Are Cell Phone Tracking Apps Legal?

Apps that allow you to monitor your child’s cell phone can come in very handy in some situations, there is no question about it. You can make sure that your child is not taking part in any harmful activities using these apps, as they allow you to see whatever your children do on their smartphones.

But there are other uses for such apps as well. People use them to track their spouses, their employees, and others. The question that comes to people’s minds then is that whether the use of these apps is even legal or not.

If You Own It, It’s Okay

The simplest way to put it is this: if you own the device that is being monitored with a tracking app then it is legal to spy on it. This applies to devices that you buy for your children that are underage as well. So it is okay to track your children’s smartphone activities, provided that the phone is bought for them by you.

This also applies to companies that hand out company-owned devices to their employees. You can spy on such devices to make sure that your employees don’t steal company data and assets.

If the Owner is Aware, It’s Also Okay

The other scenario in which the use of spy apps is legal is when the owner of the device is fully aware of it. You cannot spy on someone without them knowing, and it’s basically as simple as that. This is helpful when you want to monitor your employees’ actions but they have their own devices. You can make them aware that certain parts of their phones are to be monitored for security reasons, and it’s hard for anyone to fault you for it.

So there you have it. These are the two conditions that are required for the legal use of tracking apps. People do use them illegally as well, but it would do you well not to do that as that can have serious consequences depending on which laws apply in your region.