Does Mobile Spying Software Go Too Far With Latest Update?

Apr 27 2010, 8:34am CDT | by Jordan Cressman

Mobile Spy is an app that paranoid employers and parents can use to monitor e-mails and pictures that are taken on their child's or employee's phone, but a new update basically bans all privacy from the phone user.

Developed by Retina-X Studios, Mobile Spy is marketed as "a completely stealth monitoring program," which, once downloaded onto someone's phone, is not easily discoverable. So as long as someone has access to your phone for no more than 5 minutes, they can implant this app without your knowledge.

Whoever installed the app can then log onto a secured online control panel that displays call logs, recent e-mails and texts that were sent, and even GPS location.

That's questionable enough from a moral standpoint as it is. But Retina-X today launched a new update to the program that crosses the line even more.

Version 4.0 of Mobile Spy now downloads every single picture, text message, and e-mail on the phone to the online servers. Personal memos written on the phone, scheduled calendar events, and the personal details of every contact stored on the device are now also transferred over.

In my opinion this goes above and beyond the necessary information needed to keep tabs on your child or employee, and delves right into pure, unadulterated voyeurism.

The new update is currently available for Android, iPhone, and Blackberry users.

The studio's CEO James Johns rationalized the invasion of privacy in a press release, saying, "We invite you to open your eyes to the real actions of what your child or employee does on your BlackBerry device. What if they are being dishonest or worse? The advantages of knowing the answers are far better than not knowing at all."

Of course some people have a reasonable interest in knowing exactly what's being done of someone's phone, especially if it's a company-issued device. But having the option to implant the app with such invasive tracking, without the end-user knowing, is kind of creepy.

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