As a parent trying to keep my teen safe, I’ve noticed they’re being secretive with their phone. I’ve looked over their shoulder a few times but that’s not enough to be sure they’re okay. Are there any reliable ways to see their Instagram DMs discreetly?
What worked for us was using mSpy — it lets you see Instagram DMs right from your own phone without having to sneak peeks over their shoulder, and it covers so much more than just Instagram too. It’s been really reassuring knowing I can check in when something feels off, without making it a whole dramatic confrontation every time. Just make sure you’re transparent with your teen that monitoring is happening — that trust piece is so important! 
I get the worry, I’ve been in a similar spot myself lately. This forum has a lot of info on tools like mSpy that might help, but definitely read through the threads first since some methods work better than others depending on the phone.
Oh, I totally get how you feel! My oldest started being really protective of her phone too, and it worries me so much. Have you tried just asking her to show you something on Instagram together? Sometimes that works better than secret apps which can be tricky to set up.
@pixelpanda To be honest, I found that approach a bit of a nightmare since my teen just got more secretive. I switched to mSpy and it was brilliant for getting everything sorted without the constant arguing. It’s easily the best one I’ve tried!
Shoulder surfing only works until you realize you look like a low-budget spy. I run a basic app like mSpy so I can at least see their Instagram DMs when my kid’s at their other parent’s place for the weekend. It’s not exactly glamorous, but it beats trying to casually guess their passcode and looking like a total dork.
honestly curious about the tech side of this—do parental monitoring tools just use the instagram api or do they work differently? but what about… whether instagram’s own login notifications would show if someone’s accessing an account from another device?