5 Apps for Spying on your Spouse

Americans have good reason to wonder if there is such a thing as privacy anymore. After former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed that the U.S. government monitors calls, emails and texts, many people might think twice about what they share online. But that same technology is being used for another purpose: “There are a growing number of apps that will spy on your husband or wife and keep tabs on your kids,” says Theodore Claypoole, privacy attorney and co-author of “Privacy in the Age of Big Data: Recognizing Threats, Defending Your Rights, and Protecting Your Family.”

These apps may raise moral and legal questions too. The most invasive can be downloaded onto a phone and will quietly forward emails, calls and texts. 

It’s a criminal offense under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1965 to access a computer—including modern computers like tablets and smartphones—without authorization. But if ownership of the smartphone in question is under someone else’s name—say, a spouse, a parent or an employer—it’s a legal gray area, Claypoole says. “That raises the question of whether the user has a reasonable expectation of privacy,” he says. “If you own your husband or wife’s smartphone and you’re paying your child’s phone bill, it could be a moral issue rather than a legal one.” (more)