Download & setup

Set up TheTruthSpy in about ten minutes.

Two things get you started: a free parent account you create in this browser, and your child's Android phone for a few honest minutes — to install the app, type a code, and grant permissions together.

Get it onGoogle Play Direct downloadFull build (APK)

Android 8.0 or later on the child's phone. Free to set up. No card, and no confirmation email to wait for.

The TheTruthSpy app on a child’s phone, ready for the six-character pairing code

A free parent account

Set up first, on this site, in any browser. There is nothing to install on your own phone or laptop, and you can sign in from an iPhone even though the monitored phone must be Android.

Your child's Android phone

For a few minutes, with your child present, to install the app, type the code, and grant the permissions one at a time while you explain what each one is for.

The pairing code links the two together

Your panel makes a code. Their phone reads it.

From then on, the phone reports to your panel and your settings reach the phone. A code lasts ten minutes, works once, and ties one phone to one family.

Your panel

Create a code

On this website, in your browser.

VBM7K5type it in
Their phone

Enter the code

Into the TheTruthSpy app.

Connected

You're linked

The two now talk to each other.

Step by step

The whole thing, from account to connected.

Each step below shows the screen you will actually see. Steps 1 to 3 happen in your browser; steps 4 and 5 happen on your child's phone.

1 In your browser

Create your parent account

Sign up with an email address and a password, then repeat the password so a typo cannot lock you out. You land straight in your panel — there is no confirmation email to wait for. Your email is how you sign in and where alerts go if you turn email alerts on.

The TheTruthSpy sign-up page in a web browser with email, password and repeat-password fields
2 In your browser

Add your child

Give their name and birthday. The birthday only sets sensible starting points for their age — a suggested daily budget, a bedtime, which windows TheTruthSpy proposes — and you can change every bit of it later. Nothing is monitored yet. Add one child now and more whenever you like.

The Add a child form in the TheTruthSpy panel, with name, birthday and age-based suggestions
3 In your browser

Generate a pairing code

Your panel generates a six-character code that is live for ten minutes. You can say whose phone this is now, so it starts working the moment the code is accepted, or leave that blank and confirm afterwards. The same screen shows both app builds so you can pick the right one before you touch the phone.

The Pair a phone screen in the TheTruthSpy panel showing the code VBM7K5, its expiry countdown and the two app builds
4 On their phone

Install the app and type the code

On your child's phone, get TheTruthSpy from Google Play or download the full build directly from thetruthspy.com, open it, and type in the code. The direct-download build is the one that can collect calls and messages and run the advanced tools; the Play build skips those because Google does not approve message reading for parental-control apps. Everything else is identical.

Get it onGoogle Play Direct downloadFull build (APK)
The TheTruthSpy app on a child’s phone with the pairing code VBM7K5 typed in and a Link button
5 Together

Grant permissions — in the open

Android asks, one at a time, for the things TheTruthSpy uses: location, usage access, notification access, and a few more depending on what you switched on. The app explains each one before the system dialog appears. Do this with your child, not behind their back. When you are done, the phone reports to your panel and the app stays on their home screen, listing exactly what it shares.

The TheTruthSpy setup checklist on a child’s phone, with three of five permissions granted and the next one highlighted
The permission that matters most

Choose “Allow all the time” for location.

When Android asks about location, the choice your child makes changes everything. “While using the app” looks granted but collects nothing once the app is closed — the map freezes, the trail stops, and place alerts never fire. Only “Allow all the time” keeps the map live from a pocket.

If the map ever goes stale later, this setting is the first thing to check. Updates and accidental taps sometimes flip it back.

More on how location works
Android’s location permission dialog with “Allow all the time” highlighted and a note explaining why it is needed
Monitoring, not spying

Your child is not kept in the dark.

TheTruthSpy is meant to be found. The app sits on their home screen, a plain-language page lists what is shared and what is off, and a tap lets them ask for more time. It never records what they type, and it never switches on the camera or microphone without a notice on the phone.

  • They can ask for more time. The request comes to you; you decide.
  • They can see what is shared — and what is switched off.
  • Nothing is silent. Any camera or microphone request is announced on the phone.
The What is shared screen on the child’s phone
Look before you install

Open the read-only demo.

A made-up family with a full week of realistic data. Every screen opens, nothing can be changed, and none of it is real. It is the quickest way to know whether TheTruthSpy fits how your family runs.

Open the demo
Before you start

Setup questions, answered.

Does TheTruthSpy work on iPhone?
Not yet — TheTruthSpy is an Android app for the child's phone. Your own parent panel runs in any browser, on any device, so you can check in from an iPhone even though the monitored phone must be Android.
Do I need to install anything on my phone?
No. The parent side is a website. You only install the app on the child's phone. That keeps your side light and means you can sign in from a laptop, a work computer, or your own phone.
What is the difference between the Google Play and direct-download builds?
The Play build covers location, screen time, apps, web filtering and notification alerts. The direct-download build from thetruthspy.com adds the call and message logs, optional message-content reading, and the advanced tools (remote camera, ambient audio, flagged photos, device videos, call recording), which Google Play does not allow for this category. Everything else is identical, and both builds are visible on the phone.
Is it safe to install an app from outside the Play Store?
Only install the direct build from thetruthspy.com itself, never from a third-party site. Android will ask you to allow installs from your browser for this one file; you can switch that permission off again afterwards. The build is signed, and the app on the phone shows the version it is running.
Can I try it before touching my child's phone?
Yes. There is a read-only live demo — a made-up family with a full week of realistic data. Every screen opens and nothing can be changed, so you can see exactly what TheTruthSpy shows before you install anything.
How long does setup really take?
About ten minutes end to end: a couple of minutes to make an account and add a child, then five or so on the child's phone to install, pair, and grant permissions together.
What if my child removes the app or a permission later?
The phone stops reporting for whatever was removed, and your panel shows it — a stale “last heard from” time, or a permission listed as missing. TheTruthSpy does not hide from uninstallation or force permissions back on. It tells you, so you can talk about it.

Start tonight.

Make your free account, pair their phone, and by bedtime you will know it is home and charging.

Create a free account Read the FAQ

Android · Free to set up · Visible on your child's phone