5 Best Instagram Spy Apps: Solutions for Any Need

Instagram has one of the largest bases of young users, owing mostly to its feature-rich support for multimedia sharing. Millennials and Gen Z users flock here because of the plethora of features for sharing high-quality images and videos.

However, Instagram also has its dark side. You won’t listen to the news for long without hearing of one scandal or another involving the platform. If it isn’t about privacy issues, it’s the negative impact that poorly vetted content and contacts can have on formative minds.

As a parent, employer, or partner, you may have strong reasons to be bothered about what people under your care do on Instagram.

If you want to spy on the Instagram story, you have many options to choose from, but each has its pros and cons. In this guide, we’ll help you choose the best methods by explaining each one in-depth. We’ll also show you what to look for when choosing Instagram spy apps and recommend 5 apps that meet these criteria. 

Instagram Spying: Good or Bad?

Before diving into how to access someone’s Instagram, it’s important to take time out to examine your motives. In some instances, you could actually do more harm than good by spying on someone’s Instagram. Things could backfire and destroy everything you labored to build.

We, therefore, strongly advise you to track Instagram only for these legitimate reasons.

Keeping Tabs on Children

As a parent, you have valid reasons to keep an eye on what your young ones are doing on Instagram. No one else is going to supervise your kids when they’re on the platform. It’s up to you to keep them protected from harmful content and dangerous people.

They might not realize when they’re slipping into a black hole of negative content. What looks cool on the surface can have a negative impact on their subconscious, putting them under more unnecessary pressure to fit in.

Plus, they might not realize it when someone with malicious intent is sweet-talking them into their insidious plans.

Tracking a Partner

If your partner has been giving you bad vibes lately, and you can’t place your finger on what could be wrong with them, you might find clues on Instagram. If they’re active Instagram users, tracking them on the platform helps you investigate their online activities. You might get to find out who’s been hitting on them or what’s been piquing their interest lately.

“So if you’re dating someone, and they start accusing you of cheating, or they’re worried that you’re talking to other people without any evidence, it usually means that they’re cheating, and you’re talking to other people.”

– says psychologist Daniel Acorn.

Supervising Employees

If Instagram is one of your marketing or customer care channels, you need to keep close tabs on what your employees do on the platform during work hours. They might be tempted to indulge in activities unrelated to business or contradictory to your corporate values.

By learning how to spy on Instagram messages, you can ensure that they remain focused and productive when using the platform. 

How to Spy on Instagram for Free?

Depending on your reasons for spying, you might decide it’s not worth your money. If you have some free time and some technical experience, you can play around with some free techniques.

Here are some clever ways to spy on Instagram DMs without spending any money upfront. 

Password Stored in a Browser

Most browsers come with a password autofill feature that automates logins. If this feature is active, it’ll save all your target’s passwords in one place, including their Instagram credentials. Accessing this password manager lets you see all their passwords in one fell swoop. But you might need their phone password or saved fingerprints.

Grab their phones for a moment, head over to Chrome or Safari, and open the main menu. Go to ‘Settings → Passwords.” On the next page, key in the phone password to reveal the saved passwords.

Pros

✅ It’s simple and straightforward – zero technical skills required.

✅ Let’s see someone’s Instagram passwords along with other passwords that might be of interest.

Cons

❌ Physical access to the target phone is necessary.

❌ You can’t do without the phone password or fingerprint.

❌ Things can get more complicated if they’ve activated two-factor authentication for their Instagram account.

Fake Account

If the cons to the password manager method have written off your chances of success, you can try this one, though it’s a little complex. It requires more time and patience, and perhaps, more creativity.

Start by creating a fake profile on Instagram. Be sure to make it look as legit as possible not to raise suspicions. It should be a profile your target will most likely fall for – a cool kid from another school, a chic lady.

Send out lots of friend requests to get lots of friends. With a compelling profile, send your target a friend request. Once they accept, you can either choose to just monitor them quietly from the background, checking up on their updates, friends’ list, and any publicly available info.

But if they don’t have much out there in public, you can try approaching them to get more information. Try striking up nice conversations, then gradually transition to the subject you want them to talk about.

If you’re clever enough, they might just drop hints that are dead giveaways.

Pros

✅ You don’t need to know your target’s phone password or Instagram credentials.

✅ Depending on what your target makes public, you can get to see a whole lot about them.

Cons

❌ There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to make anything out of it.

❌ You might only see what your target wants you and everyone else to see.

Social Engineering

Social engineering requires creativity and technical expertise. But if you fall short of the latter, you can have someone handle it for you. Phishing is the most popular form of social engineering because, when done successfully, it lets you easily master how to read someone’s message on Instagram without them knowing.

Phishing entails luring your target to use a fake login page where they effectively disclose their passwords.

