Hoverwatch Review 2025

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Our Verdict

A Robust Monitoring Tool for Families and Businesses

Hoverwatch is a strong contender in the monitoring app space, offering features like call recording, GPS tracking, and keylogging at an affordable price. It’s especially well-suited for families looking to keep an eye on their children’s activity, or businesses managing employee devices. The app’s ability to monitor up to 25 devices with a single subscription makes it a cost-effective option for organizations.

The standout features include its stealth mode, thorough social media monitoring, and ability to track a device – even with GPS disabled. However, its lack of support for iOS devices and limited functionality on Mac OS can be a drawback for users with Apple devices.

Despite these limitations, Hoverwatch’s intuitive interface, excellent value for money, and the three-day free trial make it an attractive choice for Android users and businesses managing Windows PCs. For those with iOS needs, mSpy is a better alternative.

Pros

  • Affordable plans with options as low as $1.67 per device per month
  • Extensive social media tracking, including deleted messages and multimedia
  • Effective call recording and real-time GPS tracking, even when GPS is off
  • Operates discreetly with Stealth Mode, ensuring undetectable monitoring
  • Supports up to 25 devices, making it ideal for businesses and families

Cons

  • Does not support iOS devices
  • Limited features for Mac compared to Android and Windows
  • Relies on screenshots for email tracking, which can be time-consuming

In my thorough Hoverwatch review, I’ll reveal why it’s a versatile monitoring tool designed for parents and businesses to keep tabs on Android, Windows, and Mac devices. From tracking GPS locations and recording calls to monitoring social media and capturing periodic screenshots, Hoverwatch offers a wide range of features to safeguard your loved ones or ensure employee accountability.

I’ll also explore how its affordability, stealth mode, and ease of use make it a solid choice for anyone seeking comprehensive device monitoring.

What Is Hoverwatch?

Through my deep-dive research into Hoverwatch, I learned that the employee monitoring and parental control app has come a long way since its launch in 2002. In fact, its product now actively monitors more than 12 million Android phones and Windows and Mac computers.

Many consider Hoverwatch one of the best parental control apps because it is easy to install and use, provides a full view of your child’s online activity, and has a minimal impact on its battery life. Your children won’t be interrupted as it works in the background, and you’ll have peace of mind knowing where they are and what they are doing at all times.

It’s also an excellent option for business owners since you can monitor up to 25 devices. This is perfect for when you have employees with company smartphones out making sales calls or multiple company PCs. You can use location tracking to see whether employees are where they are supposed to be, like, say, on a sales route, and make sure they aren’t discussing confidential company information on messaging apps.

Hoverwatch is a reliable, comprehensive monitoring solution with an easy-to-understand user interface for Android devices and PCs. While it can also monitor Mac OS, it can’t be used on other operating systems or iOS devices.

How Much Does Hoverwatch Cost? – Plans and Pricing

Hoverwatch offers its monitoring functions at an affordable price, which gets even cheaper if you buy licenses in bulk or for longer periods. While its Personal Plan is for one monitored device, its Business and Professional Plans are priced according to how many device licenses you need.

Hoverwatch Plans Starting Price Top Features Number of Devices Tracked
Personal $8.33/month Call recording, hidden camera shots, GPS tracking 1
Professional $3.33/device/month Call recording, hidden camera shots, GPS tracking, mobile viewer app Up to 5
Business $1.67/device/month Call recording, hidden camera shots, GPS tracking, mobile viewer app Up to 25
Personal - Starts from $8.33/month

Hoverwatch is among the most affordable solutions if you need a budget-friendly parental control app to monitor a single device. Opting for an annual subscription lets you monitor one device for a total of $99.95 for the whole year, which is what most of its competitors charge for just two months of their services.

The Personal plan lets you use all Hoverwatch features, from tracking incoming and outgoing calls, call recording, and hidden camera shots to GPS tracking. However, you’ll need to pay an additional fee of $19.95/year for its Mobile Viewer app, which lets you keep the target device’s logs on your cell phone rather than accessing them via the provider’s online dashboard.

Professional - Starts from $3.33/device/month

The Professional plan lets you monitor up to five devices per subscription for $16.65/month with the annual plan. This plan is ideal for parents seeking to monitor their children’s online activities, as you can install it on all their devices, including phones and computers.

Unlike the Personal plan, this package includes the Mobile Viewer app, meaning you’ll have access to the phone tracker app results in the palm of your hand.

