Text messages are increasingly used in court as evidence in both civil e. Whether you suspect a significant other's infidelity or want to monitor your child's cell phone use, spying on text messages can be enlightening, but can negatively impact relationships. Be aware of your cellphone privacy rights; police must obtain a warrant before searching cellphones and cellphone records must be formally subpoenaed by a lawyer to be admissible in court. Please consider an alternative to spying. Never throw around false accusations and never judge your current lover by what people in your past did to you. Only resort to monitoring someone's device usage if these tips fail and your suspicions are not simply based on jealousy, but reasonable suspicion. It is always better to be upfront and simply ask to see your significant other's phone. Same thing applies when wondering who your child is texting. Have a conversation about your trust issues, insecurities, suspicions doubts or concerns before resorting to spying on someone. Always be respectful and mindful of someone else's privacy. Do not be afraid to set limits such as when they can use their phone and regularly monitor their web and text behavior. Set aside a couple hours for just the two of you. Use that time to discuss any concerns, doubts or fears that you have. You could also try writing them a letter in advance and then arrange a meeting in a neutral location if that would be easier for you. Never jump to conclusions or hurl unproven accusations at them. That will simply push the person away. They will not view these issues as simple concerns that you have that you two can work through. They will instead view your hostility and accusations as proof that you do not trust them, at all. Surely, if they are indeed not hiding anything, then they'll understand your honest concerns. They would likely be more than willing to let you see what you wish to see. Keep in mind, information can be deleted and people do lie. You should still always attempt to talk with your partner. Search their phone when they're busy or distracted. Wait for a time that they set their phone down due to being in a hurry. If they have to rush to leave a room or run an emergency errand. If you have a chance to get the device when they are busy, distracted, or caught off guard then they may have not had a chance to wipe away evidence, yet. So act quickly, and be smart. If you find anything, screenshot the evidence, send it to yourself, then store it in a private protected folder or print it out, to be kept safely in a lock box. Always make sure to delete the screenshots and messages that you send to yourself. Ask for their password. Many smartphones have passwords and are pin or pass code protected, rendering them otherwise inaccessible. In relationships, suspicions tend to arise when their significant other has a password on their mobile device that you don't know. Simply ask for the password, your reason being: in case you have to use their phone during an emergency or when yours is inaccessible. Dead, no service, etc. If they have nothing to hide they will usually gladly and freely offer the information, If not, certainly seek other means of obtaining actual proof, before accusations. Not only will this provide evidence of your spying, but can be considered theft and lead to criminal charges. Try to leave no trace of your spying, this can be difficult but always remember to mark messages you've read as unread and to close tabs that you've opened that they haven't. The screenshot method is effective. Do not create a paper trail by writing anything down, ever! Even if you intend to throw out any notes, you run the risk of being implicated in a privacy violation. Capturing the screenshots and sending them to yourself via text or email is a much safer method of visual note taking and viewing. It also makes it much harder for anyone to track delete at will , So long as you delete the screenshots and messages that you send! Simply ask to borrow the phone. Again, If they're up to no good then they more than likely take the time to regularly delete any incriminating evidence i. Try this trick out: Intentionally leave your phone at home or claim that it is dead or malfunctioning. This gives you the perfect opportunity to ask if you can borrow theirs. Use it to make a call or send a message. This may catch them off guard and unprepared, with evidence still on the phone. They will probably seem antsy and reluctant to give it to you if their is something incriminating on the phone. Do feel free to walk away for some privacy, especially if you are pretending to make a phone call, or you need to use the rest room or even need to check an account balance. Open internet tabs that would interest you and do not close them. This will assert to them that you were using the phone instead of snooping through their stuff. Be aware that if you are caught, there may be personal, as well as legal implications. They may be deleting evidence. Go straight to method 3 in that case. You should never refuse your spouse or significant other your phone. That looks bad, it sounds bad, and it is bad. How could you ever trust that? Check her phone while she is sleeping. Though any evidence is probably deleted at this point, it never hurts to check, especially when you're deeply troubled. Only resort to this if any of the other options have been unavailable. Be aware that if you are caught, there may be personal as well as legal implications against you. People often send texts without thinking, and they can be construed in ways other than their original meaning. Have a fall back plan open links on the web to something you're interested in; this will make it seem like you were just browsing the internet. If you still mistrust them, try method 3. If you find incriminating evidence of adultery you should think about contacting a lawyer, if you are married. Ask a trusted friend to look at or borrow the other person's phone. It is your responsibility to inform them of all personal or legal risks prior to obtaining their consent. This technique is risky, you are bringing another person in on your spying and run the risk of them telling. All without changing or interrupting service. Download a mobile-spy app the easiest and most convenient way of monitoring a mobile device. These programs include monitoring of placed and received calls, texts, url's, picture messages; sometimes email services and application data. Some apps also offer tracking options that use geolocation data to send updates on that person's location or if they go outside a designated area. You can bypass this by informing them that you'd like to install a security monitoring program on their mobile device, just as you have on yours. They will more than likely consent. You have not lied or done anything illegal they agree to have the application installed. Furthermore, if the device you wish to monitor is a prepaid device, you can log into the providers website or access an application on the phone and add your name on the account or change account names entirely. You already have a card associated with the account, so having your name on it shouldn't feel like such a bad thing after you take this step. Give them a chance to be truthful with you. Reiterate all of your concerns, tell them you're giving them an opportunity to come clean. Tell your significant other that you deserve honesty and you are hurting. If they still lie, right to your face then you have a few options. Calmly present the evidence, make sure they know that you know. Then tell them you're done. You can quote directly from the evidence ensuring that they know, that you know. Let them know you're done. Look for signs of a spying app. This will pin point the app, for an easy uninstall Ask a lawyer to intervene on your behalf to subpoena cellphone records if you a suspect a spouse of cheating. Even if you do not want to file a divorce suit just yet, consult an attorney on how to go about legally collecting evidence such as text messages, emails, and phone calls that support your case. Monitor a company owned cellphone. If you are the owner of business and distributed company owned phones to employees, download mobile spyware or tracking apps before handing them out. Let them know why you are collecting information. Check the monthly bill statement. Bill statements often contain a record of call details such as incoming and outgoing calls, texts sent and received, and data usage. Look for and check up on unfamiliar numbers or changes in text activity or data usage. To access emails, you'd need the phone. Type the passcode in and open the text message app. From here, type the verification code sent into the email screen. It should give you a temporary password. Log in with that password and you're all set. Just remember to delete the text from the phone!
