Evolution in the tech world mimics the natural world. The fittest survive, natural selection plays an important role, and things generally get better (or more interesting) with time. Spy apps are no different. Despite being relegated to the forgotten and unadvertised section of the landscape, they still exist today and continually improve. Today, we briefly chart their progression and see what may come ahead.

1. How Have
Spy Apps
And
What’s
Yet to
Come?
Evolved Over
Time

2. Android applications have been the
biggest driving force behind the
exponential growth of the Google-
owned platform for a decade. As of
mid-2021, Android operating systems
are numbered 3 billion globally.
88% of all mobile devices sold in the
world run some version of the Android
OS. Affordability is the key driver for
this.
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3. It’s a tricky endeavor to map out the
exact progression line for Android
applications from the early days of the
operating system (OS) simply due to
its non-linear growth pattern.
Development platforms have seen a
massive shift too. Android apps a
decade ago were coded solely on Java,
and despite being an easy language to
master, it wasn’t the simplest to code.
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4. Back in the days of Symbian and Sony’s
proprietary Java-based OS, phone “hacking”
was a common theme among young users.
It worked by connecting two phones via
Bluetooth and reading through all the data
saved on the target phone’s internal or
external storage. Effective but slow.
Today, smartphone monitoring applications
exist, and they are more sophisticated than
you might first think. Popular examples like
Xnspy don’t require an inconsistent
Bluetooth signal to work and are much
more feature-packed than the early
iterations.
04
Where Spying Apps
Come In

5. These apps can monitor device usage live using screen
recording features, view social media and instant messaging
data, browse through all the photos and videos saved on a
device, and mature alternatives like Xnspy can go a step
further by showing the device’s live location too.
The future of technology is uncertain. We tread a fine line
between being subjugated by AI and transforming the world
for the better.
In terms of innovation, the competition between monitoring
apps is hotting up with every passing year. As more companies
join the mix and content to be the prime choice for users, the
existing bunch would have to innovate so they don’t play catch
up.
For now, the iron is hot, and major players in this sphere are
awakening to the potential on offer. How quick are they to
strike remains to be seen, however?
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