MSafely Review and Test: How This Phone Tracker Works

Children are increasingly involved in the online world, which is becoming an increasingly dangerous place. As a parent, it can feel like an uphill battle to keep an eye on what your child is exposed to on their smartphone. That’s where parental control apps come in. Msafely is a new one that HeyLocate decided to review.

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Why is it important?

Although teenagers are constantly on social media, in fact, they feel worse after using such platforms. This is because of grim events like trolling, body-shaming, and cyberbullying.

Moreover, our HeyLocate investigation found sextortion is a growing threat for minors, as the FBI saw 1000% increase in sextortion incidents in 2023 alone.

Knowing how vulnerable kids can be online, it’s important to be aware of your child’s online activities.

In this review, we’ll examine Msafely, which promises to be the all-in-one solution for modern parenting. We’ll explore how it monitors calls, text messages, social media apps, and location to protect your children.

What is Msafely

Msafely is a comprehensive parental control tool for the family that offers monitoring features on a kid’s Android or iOS device. The Msafely website was registered on 20th April 2023 by US GBYTE Technology Co. Ltd, located in the US.

According to Msafely About Us page, the app serves nearly 1.5M people in over 180 countries.

Msafely maintains a blog offering actionable advice for protecting kids’ online activities. You will also find reviews of various parental control apps that compare to Msafely.

Since Msafely is still a new application, it does not have social media pages. We will update this review once the service establishes its social media presence.

Is Msafely Legit and Safe, Or a Scam?

Msafely is legit and safe, not a scam. The app has a 3.8-star review on Trustpilot, with 60% being 5-star reviews. We found that users complained about the app not updating in real-time and issues with customer service.

Our investigations on ScamAdviser showed it has a middling trust score of 55% since it’s still a new site. We found it has a valid SSL certificate, and the domain is slated to be renewed in 2025.

How Does Msafely Work?

Msafely is a phone-tracking app that collects data on a monitored device and shows it on an online dashboard. You need to install the app on a target Android or iOS phone.

Once installed, the app will record the phone’s activities and take snapshots of various apps. You can then check the phone’s features and interactions on the Msafely platform.

Msafely supports three languages on the website. These are English, Japanese, and German. However, you can use the dashboard in English, Spanish, French, German, Korean, Italian, Japanese, and Portuguese.

How to Install Msafely

I installed Msafely on a Samsung A33 with the Android 14 operating system. Installation and configuration took only five minutes.

1. To install Msafely on an Android phone, you need to create an account on Msafely.
   
2. Choose the device that you want to install the app.
   
3. Choose your plan to proceed with creating your account.
   
4. Once you have created an account, you will see the option to add a device. I clicked the Android option, and I was given a QR code to scan.
   
5. Before scanning the code, I needed to turn off the Play Protect feature on the Google Play Store. To do this, Open the Google Play Store and tap on the profile’s icon. Tap Play Protect and then tap the toggle beside [Scan apps with Play Protect] to turn it off.
   
   I scanned the code using the device on which I was installing the app. Msafely then showed me the steps to take for a simple installation.
6. Check the [I am not a Robot] box to download the app.
   
7. Open downloads, tap the [Msafely] app, and tap [Install]. After the app is installed on the phone, tap [Open].
   
8. You will see a system update option. Tap [Ok]. It will then ask for the [Appear on Top] Permission. When you click [Yes], it will go to the [Appear on Top] setting, so you can turn on that feature.
   
9. It will then ask you to access permissions. Tap Yes. Update Service will ask permission to access various features like location, calls, contacts, and camera. Allow these permissions.
   
10. Once you allow these permissions, Msafely will take you to the Accessibility screen of your phone’s settings. You may come across a warning like the one I encountered saying that Accessibility is a restricted feature.
    If so, go to your phone’s Settings > Apps > and open the [Update Service] app. Tap on the three dots in the top-right corner and click [Allow Restricted Settings].
    
11. Go back to [Update Service] app on the app drawer and tap it. It will open the Accessibility screen on your phone. Tap Installed Apps from the Accessibility screen and then Update Service.
    You will be asked whether you want Update Service to have full control of the phone. Tap [Allow]. Then tap the off toggle to turn it on.
    
12. Msafely will ask you to enter the registration code. To see this code, go back to the online dashboard and click Next on the instructions until you see the code. Enter the code on the monitored device and tap Login.
    
13. A notification will pop up. Tap [Start Now].
    

The app’s installation is complete, and you will have access to the online dashboard to see all the activities monitored from the target device.

Note: we described the step-by-step way of installing Msafely, but in fact you shouldn’t search and open all these settings: Msafely guides you and opens them automatically, just give all permissions.

Msafely’s online dashboard displays the monitored features in two panes. You can click on the right panel to access tracked features by category, or click directly on an icon on the left to see the details of that element.

Calls & SMS Monitoring – Scores 9/10

Msafely can monitor calls, and SMS, and show you the contacts saved on the device. I tapped SMS, and it displayed the list of text messages on the left and the contents of the latest message on the right.

It arranged messages from the latest, allowing me to see the most recent conversation on the monitored device.

However, Msafely did not display the name of the saved contact. It only showed the name if the message had been sent by an institution, such as a banking service.

Msafely calls monitoring showed the most recent calls, including the name of the saved contact. I found some missing dates that showed the call logs may have been deleted from the phone.

I liked that I could see the phone number, the call’s duration, and whether the call was missed, received, or dialed on the phone.

Msafely showed the entire contact list in alphabetical order. I could tap on a contact to see their phone number and other details, such as their email address.

