How To Track Incoming and Outgoing Calls On A Cell Phone

Are you a parent with kids old enough to have their own mobile phones? Do you want to keep tabs on the people they are talking to – from social media sites to text messages and phone calls? Perhaps you have your own company or business, and you provide your employees with company cell phones? Do you want to make sure that the company phones are used appropriately? 

Well, you probably have a good reason for wanting to track calls. The main question now is – do you know how to track calls? Read on to learn about an effective and convenient way to track and monitor calls on your target device.

What is Phone Call Tracking and Monitoring? 

As the name implies, phone call monitoring is the process of keeping tabs on the call logs of a target phone. This includes both incoming and outgoing calls. The information usually monitored consists of the contact details (name, phone number), call duration, and time and date stamps.

Call monitoring is a rather controversial topic mainly due to privacy concerns. The act of monitoring calls is subject to various laws, from federal to state and local laws. That is to say that it is legal as long as you do it within limits set by the law. Moreover, call monitoring is a serious matter and should only be done if you have a perfect reason. If you decide to monitor someone else’s incoming and outgoing calls, make sure that you are well-versed in the act’s laws.

Why Track Calls?

Yes, you can track calls, but why exactly would you do it? The why is a significant determining factor regarding the legality of call monitoring. Call monitoring technology must be used for safety and security purposes or other similar matters. Unfortunately, like with other technological innovations, call monitoring is sometimes used for selfish, malicious purposes.

Here are a couple of acceptable and perfectly legal reasons to monitor calls on a target phone:

• Child Monitoring

As technology becomes an integral part of everyday living, kids having their own mobile devices are getting younger. While this certainly has its advantages, it also comes with specific threats. One such threat is your child being targeted by cybercriminals or child predators. While this may start on social media and other online platforms, the predator may eventually transition to contacting your child via their phone number. Hence, monitoring your minor child’s incoming and outgoing calls is vital in keeping tabs on who they are talking to or getting in touch with.

• Employee Monitoring

If you are a business owner who provides company devices to your employees, you could also do some call monitoring. This is to ensure that your employees are not misusing the devices. At the same time, this helps ensure that your employees are doing their jobs. Moreover, monitoring calls and other communications may help you prevent security breaches and data compromise.

Call tracking or call monitoring is sometimes done by law enforcement agencies, but we’ll not get into details about that. Some people may also request to monitor someone’s phone, including calls, for some legal reasons. 

How to Track Incoming and Outgoing Calls?

There are two main ways to track or monitor incoming and outgoing calls.

• Contact the Network Provider

The main advantage of this method is that it is official and secure. It is also free to check the call history. Now, if you have access to the phone, you don’t really have to do this. However, if you have a reason for wanting to make your inquiry discreet, then you can do this.

However, the target device’s network provider may not offer that call history tracking services. Also, this may only work for people close to you, like your kids. This is mainly because you’ll need the account and password to log in to the network provider’s website.

• Use Call Monitoring Software

A more convenient way to monitor call logs is by using trusted call tracking apps or monitoring software that offer call log monitoring. Such software must be installed on the target device. You would also need to pay a fee or sign up for a subscription plan. 

Reliable monitoring software is the perfect child monitoring and employee monitoring tool. The best apps and software come with a wide array of monitoring features. Aside from the target device’s call history, you can also track other data including:

• Text messages
•  Emails
• Social media and messaging app activities
• Web Browsing history
• Real-time GPS location
• Multimedia Files
• Installed and Running Apps
• Keyloggers

Monitoring apps may vary in terms of pricing, supported devices, and supported features. Choose one that fits your monitoring needs.

Conclusion

Technology has made a lot of things possible. Reliable monitoring software and parental controls are great examples of technological advancements. You can now easily track numbers and monitor phone calls with such tools. Of course, just because you can do it doesn’t mean that you should. Remember that call monitoring is subject to federal and state laws and regulations.

Frequently Asked Questions 

• How can I track incoming and outgoing calls on mobile?

You can access records through the device’s network provider. You can also use a third-party call tracking and monitoring software.

• Are all calls monitored?

All calls can be monitored, but not everything may be monitored. Call monitoring is subject to federal, state, and even local laws and regulations. Also, there is a difference between monitoring call logs and recording or listening to calls.

• Do phone companies record calls?

All mobile companies keep records of incoming and outgoing calls. The retention period may vary depending on your network service provider. In general, network providers keep records for around a year.

• What states allow you to record phone calls?

States allow the recording of phone calls as per federal regulations. Most states only require one-party consent. Several states require both or all parties involved to agree to record a phone call legally.