How To Spy On A Smartphone Without Installing Software?

Have you ever wanted to secretly spy on someone else’s smartphone? Maybe you are worried that your significant other is cheating on you, or maybe you think your child is using the phone to access inappropriate content when you are not around.

Whatever the reason, there are plenty of ways to monitor their activity without getting caught.

The most common method requires installing an app on the target device, and you need some technical know-how in order to do it, which can be complicated and time-consuming.

This can also be tricky because if you are not careful, the person whose phone you are monitoring will notice that something has been installed.

Luckily, there are also several other simpler ways that can be used to spy on a smartphone without installing software.

In this article, I’ll discuss these different methods in detail so you can decide which one will work best for you, and explain how you can use them to access everything on a smartphone without having to install anything.

Let’s dive right in.

How to Spy on a Smartphone Without Installing Software?

Image from Olha Ruskykh via Pexels

Monitoring a smartphone without installing any software – whether it’s an Android or iOS device- is pretty easy and straightforward.

It’s important to note that the methods described below don’t require any hacking know-how, and will allow you to remotely access another person’s device to view their text messages, search history, or even track their location at any time.

You can also use some of them for other things, like viewing the photos and documents stored on another person’s phone.

Now, you have to keep in mind that there are plenty of methods out there that are not so ethical and usually involve rooting or jailbreaking a device, which I won’t be covering here.

Some of them are phishing (the practice of tricking people into giving up sensitive information by sending them emails that appear to come from a trusted source), and social engineering (the process of manipulating people into performing actions or divulging confidential information).

To help you avoid getting in trouble, I will be introducing only the most accessible and “legal” ways to spy on someone’s phone without installing software.

Here they are:

How to Spy on an Android device?

1. Track the smartphone’s location with Android Device Manager

Image from Android Device Manager website

While Google’s Android Device Manager (ADM) isn’t a full-fledged mobile spying app, it does have the ability to help track the location of an Android cellphone and even perform remote erasure.

It’s built into every Google-powered Android device and doesn’t require downloading anything. All it takes is logging into the smartphone owner’s Gmail account on another device, whether a computer or a friend’s phone, and then with a few clicks, you’ll be able to see where the device is located.

This service basically turns the phone into a GPS tracking device of sorts, which means that if it is turned on and within range of an active data or WiFi connection, you can pinpoint someone else’s phone and check if they are really where they told you they were going to be.

Here’s how to set it up:

1. Open up your browser.
2. Head over to “http://google.com/android/devicemanager” or click here to access the site directly.
3. Now, you will have to sign in using the Google account that corresponds to the phone you want to monitor. If you are accessing from a device where it is already saved (such as the regular computer of the person you want to spy on), this step will not be necessary.
4. Once you are in, you will be able to see the mobile devices that are linked to the account in the left panel of the page.
5. Click on the phone’s icon you want to monitor to see if it is active or not, to check the battery status, as well as to block or delete files.
6. If they have the “Location” feature on the device turned on, you will be able to see its real-time location on the map that is on the right side of the page.

If you don’t see the target device on the site, the person whose phone you want to spy on may have disabled this feature or changed their password. So you will need to access the mobile directly and check the settings on your own before using the Android Device Manager.

2. Check the phone’s Google Timeline

Image from Google Maps Timeline website

With your permission, Google stores a record of your phone’s every activity in its free web-based service called Google Timeline. Even if you delete all other apps and records of your phone’s activities, the Timeline will contain a full record of everything you did with it

So this is another great way you can secretly monitor a person’s whereabouts and activities from their smartphone without actually installing an app on the device.

As long as the target phone is connected to the Internet, and has the “Location” feature turned on, you can access this information from your own machine.

Here’s how to check it out:

1. Open up your browser.
2. Navigate to “http://maps.google.com/timeline” or click here to access the site directly.
3. Next, log in with the phone’s owner’s Gmail account.
4. You will then be able to see the person’s history of places visited in chronological order.
5. Tapping on any place in the map will take you to its corresponding page in Google Maps where you can see more information about it such as the address, the name of a place, and its phone number if available. You will also be able to view other information such as time stamps and photos taken there.

How to Spy on an iPhone device?

1. Access the smartphone’s owner’s iCloud account

Image from iCloud website

If you want to spy on an iPhone, an easy way to do it without any downloads or software installations is by accessing the owner’s iCloud account.

iCloud is an Apple service that allows users to back up data from their devices, sync information between iOS and macOS devices, and much more. This means that once you’ve logged in with the phone’s owner’s Apple ID and password, you’ll be able to view data from all of their Apple devices.

