device, are they then immediately deleted on the other devices?

Thanks!

Pinger (the makers of Textfree w/ Voice - great app for texting and calling) also has a web-service where you can log in with the user name and check all the activity, regardless of if anything was deleted. It's free too, so I highly recommend it. Hope this helps!

 

[dreamwave6]

Apple...this is exactly what I was looking for. I just tested it out and it does exactly what I wanted...perfect!

Thank you so much!

Pinger (the makers of Textfree w/ Voice - great app for texting and calling) also has a web-service where you can log in with the user name and check all the activity, regardless of if anything was deleted. It's free too, so I highly recommend it. Hope this helps!

 

[Apple...]

Apple...this is exactly what I was looking for. I just tested it out and it does exactly what I wanted...perfect!

Thank you so much!

No problem. I'm glad you've finally found a solution.

 

[dreamwave6]

Hi Apple. Do you use TextFree actively? Do you ever have any reliability issues with it? Since installing and testing it myself, I find that many texts do not go through (in either direction).

Thanks

No problem. I'm glad you've finally found a solution.

 

[Mr Kram]

Interesting idea, Mr. Kram. A question for you...if one or more text messages are deleted on one device, are they then immediately deleted on the other devices?

Thanks!

i just tested this. unfortunately, yes messages are deleted instantly on all devices.

 

[Apple...]

Hi Apple. Do you use TextFree actively? Do you ever have any reliability issues with it? Since installing and testing it myself, I find that many texts do not go through (in either direction).

Thanks

Yes I do, and I've noticed a few issues with the service over the years (a few texts not sent - wasn't a big deal - and slow network speed), but Pinger is usually pretty good about it. They're constantly working on improvements and send out notices when something isn't working right. I would email them for specifics.

 

[dreamwave6]

OK, thanks!

Yes I do, and I've noticed a few issues with the service over the years (a few texts not sent - wasn't a big deal - and slow network speed), but Pinger is usually pretty good about it. They're constantly working on improvements and send out notices when something isn't working right. I would email them for specifics.

 

[gertandruby]

Textfree Monitoring Web-Service

what is the website for this...Pinger (the makers of Textfree w/ Voice - great app for texting and calling) also has a web-service where you can log in with the user name and check all the activity, regardless of if anything was deleted. It's free too, so I highly recommend it. Hope this helps!
dreamwave6 is offline Report Post

(The web-service for text monitoring. Thanks in advance.)

 

[kemo]

For my daughter when she was younger, we told her that we would check her phone periodically. If there was no history, then the phone was taken away.

I guess its not a solution, because she can delete just the texts she do not wanna show you, can't she ?