Snapchat is an app favored by many thanks to its illusion of privacy, especially by teens. Its disappearing messages, playful filters, and gamified features keep users on the app for hours. The downside is that Snapchat is widely used for online grooming and sextortion.
A June 2024 report by Thorn and NCMEC analyzing over 15 million sextortion cases revealed Snapchat is a major platform in these crimes. It ranked second after Instagram for initial contact (31.6%) and image distribution (16.7%), and was the top secondary platform used to move victims (35.8%).
While Snapchat has privacy settings that allow parents to set up some controls to manage their teenager’s account, they do not do enough to protect the teenager using the app.
To this end, it is essential to use parental control apps to access and manage Snapchat on your child’s device. The best Snapchat monitoring apps can track activities on Snapchat, monitor content, limit app access, and even block the Snapchat app entirely.
I’ve researched dozens of apps and found only a few that work well for monitoring and managing a Snapchat account. Snapchat parental controls are not as comprehensive as those offered by these control tools.
Snapchat Parental Controls vs. Phone Monitoring Apps
Compare the capabilities of the built-in Snapchat parental controls and a third-party app.
| Feature | Snapchat Parental Controls | Phone Monitoring Apps |
|---|---|---|
| See friends list | Shows kids’ friends and new friends added | Monitors friends’ interactions |
| See Message list | Shows who they have messaged | Tracks messages and text content |
| Restrict Sensitive Content | Limits sensitive content in stories and spotlight | Blocks access to sensitive content; Can alert parents about harmful content |
| Track stories and Discover feed | Not available | Shows searches and viewed content in stories and the Discover feed |
| Limit Snapchat screen time | Not available | Some apps restrict Snapchat usage |
| Block Snapchat | Not available | Can block Snapchat remotely |
mSpy – Best for Seeing Disappearing Snapchat Messages
Why it’s one of the best: mSpy’s screen recorder captures snapshots of the screen, enabling you to view all messages, including those that disappear after being viewed.
mSpy is a comprehensive phone monitoring app that offers numerous features for parental control. The Screen Recorder is the most important for Snapchat monitoring.

Since messages can be set to disappear after being viewed, the screen recorder takes screenshots of the phone’s screen activities in real time. You can stitch together a conversation straight from the snapshots.
You’ll like that mSpy records all messages sent and received from the Snapchat app. You will see deleted Snapchat messages and know who they are talking to and what they are talking about.

If you’re concerned about who your child is texting on Snapchat, you can use the keyword tracker to track certain words. While you need to input the list of words you want it to track, you can use it to monitor Snapchat for threats, abusive content, predatory remarks, and more.

mSpy features a keylogger that allows you to intercept Snapchat passwords. If your child tends to log out of their account, you can retrieve the password and use it to log in to their Snapchat account on their device or the web version.

mSpy operates in the background after installation on the device. Your child won’t be alerted to the app’s presence on their phone.
uMobix – Best for Seeing Snapchat Activities
Why it’s one of the best: uMobix takes screenshots of all Snapchat activities, allowing you to see what they scroll through on the app.
The uMobix app uses a screenshot method to take snapshots of the app’s scroll actions. You can see stories, snaps, calls, images, and videos shared on the app. Unlike other apps that only monitor messages, uMobix provides a clear picture of what your child is doing on Snapchat.

You will know when they accept friend requests, when they share their location on the Snap Map, and when they discover new places that can impact their real-life interactions.

uMobix monitors who your child is chatting with and the nature of their conversations. You can track sent and received snaps, allowing you to provide guidance on digital safety based on what your child is sending and receiving on the app.
uMobix also features a keylogger that captures keystrokes. It shows you which app the text was entered in. Thus, you can use it to retrieve a Snapchat password. Additionally, it operates in stealth mode and does not send notifications to the monitored phone.

uMobix excels at evaluating a teenager’s experience on the Snapchat app. It can prevent inappropriate behavior, bullying, and predators by keeping you informed while providing absolute anonymity.
Eyezy – Best Snapchat Monitoring App for iPhone
Why it’s one of the best: Eyezy offers advanced phone monitoring on jailbroken iOS devices.

Eyezy sees all conversation content on the Snapchat app. It can keep an eye on all chats and give you a detailed insight into who your child interacts with on Snapchat.

The Messaging Surveillance feature allows you to view all messages sent and received on Snapchat. Although there were some glitches during the syncing process, Eyezy started displaying Snapchat messages.
Eyezy keystroke capture (Keylogger) sees all the inputs on the target phone. It is ideal for capturing passwords, including those of Snapchat. Whether you want to log in to Snapchat on your child’s iPhone or use the browser version, Eyezy can help you get the accurate password.