If you have access to the physical device, I’d recommend making a quick backup to ensure you’ll get the latest content. This includes text messages, contacts, photos, call history/records (even deleted ones), notes, and more.

To do it:

1. Tap “Settings” on the home screen.
2. Next, swipe down and click on “iCloud”.
3. If the iPhone’s owner hasn’t saved their credentials, the app will prompt you to enter their Apple ID and password.
4. Once you’ve logged in, tap first on “Manage Account Storage” > “Backups” to check when the last time there was a backup.
5. If the last backup was some time ago, and you want to access the most recent data, then go back to “iCloud” and tap on “iCloud Backup”.
6. After that, select the “Back up now” option and wait for a few minutes.

Once that’s done, you can now use your own device, whether it’s a PC or another smartphone, to spy on the person’s phone using iCloud. Here’s how:

1. Head over to “https://www.icloud.com/” or click here to access the site directly.
2. Log in with the phone’s owner’s Apple ID and password.
3. Once you’re in, you will be able to read all their texts, check out all the photos they’ve taken, and even see the location data from their last few days.

2. Monitor the iPhone’s activity using a web-based spy app

Image from El gringo photo via Pexels

You can also use a web-based spy app that doesn’t require installation, but that will still deliver the same results as the software-based option.

A web-based spyware program will show you texts, call logs, the GPS location of the device at certain times, and more. The easiest way to do this is using mSpy, a well-known and reliable spy app that monitors all the activities of the target phone from an online account.

This means you don’t have to install anything on the person’s device – or even own it – to view what they have been doing. In fact, the person won’t even be able to know that they are being monitored.

This web-based app allows you to:

1. Monitor calls and messages
2. See all photos and videos taken on the iPhone
3. Track the GPS location of the iPhone at any given moment
4. Monitor the apps used on the phone
5. Intercept SMS text messages and MMS multimedia messages
6. Control the functions performed by the target phone remotely (for instance, change the ringtone, turn WiFi or Bluetooth on/off, block access to certain websites)
7. And more

Also Read: No Location Found My Friends – How To Fix On iPhone?

Image from mSpy website

The best aspect of this method is that it allows you to view all of the target phone’s data in one place, so you don’t have to log into multiple websites to get a complete picture of what’s happening on the device.

To start spying on a smartphone with mSpy, you’ll need to have the iCloud credentials of the phone’s owner. However, you can also use the iPhone’s IMEI number.

IMEI stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity, and it is a 15-digit code that identifies a specific mobile device. It can be found under the battery of every phone and is unique to each mobile.

You can also get the IMEI by going into “Settings” >”General” >”About” in the target device, and tapping “IMEI”.

You’ll then need to enter the number into the web-based app system when you create an account. After that, the website will give you an activation code that you can input into the device, which will allow you to access the phone remotely through its browser.

Explore: Difference Between “No Location Found” & “Location Not Available” In Find My App

But, is it legal to spy on someone else’s smartphone?

Image from Greta Hoffman via Pexels

The short answer: It depends. In general, there are two ways to view the legality of this issue.

The first is from a strictly legal standpoint. The second is from a moral standpoint.

And that gets us into a whole other can of worms. First things first, you should know that there are different laws for every state and country, so make sure how this situation is treated where you live.

However, in general, if you are a parent and want to find out if your kid is doing something inappropriate with their smartphone, spying on their phone is legal as long as they are under 18.

But, if what you do is monitor an adult’s smartphone (whether it’s your boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse, or employee), you are violating their privacy and that’s illegal in most places.

Check Out: Best Map Apps

Tips to safely spy on a smartphone without installing software

Image from Sora Shimazaki via Pexels

While tracking the activity of a phone without installing any software is quite safe, there are some things you can do to ensure you’re not going to get in trouble.

Here are a few tips to help you avoid getting caught and remain anonymous:

• Make sure that the person whose phone you’re trying to spy on isn’t using the same WiFi network as you are. If they are, then they could easily see what data is being transmitted between your device and theirs.
• Use a VPN service. A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a private network, making it impossible for others to see what you’re doing online. It also hides your IP address and masks your location, so you won’t get easily caught.
• If you are going to use a cloud-based app from your phone, make sure that it doesn’t require access to sensitive data, such as your contacts or messages, as this could expose your device to vulnerabilities.

It’s also important not to use an online app that has access to GPS data, as this would allow the person you’re spying on to see where you are, which could reveal your identity.

Conclusion

The tried-and-true methods I’ve described above don’t require any technical knowledge or skills and will give you the information you need to keep track of your loved ones and their devices.

However, remember to use them with caution. These methods can be helpful if you are trying to protect someone from harm, but in most cases spying on someone else’s phone is not acceptable and can result in legal action.

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