Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile

Google removes text spying app from Android Market

Jeffrey Van Camp
By

secret-sms-replicator-android-appParents and untrustworthy lovers, you must now spy on your close ones the old fashioned way. Google has pulled the plug on Secret SMS Replicator, an app that could be installed on an Android phone, run covertly in the background, and forward all text messages a person sends and receives to another phone number. The app was uploaded to the Android Market last Wednesday and pulled by evening, reports the New York Times. The cries of a thousand insecure boyfriends and over-controlling mothers could be heard in the night air.

“This app is certainly controversial, but can be helpful to people in relationships where this type of monitoring can be useful,” said Zak Tanjeloff, CEO of the app’s developer, DLP Mobile. “The app is unique because there is no visible icon or shortcut to access it, so once it’s installed, it will continue to monitor without revealing itself.”

Recommended Videos

It is unlikely the app will make it back onto the Android Market. A Google spokesperson said the app violates the Android Market Content Policy and has been suspended. The app invades users’ personal privacy, which is against the rules Google lays out for developers wishing to have apps displayed on the Android Market. There are other app markets opening up for Android, and it is possible that Secret SMS Replicator could find its way onto a more lenient app store in the future.

Related

Though DLP Mobile releases dozens of iPhone apps each year, there are no plans for an iOS version of SMS Replicator. “We can’t build it for the iPhone because it wouldn’t make it past the App Store approval process,” Mr. Tanjeloff said.

What are your thoughts? Should this app be banned? Do you wish you had such a tool to spy on your untrustworthy spouse?

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jeffrey Van Camp
Jeffrey Van Camp
Former Digital Trends Contributor
As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…
Google just added 6 great features to Android, from security to accessibility
Someone holding a Google Pixel 5. The screen is on and shows the Home Screen with an app folder open.

Google is bringing a range of extra features to Android, and you don't have to wait for Android 12 to get them. The company announced a series of features across the Android system, with six main updates, so there's a little something here for everyone.

The new features are starting to become available now, however, they're coming out as part of separate app updates or Android updates, so you might get some before others.

Read more
Stalking apps: Google deletes 7 Android trackers from the Play Store
how to send money on facebook smartphone friends internet connection

While there are already a bunch of legitimate apps and services that can let you know the whereabouts of family or friends, there are also a few sinister variations that let abusive types spy on partners, among others.

Antivirus firm Avast revealed on Wednesday that its researchers recently uncovered seven so-called “stalkerware” apps on the Google Play Store, all of which have now been removed by the web giant.

Read more
Google Play Store feature suggests unused apps to uninstall from Android phones
Google Play store on a smartphone in someone's hand.

A new Google Play Store feature is suggesting a list of unused apps that people may want to uninstall from their Android devices to free up some space.

Downloading and installing apps to Android smartphones through the Google Play Store is easy, so it is understandable if people accumulate apps that they do not regularly use.

Read more