Business - Starts from $1.67/device/month

Hoverwatch’s Business plan makes it one of the best employee monitoring software tools. It lets you track up to 25 devices at a significantly discounted price. With all 25 devices accounted for, this plan costs $41.75/month with an annual subscription, which is how much some competing mobile tracker apps charge to monitor a single device.

Like the Professional plan, this tier includes the Mobile Viewer, which allows you to look up your employees’ locations, browsing history, recent keyboard entries, and more directly from your phone.

Whether you opt for the cheapest Hoverwatch pricing plan to monitor a single device or its top-tier plan for up to 25 devices, you’ll have access to all its features apart from Hoverwatch’s Mobile Viewer feature, which lets you store, log, and manage all data from the target device for offline viewing.

When compared to similar apps on the market, Hoverwatch’s cost, features, and ease of use make it ideal for anyone on a budget. It also offers a lot of value, considering not every app lets you monitor up to 25 devices without having to buy separate, pricier plans.

Another unique feature is its three-day free trial, which allows you to test its features by monitoring up to five devices before you commit to a subscription. However, it doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee.

Hoverwatch’s Key Features

Hoverwatch is a reliable monitoring app that includes numerous features that make it hard to detect and allow you to track nearly everything the other person does on their phone. Here, we’ll list its key features and explain what they can do for you.

Call Recording & Call MonitoringSMS / Text Message MonitoringLocation TrackingSocial Media MonitoringPeriodic ScreenshotsInternet Browser HistoryGallery Tracking & Media AccessKeyloggerStealth Mode

Hoverwatch allows you to access a person’s call logs, including incoming, outgoing, answered, and missed calls. The app logs each entry with the call duration, the exact time of the call, and the contact name. Additionally, Hoverwatch will show you the other person’s location at the time of the call, provided the device’s location tracking is enabled.

This feature can help you monitor who your children or employees are calling, how much time they spend talking to each contact, and even what their conversations are about, as Hoverwatch is one of the few cell phone monitoring apps that offers call recording. Its cell phone tracker defaults to call monitoring, but you’ll need to enable call recording via its dashboard to access call playbacks.

Overall, the call tracking feature works really well. You see all the information you need on an intuitive layout, so you don’t miss anything.

In addition to tracking and logging calls, Hoverwatch is an easy-to-use SMS tracker app, which tracks every sent, received, and even deleted SMS on the monitored device.

Unlike most SMS tracker app providers, Hoverwatch lets you search through recorded SMS and MMS messages, filter them by outgoing or incoming texts, and label them as “Favorite” to access them quickly.

The feature will provide a timestamp for text messages and the mobile phone number of the contact who received or sent them, allowing you to keep a close watch on who your children contact and for what reason. Additionally, Hoverwatch will notify you if the other person changes their SIM card, which is useful if your spouse or teen is trying to hide something or the tracked device gets stolen.

Hoverwatch’s GPS location phone tracker uses OpenStreetMap to provide you with a real-time location of the device. This invaluable feature can give you peace of mind, knowing your children are not skipping classes or visiting potentially dangerous areas in your city.

Besides real-time cell phone tracking, Hoverwatch lets you specify location update intervals. For example, setting it to update every 20 minutes will dot the map with each location your child visited throughout the day, week, or month, including the exact time of their visit.

Hoverwatch offers GPS, cell, and Wi-Fi network phone tracker features that allow you to swap between accurate and battery-efficient location tracking. That makes it one of the best GPS trackers and one of the few apps that lets you monitor the target’s location even if they turn the GPS off.

Location tracking works for both phones and Windows laptops through GPS and Wi-Fi. If the other person disables GPS and Wi-Fi on their phones, Hoverwatch can still find it using cell towers. It’s not as accurate, but it worked really well in my testing.

Kids and teenagers prefer social media apps over traditional calls and SMS texting, which is why social media tracking is a crucial part of Hoverwatch and similar apps.

Its mobile apps tracker lets you see everything your child writes and shares on social networks, including popular instant messaging apps like WhatsApp, Telegram, Viber, Line, Signal, and others.

Hoverwatch offers an in-depth Snapchat viewer feature that allows you to track and capture your child’s Snapchat messages, including both sent and received content, giving you insight into their social interactions on the platform. It also gives you access to multimedia files they’ve shared through Snapchat, so you can stay informed about their online activity.

It’s also one of the best Instagram spy apps and lets you read disappearing messages and see multimedia and messages your children or partner deliberately delete on either of these apps. According to recent cyberbullying statistics, more teenagers encounter cyberbullying on Instagram than on other platforms, so this feature can prove invaluable for concerned parents.

