How to Monitor Your Employees' Android Phones Legally?

Is Employee Monitoring Legal?

This is a never-ending debate, and the answers are diverse in nature. Different countries have different types of privacy rules, which is why an employer must consider the legal aspects of monitoring an employee's phone. Furthermore, if you intend to monitor an employee's personal phone, this may raise legal issues. On the other hand, if you want to monitor a company-issued phone of your employee, then it is legally possible. To avoid any legal issues, just make sure that your employees know that they are being tracked.

Broadly, in the United States, employee monitoring is legal. However, the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act doesn't allow unauthorized interception of digital and electronic communication; the law exempts business employers who provide email and internet access. As the employer owns the device provided to the employees, they may listen to, watch, and read employees' workplace communication. The “business purpose exception” enables employers to monitor employees’ electronic communications only if the employer has a “legitimate business purpose” for the monitoring.

What Does US Law Say About Monitoring?

The ECPA has specific provisions for a few exceptions. Title I of the ECPA allows service providers and operators to access communications as part of their normal job duties when necessary to provide their services. It also permits individuals authorized by law, such as law enforcement, to intercept communications or conduct electronic surveillance.

Plus, there is no U.S. federal law that requires employers to notify their workers that they are being monitored. However, it is a best practice to inform employees of the company beforehand. Alerting an employee, the company’s right to monitor can also act as a natural deterrent.

Why Should You Monitor Your Employees’ Android Phones?

Depending on your business, monitoring or tracking employees’ phones can have various advantages. There are a few common reasons why you should monitor your employee’s Android Phone:

• Since employees may use company-provided phones for personal calls as well as work, monitoring allows employers to track usage and ensure the devices are being used appropriately.
• Employers can track employees' GPS locations to determine whether they are actually out on official or personal business.
• Employers can determine if employees are breaching any confidential information about their business.
• Employees can be more productive if they know their activities are being monitored.
• Employers can spot employee strengths and give positive feedback to them.

How to Monitor Your Employees’ Android Phones Legally?

After considering all possible legal aspects related to employee monitoring, the main question arises: how can you actually monitor your employee’s Android phone? There are various employee monitoring apps available in the market; you can simply pick one to track your employees’ Android phones. But, before making any buying decision, you need to do basic research work to find the best app that suits your budget and monitoring requirements. Here are a few things you must take into consideration:

• Compatibility – which Android devices does an app support
• Pricing plans – How affordable is it?
• Ease of functionality – Is it easy to use?
• Available features – Does it have all the features you are looking for?
• Performance – Does it work alright, or are there any bugs?

Most businesses normally want an employee monitoring app that’s affordable, easy to set up, and has all the necessary features. Keeping that in mind, XNSPY can suit all your needs.

XNSPY has been designed to monitor a phone with no intrusion at all. With this powerful and non-intrusive mobile monitoring app, you can monitor your employees’ mobile activities as well as their GPS locations.

To get started, here is a step-by-step guide for a hassle-free installation:

Step 1: Check Compatibility

The first and foremost step is to ensure the compatibility of XNSPY and the target phone that you want to monitor. XNSPY works great with all Android devices running between Android 4.0 and 16.0. Unless your employees are using decade-old Android devices, compatibility wouldn’t be an issue.

Step 2: Get Your Subscription

Decide the number of employees you need to monitor and then buy the number of XNSPY subscriptions accordingly. XNSPY comes in two different plans, Basic and Premium, and three billing options (monthly, quarterly, and yearly). For the Basic XNSPY version, you will need to pay a monthly subscription of $29.99; $41.99 for a quarter, or $59.99 for a year. For the Premium XNSPY version, you will be charged $35.99 per month, $59.99 per quarter, and $89.99 per year.

Step 3: Download and Install

To install the monitoring app, you will need physical access to the Android phone of your employee. After the subscription, you will receive a confirmation email containing a download link and your XNSPY account credentials.

Step 4: Log into Your Xnspy Dashboard

Once you are done with the installation, finish the setup by logging in to your XNSPY web-based control panel using the provided account credentials. After installation, XNSPY takes some time to fetch all the information from the monitored Android phone.