Besides monitoring, you can block access to Snapchat remotely using the Block feature. To block Snapchat, simply access the app list from your Eyezy dashboard and click ‘BLOCK’ next to Snapchat. While this is an extreme method of limiting Snapchat usage, it can help prevent a problem from intensifying.

Bark – Best for Inspecting Snapchat Content
Why it’s one of the best: Bark scans Snapchat content against 19 categories and alerts parents about inappropriate behavior and harmful content.
Bark is one of the best apps for monitoring Snapchat. It helps parents navigate the dangers of Snapchat with their kids. The app can scan direct messages on the app and look for concerning content like sexual content, cyberbullying, self-harm, suicide, predation, and others.

Bark will alert you to flagged messages, so you don’t have to scan through all your child’s conversations to identify any cause for concern. The app utilises machine learning to stay up-to-date with the latest slang, ensuring you won’t miss a thing.
Bark content scanning is customizable. You can select the categories you want to monitor on Snapchat according to your child’s age. This way, it won’t scan for every potential threat for older kids, but only for extreme content, while giving your teenager the privacy they need.
This can preserve trust between you can your child, which is easy to erode if they catch you monitoring their device without them knowing.
Besides screening for potentially harmful content, you can use Bark to limit screen usage. Its screen time management feature allows you to set rules like: ‘no social media after bedtime.’ You can block Snapchat during school hours or select specific times when your child can use Snapchat during the day.

Bark’s activity report provides insights into your child’s screen use over a specified period. You can see if they have been using Snapchat and for how long they were on the app. As such, you can tell if your child has healthy digital habits.
XNSPY – Best Cheap Snapchat Monitoring App
Why it’s one of the best: XNSPY provides comprehensive Snapchat monitoring at a cheaper price than similar apps (starts at $8.33/mo).
XNSPY offers a comprehensive suite of features for tracking Snapchat. The app displays sent and received messages in real-time. It can capture messages before they vanish using the screen recorder. The app provides screenshots at regular intervals of 5 to 10 seconds.

XNSPY monitors every shared snap and video, and tracks all stories posted and viewed on Snapchat. It can also see which friends have access to your child’s location on Snap Map.

You can monitor both private and public Snapchat stories to gain insight into your child’s Snapchat activities and identify potentially harmful content.
The Keylogger logs keystrokes on the phone’s keyboard. It is essential to ensure your child is not searching for or viewing inappropriate Snapchat videos on the Discover feed.

Additionally, you can obtain your teen’s Snapchat password and use it to block content directly from the app. Blocking certain videos can help adjust the Snapchat algorithm to recommend more suitable content.
Finally, XNSPY can block Snapchat from its online dashboard. Therefore, you can keep a child from using the app if you can’t control how they are using it.

Comparison of Apps to Monitor Snapchat
So, which one to choose? Let’s compare them in the table below.
| Feature | mSpy | uMobix | Eyezy | Bark | XNSPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Screen Recorder captures Snap messages | + | – | + | – | + |
| Tracker of Listed Keywords | + | + | + | tracks words based on pre-loaded categories | + |
| Screenshots of Snapchat activities | – | + | + | – | + |
| Keylogger | + | + | + | – | + |
| Screen limits | – | – | – | + | – |
| Activity recorder | – | – | – | logs total activity time on Snapchat | – |
Conclusion
Snapchat monitoring is crucial to ensure your child uses the app safely. Phone monitoring apps provide more effective safeguarding methods than Snapchat’s built-in features. With the best apps for tracking Snapchat, you can keep an eye on your child’s activities.
Each of the suggested Snapchat monitoring apps is the best in its own way. You can find their full reviews in the HeyLocate blog to learn more about installation and use.
Tracking Snapchat conversations, stories, and overall activity may seem too much, but it’s not when the safety of your children is at stake. Agree?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
You can monitor Snapchat using the Family Center or a third-party monitoring app.
The Bark app can monitor Snapchat for suspicious and harmful content, alerting parents about any concerning issues.
The police can retrieve deleted Snapchat messages using a court order.
To track someone on Snap, they have to share their location with you on Snap Map.
Snapchat has a Family Center, which offers parental controls. It helps parents see who their teenagers are chatting with on Snapchat.
There are apps to record Snapchat, such as mSpy for chats and uMobix for Snapchat activities.
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