This works by taking continuous screenshots while these apps are in use. However, without a proper keyword filter option, I ended up scrolling through hundreds of screenshots to find what I was looking for. There’s also a chance of missing snippets of conversation if it’s quick. In this case, I add to also rely on the keylogger to get the full picture.

Social media monitoring on Windows and macOS is limited to Facebook Messenger monitoring and Skype (only on Windows). I particularly liked the Skype tracker because it also saved calls that I could download and listen to.

Hoverwatch lets you set up scheduled screenshots that reveal what your child or employee is up to at any given time. This feature can help you access content that would otherwise be impossible to monitor.

For example, Hoverwatch doesn’t offer a dedicated email monitoring feature. Still, its scheduled screenshots can capture the contents of sent and received emails as the target user composes or reads them.

My favorite part about this feature is that it stores all screenshots in separate folders, depending on the user’s activity. Hoverwatch lets you filter them by looking for screenshots made in certain apps or on different dates.

If you want to ensure your employees and children aren’t browsing the web instead of working or doing their homework, Hoverwatch lets you see all browser history data.

It tracks the websites visited, no matter the browser, includes timestamps for each visit and provides links to help you review a site’s content. That can help you ensure your children aren’t visiting any potentially dangerous websites, such as those promoting violence, drugs, or pornographic content, most of which display visual teasers to entice teenagers into visiting them.

With Hoverwatch, you can access the target device’s gallery anytime. You can use this feature to find out if your child takes or saves inappropriate images, allowing you to react quickly. Each item in the gallery includes a timestamp, and Hoverwatch lets you download the files to your device from its dashboard.

Hoverwatch’s mobile tracker also offers Unlock Selfies, a feature that automatically takes and stores a picture when the device is unlocked. This can help you track how often your child or employee unlocks their device and capture a photo of the perpetrator in case someone steals the phone.

Hoverwatch’s keylogger is one of its defining features and an invaluable tool for tracking your child’s or employee’s activities on a Windows or Mac OS computer. It tracks every keystroke and stores it on your dashboard, allowing you to review what the other person searches for online, text others, or type into their notes.

My favorite part of Hoverwatch’s keylogger is that it allows you to filter recorded keystrokes by app or browser. That means you can read through their activities on each app separately, including those on social media apps or the web.

Hoverwatch advertises itself as an undetectable monitoring app, and the other person will never notice its presence on their Android phone or computer.

Stealth Mode doesn’t lose its value even if you inform your children or employees that you are tracking their activities, as it allows them to use their devices with no notifications, interruptions, or slowdowns.

The only way to locate Hoverwatch on an Android, Windows, or Mac device is by using the PIN you receive at the end of the app installation. Otherwise, it won’t be visible on the device’s installed app list, notification tray, start menu, or task manager.

Hoverwatch Alternatives & Comparison

To make it easier for you, I compared how Hoverwatch fares against its closest competitors based on its pricing, features, and best use cases. This way, you can easily compare all apps at a glance.

Provider Best For Free Demo/Trial Cheapest Plan/month Number of Devices Tracked Money-Back Guarantee
Hoverwatch Social Media Monitoring on Multiple Devices 3-Day Free Trial $8.33/month 1-25
mSpy iOS Device Monitoring Free Demo $11.67/month 1 14 days
uMobix Complete Remote Control Free Demo $12.49/month 1 14 days
Eyezy Site Blocking Free Demo $7.99/month 1 14 days
Spynger Social Media Monitoring $9.28/month 1 14 days
Phonsee Accurate GPS Location Tracking Free Demo $8.85/month 1 14 days

Hoverwatch Customer Reviews

Reading third-party user reviews helps me understand how Hoverwatch performs for users worldwide. While Hoverwatch hasn’t been reviewed on Trustpilot yet, I combed through other review sites, comment sections, and reviews on Reddit and Reviews.io and found that most users praise its monitoring capabilities. However, some limitations were pointed out.

One of the most common complaints is that Hoverwatch doesn’t have a dedicated email-tracking feature, which makes business device monitoring tedious, as scrolling through dozens of screenshots can be time-consuming.

However, those who use it for personal and family monitoring purposes leave mostly positive reviews about its product. From its dedicated social media monitoring features to its keylogger for Windows and Mac, Hoverwatch user reviews give it nothing but praise.

Several Hoverwatch app reviews also describe it as an easy-to-cancel service, as all you need to do is contact Hoverwatch’s customer support team, which will cancel your recurring subscription within 24 hours. You can contact Hoverwatch’s customer support teams via ticket requests and email.

