How can I check iMessage on my kids phone?
I want check my kids Iphone8 texts. The phone is mine. He has a different iCloud account. Thanks so much.
iPhone 8 Plus
Question marked as
Family Sharing and Apple ID for your child - Apple Support
How to use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support
Neither of these mentions reading messages; all that parental controls can do is block messaging completely.
SaferKid Text Monitoring App on the App Store
This one works by extracting texts from a daily backup, so for it to work the phone must be backed up at the end of each day. This can be an automated process on the phone. But it doesn't prevent the user from deleting messages they don't want you to see before the backup is created.
Parental Control & Kid Tracker on the App Store
This app from Etui works by installing a security profile on the phone, controlled by Etui. It has a lot of features for limiting access to functions and screen time and tracking your child's location, but it doesn't provide a way to read messages. And the company has access to all of the personal data on the phone. If they are upright and honest, OK, but what if they are hacked? The app is popular among parents. Downside is the user can easily uninstall it by deleting the security profile. BTW, the name of the app is Our Pact, and it is based on the assumption that there is a cooperative agreement between parent and child not to circumvent it.
The bottom line is that there is no way to read your child's messages except to have them give you the phone unlocked at the end of the day, or to share an Apple ID with them, which has the downside already mentioned. And they can still delete messages they don't want you to see before you get access to them.