Location Tracking & Geofence – Scores 5/10

Msafely location tracking showed tracked locations using the GPS locations feature. It tracked the GPS coordinates and showed the name of the visited location.

Nonetheless, it did not display the specific name of the location. For example, it showed the name of the city but not the suburban areas where the phone’s user had visited.

The map view also lacked details and there were no directions to go the tracked location. Thus, I could not use it to track a lost device, but would be helpful if you wanted to know your child’s general location.

The Geofence feature was another vague attribute of Msafely.

Although I could add the name of the geofence, I could not add a specific location since the map did not show the names of places in my area, although I had allowed it to access my GPS location.

Social Media Monitoring – Scores 8/10

Msafely social media monitoring was impressive. The app took screenshots of the content viewed on various social media apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. I could see the videos watched, but could not tell if my child liked or commented on a photo or video.

Since Msafely does not have a keylogger, I could not see inputs like app passwords. Thus, I could not use it to access a locked app directly on my child’s device. If this feature is necessary for you, see how mSpy keylogger works.

Tracking Photos & Video – Scores 10/10

Msafely tracked all media stored on the target Android device. Under Photos, Msafely, included photos and videos arranged by folders, just as on the phone’s gallery. I could click on a video to see from the online dashboard.

Live Recording – Scores 1/10

Although Msafely has a live recording option, I could not use it since it required that the phone screen be on.

It beat the whole point of live recording, since the app is supposed to turn the camera and mic on remotely even if the phone’s screen is off, like other parental control apps for Android.

Check Installed Apps and Apps Timeline – Scores 4/10

Msafely showed the list of installed apps on the target device. Again, I could not click on an app to see the app’s timeline. Therefore, it was only useful to see if there were hidden apps on a child’s device.

See Emails on Target Phone – Scores 5/10

Msafely can view emails on a target phone. The app took screenshots of the user’s Gmail account and showed the contents of the email on the dashboard.

I could not click on an email to read it’s content, but I could tell which email was opened and which one was not opened.

Other Monitored Features with Msafely

Msafely can monitor other features on a target phone like the calendar and permissions allowed. You can see events on the calendar and click on a date to see the event of that day.

The permissions check feature allows you to see the features that the app can access on the target phone. It will tell you whether Msafely can use stuff like the camera, accessibility, contacts, call logs, and microphone.

Msafely also allows you to see the list of all the Wi-Fi networks that the phone has ever connected to. Nonetheless, it does not show the time of the connection and the location of the Wi-Fi network.

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Is Msafely Detectable?

Msafely operates in stealth mode under the app name [Update Service]. Therefore, it is undetectable to a child looking for a monitoring app.

Nevertheless, it could notify the user that the app can access the phone. Such a notification would alert an older kid to an app with many permissions, which could lead to them discovering the app.

How Much Does Msafely Cost?

Currently, Msafely is offering discounts and is charging $39.99 on a per-month plan, while the 3-month plan is priced at $23.33 per month. When you choose the 12-month plan, you will be charged $8.33 per month.

However, you will be charged the full price after a month which is $69.99 on the per-month plan, $39.99 on the 3-month plan, and $16.66 per month on the annual plan.

Msafely accepts payments from secure payment systems, including Visa, Paypal, Klarna, and wire transfers. You can rest assured that all transactions are encrypted to ensure 100% privacy.

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How to Cancel Msafely Subscription

To unsubscribe from Msafely, go to the app’s online dashboard and click on the profile icon in the top-right corner.

Then click Settings. This will open the settings page, showing [My Device List] and [My Order List]. You will see the Subscription option under the [My Order List]. Click the [On] option to [Off]. This means you have turned off your subscription to the Msafely app.

According to the refund policy, you can initiate a refund with Msafely within 15 days from the subscription date. To initiate a refund, fill out the Request Refund form. You will be charged a service fee of $5, deducted from the refund amount.

Msafely Customer Service

Msafely offers customer service through email at service@msafely.com or by phone at (050) 5479-9325. You can also get support through live chat and the FAQs page for commonly asked questions.

I tried reaching out to Msafely customer support via email, but I did not get a response.

We saw several negative Msafely reviews concerning customer support not being helpful. Customers complained about Msafely not working and not getting the help they needed from customer service.

Msafely vs mSpy

Here’s a side by side comparison of Msafely vs mSpy to help you understand which is the better phone monitoring app.

Feature	Msafely	mSpy
Calls, SMS, & Contact	does not show contact name on text messages.	better text message monitoring with contact name listed.
Location and Geofence	shows GPS coordinates, but no specific location on map; vague geofencing feature.	shows GPS coordinates and specific locations on Google Maps; better at setting up geofence location.
Social Media Apps	takes app’s content screenshots and time accessed.	equally able to take screenshots of social media app content.
Photos and Video	+	+
Installed apps	+	+
Browser history	–	shows all accessed websites, Wi-Fi used, and browser bookmarks.
Keylogger	–	tracks all text input on the target device.
Block websites, wi-fi, and apps	–	+
	Try Msafely	Try mSpy

Read our full mSpy review for details about its capabilities here:

Msafely Pros & Cons

Let sum up the advantages and disadvantages of Msafely app.

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Verdict

Msafely is a well-rounded parental control tool for parents looking for a cheap option to monitor a child’s device. Its most impressive features include SMS & calls tracking, social media apps monitoring, and viewing media content stored on the device.

However, mSafely is not great for location tracking and will not show you the websites that your child accessed. For internet tracking, you will need a more comprehensive monitoring tool like mSpy.