Although most user reviews describe their support teams as competent and helpful, it can take up to 48 hours for them to reply. One thing that I noticed and didn’t love was that Hoverwatch doesn’t seem to have a live chat support feature on its site, which makes it more time-consuming to get answers to questions.

However, I found that they do have a support page to help you install the app, configure its features, and fix frequent bugs, which was good enough for me. Many reviewers also find it helpful.

Overall, Hoverwatch is regarded as one of the best Android keyloggers and spy apps, but its users would like to see more Windows and Mac features and support for iOS devices.

How to Install & Set Up Hoverwatch – A Step-by-Step Guide

Installing Hoverwatch is quick and easy, and here’s how you can start monitoring Android devices in a few steps:

  1. Create an Account

    Head to the Hoverwatch website and click the “Sign Up Free” button in the top right corner. To create an account, provide a valid e-mail address and a password, and agree to Hoverwatch’s terms of service and privacy policy.

    <b>Create an Account</b>
  2. Choose a Subscription Plan

    Before you install Hoverwatch’s mobile tracker app on a device, you should subscribe to one of its plans. If you need to monitor just one device, don’t forget to add its Mobile Viewer app to the Personal plan during checkout for more convenience while monitoring.

    <b>Choose a Subscription Plan</b>
  3. Pick the Device You Want to Monitor

    With your account and subscription set up, you can access your Hoverwatch dashboard. Logging into your account on the Hoverwatch login page will automatically take you to the dashboard, where you can choose the device you want to monitor.

    <b>Pick the Device You Want to Monitor</b>
  4. Install the App on the Target Device

    To install Hoverwatch, you’ll need physical access to the target device for several minutes. Its dashboard has detailed video and textual installation guides for Android, Windows, and Mac, which you’ll need to follow.

    For Android, those steps involve accessing the Google Play Store, disabling Play Protect, installing the Hoverwatch apk file, and giving it phone-wide permissions. Once the installation is complete, you can monitor the target user via your dashboard or the Mobile Viewer phone monitoring app.

Methodology

How We Review And Test Spyware Apps

Important Note: Spy software is not legal to use without the device owner’s permission in many countries and states. When we test spy software, we do so only with the explicit consent of the device owner and in compliance with local laws and regulations.

To provide our readers with accurate and well-informed recommendations, we test the most popular spy applications on the market to find the best options for you. Our methodology consists of the following criteria:

  • General Features: We evaluate the comprehensive feature set of each spy app, including but not limited to features such as App Management, Time Management, Call Monitoring, Device Control and GPS Tracking.
  • Ease of Use: We gauge the user-friendliness of each app, considering factors such as installation process complexity, the necessity of jailbreaking (for iOS) or rooting (for Android) the target device, and more.
  • Device Support and Compatibility: We thoroughly examine the compatibility of each spyware app with different devices and operating systems, including iOS and Android. We also assess whether the app offers a unified dashboard accessible from both desktop and mobile devices.
  • Customer Support: We test the responsiveness and effectiveness of customer support provided by each app developer. We evaluate the availability of support channels, such as live chat, email, or phone support, as well as the satisfaction ratings of customer assistance.
  • Price and Value for Money: We assess each spyware app’s pricing structure in relation to its features and functionalities, aiming to determine its overall value proposition. We analyze whether the app offers different subscription tiers, flexible payment options, and discounts for long-term commitments. Additionally, we check whether the app provides free trials or demos for users to test its capabilities before making a purchase.
  • Privacy and Security: We prioritize the privacy and security of user data in our evaluation. We scrutinize the app’s data encryption measures, adherence to privacy regulations, and commitment to regular security updates to safeguard user information from unauthorized access or breaches.

How Does Hoverwatch Work?

Hoverwatch is a parental control app that starts gathering user data when installed on the target user’s device. Here’s some of the information Hoverwatch can help you obtain:

  • Social media posts and messages
  • Call recordings and history
  • Accurate location
  • Calendar notes
  • Snapshots of the target device’s screen
  • Gallery files
  • Deleted and disappearing instant messages
  • Details of text messages
  • Browsing history
  • SIM card changes

All the data it collects is stored in your dashboard, which you can access on any device with an internet connection. Logging into your Hoverwatch account on its website will take you to your dashboard, where you can filter the stored data by date, app type, data type, and similar factors. For example, you can browse through screenshots or texts or only look at data taken on a specific date.

