How to Mirror Someone’s Phone

Mirroring someone’s phone can give you peace of mind. As parents of tweens and teens ourselves, we know what it’s like to worry about their technology use. Thankfully, we can use a range of techniques to get some reassurance about what they’re using their phones for.

Mirroring a phone means you can look at what’s going on without forcing them to hand over their device each time you want to check. It means you can check for inappropriate content, bullying, and their safety in terms of who they’re meeting, drug use, and more. Here’s our detailed guide on how to mirror someone’s phone so you can get this reassurance as soon as possible.

Why You Need to Clone a Phone

Cloning a phone isn’t something to consider lightly. There are many reasons that call for this practice. Here are just some of them:

• Your child has just got their first phone and you want to make sure they’re using it responsibly.
• Your teenager has broken your trust, and you want to be able to check up on them whenever you need to.
• You’re worried about someone’s safety.
• You’re worried about a loved one’s mental health and vulnerability.
• You think your child is being bullied, but they’re not telling you anything.

Since almost all children have a cell phone by age 15, parents must protect their children from outside influences and danger.

Methods of cloning phone:

Whether you’re looking at how to clone an Android phone or an iOS device, there are many methods available. Here are the most popular ones.

1. Mirror Someone’s Phone with mSpy

One of the easiest ways of mirroring someone’s phone is with a spy app and one of the best apps around is mSpy. Around 89% of mSpy users get the answers they need by using the app. This top monitoring tool means you know more and worry less. This phone mirroring app gives you all the information you could possibly need. Here are some of its main features:

1. Keystroke monitoring: this tells you every tap and every key they press so even if they draft a message and then don’t send it, you’ll know what was said.
2. Text message viewer: this shows you the text messages they sent and received. You can even view messages that were deleted.
3. Photos: you can view their photos including ones of any sent and received — and those on apps that allow them to be viewed just once and then deleted.
4. Search history: you can view their internet search history and web browsing.
5. Call log: their call log and contact lists are fully available.
6. GPS: you can track their location in real-time and also see where they’ve been historically.
7. Social media: you can monitor their social media accounts.

How to install and use mSpy

There are four main steps to installing and using mSpy. Here’s what you need to do:

1. Create your free mSpy account

To do this, enter your email address, and your account will be set up for you.

2. Choose which subscription plan you’d prefer.

mSpy offers a range of plans depending on how many devices you want to monitor and how long you’d like to monitor them. You can choose from a one-month, three-month or annual subscription.

3. Download the app

The mSpy app needs to be installed on the device you’d like to track. This is the only time you’ll need access to the target phone. The download instructions will be sent to you your email address once you’ve bought your subscription.

4. Start monitoring

Once you’ve set up the app, all you need to do is go to your own control panel and you’ll be able to view everything from there. It’s really simple to use.

2. Use a Backup

For those looking to clone a phone with a free option, then you have the option of using a backup. It doesn’t matter whether you use an Android device or an iPhone, it will have a built-in backup tool. This mirrors the content of their phone on another device of the same type.

To use this method, the person you want to mirror needs to have backups enabled. For iPhones, this is iCloud. Android uses Google’s backup service. Let’s assume that this is already set up; you can then get hold of another phone (it could be an old one of yours. For example, you don’t need to buy a new device), restore from backup, and then view what is on their phone.

However, this method is only as reliable as the last date of back up. So, if they last backed their phone up 4 days ago, you won’t be able to see anything more recent than that. That said, it is a free and simple way to clone the phone once (and any other time you think they’ve backed it up again).

3. Use AirPlay (Or Other Screen-Sharing Options)

For those who’ve shared their screens for online work meetings before, AirPlay is pretty much the same. Screensharing has become more and more common — especially since the pandemic. iPhones already have screen mirroring functionality built-in through the guise of AirPlay. To do this, you’ll just need an Apple TV to drop their content to.

For Android, there are 3^rd party apps that do the same thing. Examples include Team Viewer, Webex, and Zoom.

Once the mirroring is set up, you’ll see what they’re doing on their phone on the screen in front of you in real-time. However, you won’t be able to explore their device of your own free will. Also, to get this to work, you’ll need to set it up on their device, too; it’s simply not possible to activate it remotely with this method.

4. Use TeamViewer

TeamViewer is a bit like AirPlay, but it only works on all devices. It allows you to access all your files on mobile devices. You can change app settings, for example, without touching the device. It also has lots of built-in security features too.

TeamViewer is designed primarily for businesses with remote workers, but it’s just as useful for individuals who want to monitor others’ devices.

5. Peeking into Their Phones When They’re Distracted

Aside from using technology, one of the easiest ways to see what’s on someone’s phone is to look at it in person. This may involve looking at it when they’re not using it, for example. Many parents have a rule with their teens that they can look at their phones at any time to keep them safe.

Looking at a phone will give you a snapshot of things that have been going on recently. What you won’t be able to do is see anything they’ve deleted. So, if they’re frequently deleting messages or clearing chats, you might want to use one of the other ways.

Is It Legal to Clone Someone’s Phone?

As a parent, you have every right to look at what your child is doing on their phone, provided that they’re not an adult. Once they’re over 18 and no longer a minors, the legality of it depends on your jurisdiction. It’s important to check the laws of where you live before using these techniques and technologies with other adults.

Conclusion

To summarize, mirroring someone else’s phone lets you check they’re ok. You’ll know if they’re in any sort of trouble whether it’s bullying, cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, or inappropriate content. As parents, we can be better informed about what they’re doing, where they are and who they’re meeting.

Technologies like mSpy can give you the peace of mind to trust you loved ones and keep them safe. And, if something is uncovered that you don’t like, you’ll have the evidence needed to resolve the issue and protect them. It’s always best to be honest about these things, however, teenagers are naturally secretive so sometimes you have no option.