This is a sophisticated tool designed by Mobile Spy manufacturer. After a brief test I decided to write this review in order to share with you my opinion about this application.
Attention – December 2014 – Withdrawal of Phonesheriff Investigator!
Phonesheriff is being removed.
Meanwhile, mSpy released a similar tool you get for free after purchasing their service subscription. It is Jailbreak free and you only need to get an Apple device ID. Find more in my mSpy Review.
In order to avoid future confusions I should mention that this review is describing PhoneSheriff Investigator Edition features, not a PhoneSheriff. Investigator is a desktop program, which is installed on your PC, while PhoneSherrif is a smartphone app.
Check their website.
Briefly About PhoneSheriff Investigator Edition
It is a desktop software for your computer designed to monitor only Apple devices. It is Jailbreak free, which makes this program unique. The software was mainly developed to provide a proper parent control. The activity monitoring is being provided via an Apple iCloud service, so you should get the target’s Apple Password and ID.
Requirements
The program can be installed once on a single PC (Laptop), however, it is designed to monitor several devices.
The iOS version should be up to 5.x. Your operating system should be Windows Vista (or higher) and the target device should be updated using iCloud. You purchase a program as a single lifetime license.
What Can You Monitor?
This program is not a standard cell phone spy solution
, however you are able to monitor target’s Text Messages, Call
Log/Hitory, Contacts, Notes, Acoount Details, Uploads/Downloads, GPS Location, Safari browser Bookmarks.
As I mentioned above, this program performs not like a regular phone spy application which is why its monitoring functions are kind of limited. There is no real-time monitoring available like in a Mobile Spy or Flexispy. However, it is a useful solution, if you are not able/willing to provide a jailbreak on target phone. So consider this software as the last alternative.
How Does PhoneSheriff Investigator Work?
After the installation you’ve got to enter target phone’s Apple ID and password. It will retrieve data from the user’s iCloud after the target phone gets synchronized. The application is not being installed on the monitored Apple device, but you should have a permission to monitor one’s activity.
So there is no online monitoring, you only get an activity data if the target device as synchronized with iCloud, which happens every time the device gets an access to the Internet. Also, considering GPS tracking I should mention that Investigator will only show you the location where the target phone was updated.
Another disadvantage of this application is that you should firstly get a user’s Apple ID and password. Otherwise the program is useless.
My Verdict
It took a few months for me to test this program. As a result, I am completely sure this program works exactly as it is described on manufacturer’s website. I am not surprised, as the software is designed by Mobile Spy manufacturer.
This is a great solution to enforce a parent control avoiding jailbreak.
You may face some limitations as Investigator is not providing an online monitoring as it is not installed directly on the target device. However, I am confident this program is good for you, if you are enforcing a parent or employee control. Also, it is specified for legal use only, as far as you need Apple login data of the smartphone monitored.
You can purchase the software for $79. The price is well-grounded as you get a reliable program able to monitor several devices simultaneously. If hesitating, you should try a 7-day trial version. It is completely free.
You can download PhoneSheriff Investigator on the manufacturer’s website.
FAQ
These answers will give a brief information on Investigator program:
Monitors only Apple devices (access to Internet needed);
System requirements: Window Vista (or higher, no XP support);
No Jailbreak;
iCloud should be installed on a target device with a minimum 5 Gb free space;
Target’s Apple login data required;
Target’s login data is safe;
Can monitor several devices from a single PC (Laptop)
A lifetime license/support, no term contracts;