my kid just got his first smartphone and i want to keep an eye on who he’s texting but he’d freak if i touched his phone. have parents here actually used any of these no-install options and do they really work?
Honestly Paige, most of those “no phone access needed” apps are pretty much marketing fluff - in reality anything worth using needs to be installed on the device at least once.
The good news is if your kid is young and it’s YOUR account/plan, just set up Screen Time (iPhone) or Family Link (Android) right from the start during phone setup, which is way easier than any spy app anyway. That’s your best move here - get it configured before you hand him the phone so it’s just “how our phones work” not “mom is spying on me.”