A very tricky question indeed! Before I try to answer the question, allow me to add my credentials. I have done a bachelor’s degree in Software Engineering and a Masters in Cyber Security. So this gives me a background, exposure and experience to opine on the subject.
Let’s get back to our question: Can I spy on a phone without installing software on the target phone? No, you can not. This is the simpler, straightforward answer. BUT- there is a catch. Let’s discuss this in detail.
In our previous post, we discussed the possibilities of spying on a phone remotely. You can access the post here.
In order to spy on a phone or monitor any kind of activity, first and foremost, you need to have access to the target phone. The access should give you enough privileges to download and install a spying app on the target phone. The spy app then can relay back the intended data back to you- either on your phone or via a web based interface. If you do not have access to the target phone, there is simply no way you can install anything on that and without the installation, it is technically impossible to extract any information from the target phone.
Remember I said, “there is a catch”?
Can I spy on an iPhone without installing any software on the target phone?
Well, the catch here is, if you have access to the iCloud account you can find a way around this. Precisely speaking, you would need the iCloud credentials. The iCloud username and the iCloud password of the account that is being used on the target phone. Here is the scenario now:
If the target phone belongs to a total stranger, chances are extremely low that you can ever get your hands on their username and password and authorize the iCloud account without them noticing anything fishy. However, if you wish to do so for parental control and the phone actually belongs to a family member, you might have access to the iCloud credentials.
In this scenario, if you get to verify the iCloud credentials on an app, you may get access to at least some information on the target phone. This may include access to location data, installed applications, photos, and videos that have been saved on the iCloud account. This also might include any other information that is stored on an iCloud account.
Can I spy on the phone without installing software on the target android phone? NO.
Fortunately or unfortunately, this method does not work for android powered devices. There is absolutely no way you can spy on an android phone without installing any spy application on the target phone.
The security systems with Android work differently. Moreover, there is very little data you can access from their android device central interface. At most, what you can access would be the location data. In addition to this, information on installed applications might also be available via a Google account.
Most of the Google accounts work via two factor authentication, so keep in mind at one point, the intended target would discover that the account is being used.
The market is flooded with apps that claim to spy on a phone without installing any software on the target phone. However, most of such spy apps just trick you into believing that you are receiving data from the target phone. In rare cases, these apps or software might be able to get some bits and pieces and then combine it with “dummy” data to give an impression that they are actually gathering all of the data from your target phone.
In our next post, we would share a list of such spy apps with you, and later down the road, we would review each in detail to give you a true picture of how effective these apps are.
*Disclaimer:
This website or any of its affiliated entities never promote or encourage the act of accessing or attempting to access personal information without consent. The whole purpose of the article is to educate our audience and make them aware of the threats they face in an advanced information security spectrum.