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Hoverwatch Review 2023: A Unique Parental Control App
Last Updated: September 6, 2023 by Vikram
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In the sea of parental control apps available in the market, Hoverwatch stands out because of its unique manner in which it monitors all the activities on a target phone. While a lot of apps tend to track keystrokes, Hoverwatch uses a unique screenshot-based method of tracking all the activities on the target device, including browsing history, social media platforms, location tracking, and a whole lot more, which we will discuss in this Hoverwatch review.
Additionally, if you’re wondering how well this app functions, whether or not it’s reliable, and if you should spend your money on it, you’re in the right place. In this detailed review, we take you through all the features this app has to offer, its cost, and compatibility, and give our verdict on whether or not you should purchase it. Read on to find out more.
What is Hoverwatch?
As mentioned in the introduction above, Hoverwatch is a unique monitoring app that uses a screenshot-style method of capturing all the data on the target device. While it does use the keylogger, the screenshot-style data capture sets it aside from other parental control apps available in the market.
The key thing to note is that Hoverwatch can only be used to monitor an Android smartphone, and isn’t compatible with iOS devices. However, you can also use it to monitor Windows and macOS devices, unlike a lot of other spy apps that only monitor smartphones.
Hoverwatch Compabitility
Hoverwatch can be used to monitor Android devices, and computers running Windows and macOS. Unfortunately, you cannot use it to monitor iPhones. The system requirements for each of these operating systems are given below –
- Android – Android 4.0 and above
- Windows – Win
- macOS – macOS 10.15 (Catlina)
Hoverwatch Monitoring Features
In this section, we take a look at all the key features Hoverwatch has to offer. It covers all the basic features, along with some of the more advanced features such as remote camera capture, call recording, and a whole lot more.
Monitoring Call Logs
The first feature you’ll see on the Hoverwatch dashboard is the phone call monitoring feature. With this, you can keep track of all the incoming and outgoing calls made on the target device. You get plenty of information, including –
- The name and phone number of the contact
- The state of the call – incoming/outgoing/accepted/declined
- The call duration
- The date and timestamp
What’s more, Hoverwatch also allows you to remotely record calls with its call recording feature. This gives you more than just the ability to get basic details of each call and allows you to listen in to find out what the target user is talking about.
Additionally, the app also allows you to monitor the target’s address book, with which you can get all the contact details. This includes the email ID and physical address if the user has added these details for any contact.
Monitoring Text Messages
The next feature on the dashboard allows you to monitor all the text messages on the target mobile phone. Texts are still a popular means of communication among children and adults alike, so whether you want to monitor your child or find out who your partner talks to, this feature will come in handy. The Hoverwatch app gives you plenty of information here, including –
- The name or phone number of the contact
- The latest message
- The date and timestamp of the message
- Any MMS files sent with the texts
The only downside with Hoverwatch is that it shows you all the texts in a list rather than a conversation view, making it difficult to read chats as a whole.
GPS Tracking
Tracking the real-time location of the target device is among the most crucial monitoring functions of such apps, and Hoverwatch does a great job with it. As you can see from the image above, the app shows you plenty of information for every single location that it records. This includes –
- The address of each location
- The coordinates (latitude and longitude)
- The accuracy in meters
- The date and time each location was tracked at
- A link for a Map View of each location
With this feature, you can find the exact location of the target’s cell phone at any point in time while being completely discreet.
Keylogger
A keylogger is a crucial feature of any parental control app, and like most spy apps, Hoverwatch does a decently good job of monitoring them. IT tracks every single keystroke on every app, thereby giving you an insight into what the target types, and even revealing their passwords. You can also use it to get access to one-time passwords and verification codes, as you can see in the image above.
The app will show you the text that was recorded, which app it was recorded on, and the date and time at which it was tracked, giving you all the information you need.
Social Media Monitoring
Monitoring social media apps on the target phone is crucial to keeping track of what the user does on their Android phone. With unlimited access to information, parents need to ensure their kids don’t access content that’s mature. Spouses, on the other hand, often monitor these apps when they suspect their partner is cheating on them.
