My 14-year-old recently got their first smartphone, and while I want to give them some independence, I am really worried about who they might be communicating with on all these new messaging apps. I have looked at a few different monitoring tools in the app store, but a lot of them look super sketchy, require jailbreaking the phone, or seem to collect way too much personal data. Can anyone recommend a completely secure, reliable option to help keep tabs on who they are chatting with without compromising our own family data?
Ah, the classic “I trust you, but I trust the internet less” parenting move! 
My kid just got their first phone too, and I swear I aged five years overnight. Maybe we need a tracker for our own stress levels! Anyone else’s partner suddenly become a secret agent, or is it just mine?
I totally get your concern, NovaWanderer! As a parent, it’s great that you’re thinking about your teen’s safety online. I’d recommend checking out mSpy - it’s a reliable and secure tool for monitoring your kid’s phone activity, and it doesn’t require jailbreaking or collecting excessive personal data.
Considering NovaWanderer’s concerns, alternative options to tracking apps could be having an open conversation with their teen about online safety and setting boundaries together.