In addition to successfully gathering data, Hoverwatch is an invisible mobile tracker app that can come in handy while monitoring your kids, spouse, or employees. It won’t alert the target user of its presence, significantly affect the battery life of their devices, or slow them down.

However, if the target device has antivirus software installed, Hoverwatch won’t remain undetected. To ensure Hoverwatch works uninterrupted, you may have to disable these apps on the target device beforehand or add Hoverwatch to the antivirus app whitelist during installation.

How To Choose the Best Spy Software

Ensuring you have the best spy app for your needs depends on who you plan to monitor, their favorite apps, and whether you can physically access their device.

Here are some key factors to consider before you commit to a subscription:

Device CompatibilityEase of Use & InstallationValue For MoneyFree Trials and DemosStealth ModeMonitoring FeaturesSocial Media MonitoringLocation TrackingData SecurityCustomer Support

Each cell phone tracker offers different features across different platforms and may not support certain operating systems. For example, Hoverwatch is one of the most feature-rich Android spy apps, but it doesn’t work with iOS and has limited features for Mac and Windows.

Opt for a mobile tracker app that’s easy to use and offers an online dashboard with filtering and search functions to help you find what you’re looking for.

Although most monitoring apps require physical access to the target device to function, like Hoverwatch, there may be additional requirements, such as rooting the target phone, having their iCloud credentials, and others.

Most monitoring apps offer a tiered pricing structure to accommodate users with different budgets. You’ll get the best prices when you opt for an annual plan, which can make a significant difference if you need to monitor multiple devices.

If you need to monitor more than one device, ensure your mobile phone tracker provider offers family or business plans to avoid paying for subscriptions separately, as this can quickly raise monthly costs.

Nearly all tracking apps offer a demo version that lets you navigate through an example dashboard. This can help you familiarize yourself with the app’s functionalities before committing to a subscription.

Some providers, like Hoverwatch, offer a free trial that lets you test its advanced features in practice rather than looking at an example online. The Hoverwatch free trial period can be used to monitor up to five devices and gives you access to all its features to help you determine if it fits your needs and requirements.

Advanced mobile monitoring apps include Stealth Mode, a feature that makes them virtually invisible to the target user. Although this feature isn’t crucial for employers and parents, it can be an invaluable addition to your cell phone tracker if you prefer discretion.

For example, Stealth Mode is mandatory if you’re looking for one of the best girlfriend spy apps, so your potentially unfaithful partner won’t change their behavior while being monitored.

You shouldn’t settle for a mobile phone tracker that doesn’t offer call and text monitoring features, as SMS details and call history can tell you a lot about someone.

The bare minimum a monitoring app needs to offer is a log of the target user’s call and texting history, complete with timestamps, contact names, and context. For more functionality, look for tracking apps that offer call recording, screenshots, and a keylogger to ensure you miss no details.

Monitoring social media and instant messaging apps is mandatory today, as nearly everyone uses WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, TikTok, and similar apps.

Look for apps that offer a detailed view of the target user’s activity on social media apps, such as their messaging history, disappearing messages logging, multimedia capture, and similar features. If you suspect your partner or if you are monitoring teenagers, an app that monitors dating apps may be the best choice, especially since underage teens can easily bypass dating app age restrictions.

This feature is invaluable for parents, partners, and employers, as it can help you locate the target user in real-time or access their movement history.

Whether you want to ensure that your employees are at their workstations throughout the day or that your kid isn’t skipping classes, this feature can give you peace of mind. However, some apps do it better than others. For example, Hoverwatch can track the target device’s location even when its GPS is off, thanks to its cell and Wi-Fi network phone tracking features.

Avoid free solutions, as they often gather, store, and sell your and your target’s data to third parties, putting you in the crosshairs of hackers, identity thieves, and other malicious actors.

Look for apps with a transparent privacy policy, flawless data protection track record, and a secure environment to store your personal information.

Look for mobile monitoring apps that provide 24/7 customer support via website tickets, emails, live chat, and phone calls. A knowledgeable support team that you can contact at all times can help you deal with most technical problems you might face.

Ensure your future app offers customer support for your plan, as some providers don’t provide support with their entry-level plans.

FAQs

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Ilijia Miljkovac
Technology Writer
Ilijia Miljkovac
Technology Writer

Ilijia Miljkovac has been a writer for Techopedia since 2022. Beyond this, he has seven years of experience in content creation and development, covering all things tech for brands such as MakeUseOf, Career Karma, and Creative Plus Media. Ilijia writes about cybersecurity topics spanning VPNs, antiviruses, and hosting, helping to inform B2B and B2C audiences about the latest products and services.