“Romantic partners can mutually agree to monitor each other”
I’ve long argued that mobile operators missed a trick by not offering synched back-up for customer data, messages and contacts at a couple of Euro a month add-on. Now they are seeing a host of competitors step into the breach.
This app, from Seenearly, seems to have put a different spin on such services by showcasing the app’s top snooping potential. Its own press release suggest that parents might use it to monitor their children, employers their employees, and green-eyed lovers can drive themselves crazy tracking the exact movements of their “romantic partner”. Really?
Seenearly press release
Seenearly is an Android application that tracks all the activity on your mobile phone and lets you monitor it online.
Seenearly resides as a low-level, anonymous background app on your handset, automatically syncing the contents of your phone to an account on the Seenearly website.
The app then tracks all handset usage and sends the information back to a real-time, online account that can be accessed 24/7. The accessible information includes calls, SMS and email content, browsing history, address book, applications that have been installed or deleted and the phone’s location.
Peter Karsten, CEO of Acquad, commented: “Seenearly is all about keeping you informed – we track all the activity on a handset and collect this information in one place. Having access to this information is enormously powerful – it can allow consumers to understand their mobile habits, protect against identity theft or cyberstalking and help keep an eye on loved ones. Interestingly, we don’t gather any more information than the typical Google app in the Android Market. The difference with Seenearly is that the end-user can see what information has been collected.”
Seenearly suggests that it can help its users in a number of ways:
• By understanding their phone habits, consumers can ensure that they are on the correct mobile tariff and save money
• Employers can monitor the smartphones of their staff to understand what they are accessing using company property
• Worried parents can monitor their child’s phone to check for signs of cyber-bullying and other problems
• Romantic partners can mutually agree to monitor each other