With Hoverwatch, you can monitor a whole host of applications, including WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram Viber, Telegram, and even dating apps like Tinder, among other platforms.
You get plenty of information, including –
- The sent or received message
- The name or username of the contact
- The date and timestamp of each message
You can also see all the media files like images and videos that are shared via these platforms. Overall, the social media tracking feature does a great job of showing you who the target speaks to at all times. The dashboard also gives you an overview of which apps the target spends the most amount of time on.
Browser History Monitoring
While Hoverwatch offers several other features, the last and one of the most important is its ability to monitor the internet activity on an Android device. When you open the Browser History section, you’ll see that the app shows you the title and URL of the website, the date and time at which it was last visited, and the number of times the target visited the website on their cell phone.
You also get access to all the bookmarks the target saves, including the URL of the website that’s been bookmarked, and the date and time at which the bookmark was created.
How Much Does Hoverwatch Cost?
Hoverwatch is rather competitively priced when compared to a lot of other Android spy apps. It offers three main pricing plans, which include Personal, Professional, and Business. Each of these plans offers all the monitoring functions but vary in terms of how many apps they can track.
How to Install Hoverwatch
At this point, you already know that Hoverwatch doesn’t offer an iPhone version like most other spy apps do. As a result, this section will focus on how you can download Hoverwatch and install it on an Android phone. The key thing to note is that you will require physical access to the target device for about 5 minutes to set up the app.
Step 1 – Create an account on the Hoverwatch website and purchase a subscription based on how many devices you want to monitor. If you want to monitor multiple Android users, you could choose between the Professional and Business packs.
Step 2 – Open the Google Play store on the monitored device and open the app’s Settings from the hamburger icon on the top right corner.
Step 3 – Tap Play Protect, and then disable the two options under it – Scan apps with Play Protect and Improve harmful app detection.
Step 4 – Download the APK file of the app on the device of the target phone user and open the installation wizard.
Step 5 – Give the app all the permissions it needs, including the permission for it to run in Stealth Mode so the app icon can remain hidden on the target smartphone.
Step 6 – Enter the registration code sent to you in the welcome email to complete the process.
Step 7 – Once the app is installed, tap Finish Installation. Now, you can log in to your Hoverwatch account and access all the data from the dashboard. You might have to wait for a few minutes for all the data to sync.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- The user panel is intuitive and easy to use
- Offers various features to remotely control the device
- Allows you to record phone calls
- Completely undetectable on the target phone
- Captures lots of screenshots of the activity on the target phone
- Offers a 5-day free trial
Cons
- It doesn’t offer geofencing
- SIM card change alerts aren’t always accurate
Is Hoverwatch Detectable?
No, Hoverwatch is completely undetectable on the target device as it’s set to run in Stealth Mode. The app doesn’t slow done the device or heat it up, so the user will never know they’re being monitored.
Is Hoverwatch Legal?
Yes, Hoverwatch is legal to use as long as it’s being installed to monitor your child. However, using it to monitor someone without their consent is illegal. Always check your local laws for more clarity.
Is Hoverwatch Available for Free?
Yes, Hoverwatch comes with a convenient 5-day free trial that gives you access to all the features of this app. All you need to do is create an account and download the app to see how its features work before making a purchase.
In Conclusion: Is Hoverwatch Worth It?
As you can see from our Hoverwatch review, we’ve taken you through all the key features this spy app has to offer, what devices it’s compatible with, how you can install it, and answered some of your frequently asked questions. In our testing, we found Hoverwatch to be a largely intuitive spy app that offers plenty of features.
This monitoring app takes care of all the basics, such as monitoring texts, calls, GPS locations, keystrokes, monitoring all the installed mobile apps, and more. However, it also offers a host of remote functions, such as the ability to take pictures from the front camera or rear camera, record phone calls, and so much more. These remote features put it a step ahead of some other spy apps available on the market today.
Overall, while overall experience with this spy app can still do with some improvements, such as the addition of geofencing and more accurate SIM card changes, we would still recommend it as it offers more than enough to suit most peoples’ needs.