The technical part comes first. You have to create a fake login page or phishing site. Presenting the site to your target comes next. Apply some creativity and anything you know about your target here. The aim is to associate the site with a brand or idea, something that’ll compel them to click on the link.

NOTE: This method requires having some technical knowledge. If you’re not a tech-savvy person, you may need to hire an IT expert.

Once they fall for the message and enter their credentials on the link, it’s a done deal.

Pros

✅ Allows collecting your target’s Instagram credentials to track them from any device.

✅ Let’s see their account in full detail.

Cons

❌ If you can’t pull off the technical feat required for the phishing site, and you can’t find someone to do it for free, this might just be a paid option. You’ll need to pay someone to fill your technical skill gaps.

❌ You can meet a huge fork down the road in the form of two-factor authentication. 

Spy on Instagram With a Spy App

Using Instagram spy apps is our number one recommended paid alternative to the free methods above. They’ll cost you a few bucks because they’re specifically designed to negate the cons of the free options. They’re plug-and-play software that requires no technical expertise. They provide unparalleled coverage of your target’s activities on Instagram.

By keeping the requirements for installing and operating to the barest, Instagram spy apps are a go-to solution for anyone who has legitimate needs to learn how to spy on someone’s Instagram. They also work without exposing users. Users can enjoy stealth operations for as long as they want.

Even if your target is a tough nut that keeps their activities tightly secret, you can still have one-click access to all their account details. Spy apps reveal everything from their private chats to group chats, friend’s lists, shared multimedia files, and live video chats.  

Depending on the software you choose, you can also see their deleted messages. The apps copy and save their messages the moment they’re registered on their phone. You can then access the copies whenever you want on your dashboard, even long after your target has deleted them on their phone. They just can’t pull a fast one on their inbox to throw you off!

What’s more, you can have your target Instagram account details updated on your dashboard by the minute, hour, or day. You can check up on your updates every night from the comfort of your couch.

Pros

✅ No-frills installation process.

✅ Bypass security restrictions like two-factor authentication and phone lock.

✅ Remote operations eliminate the need for physical access to the target phone.

✅ Comprehensive coverage of Instagram activities.

Cons

❌ The sea of spy apps out there can make it tricky to pick the best fit for you.

❌ You’ll have to flip a few bucks, though many spy apps offer free trials. 

How to Choose the Best Instagram Spy App?

Be careful, though, all spy apps are not created equal. They can differ wildly in different aspects, from the feature set to ease of use to the reliability, pricing, and support. Let’s examine all these factors and how they influence your user experience. 

Feature List

Top-draw spy apps come with tons of features, enabling you to get a full picture of your target’s activities on Instagram. These functionalities are stacked neatly on the user interface, accessible with just a few clicks.

Here are some of the key features common among top-shelf parental control apps:

• Phone Tracking. Reveals details of your target’s incoming and outgoing calls. You’ll get to see who they’ve been speaking to and when last they spoke. You can even track calls on Instagram and other VoIP apps.
• App Blockers. You can keep your kids from being sucked into the black hole of endless Instagram content. Limit their time on the app with remote app blockers. Decide how long you want them to use Instagram every day. But it’s not just for Instagram only, you can regulate other addictive apps. 
• Read Messaging Apps. Your target’s SMS can provide conclusive evidence of their activities. Instagram spyware can let you read their messages on Instagram as well as other messaging apps. You’ll get to see the content as well as metadata like the sender/receiver and time and date stamps.
• Control Apps. With some spy apps, you can regulate not just screen time but content as well. This helps ensure your kids spend time only on clean and healthy content. It also enables passive monitoring, so you don’t have to check up on your kids from time to time. Simply set the restrictions, and rest assured they won’t be seeing anything harmful.
• Record Someone’s Screen. Having the ability to see what’s on your target’s screen from a remote device is one of the most powerful ways to spy on them. You go with them everywhere they go, whether they’re in their inbox, online forums, social media group, or private chat rooms. You won’t need their account credentials to look into their accounts from another device. You’ll see everything they do in real-time.
• View Multimedia Files. From downloaded files to shared files viewed online, spy apps can let you see all the media files opened on your target’s phone. You’ll get to see their phone library as well as online libraries on media-sharing platforms.
• Monitor Internet Activity. You can also monitor all their internet activities. Track every web page they open on all their browsers. Some apps tell you exactly when each web page was opened, and they did on the page. This can help you see everything from recent interests to guilty passions, secret transactions, and secret relationships.
• Read Their Emails. They can’t evade your watch using their emails. Emails are some of the most secure messaging channels. But spy apps target not the email platforms but the users’ phones. By breaking into the phone’s hard drive, the spy app can access every message processed on the target phone, including emails. 

Compatibility

Every spy app provides compatibility details on their website, so be sure to check it out before making your pick.

Most spy apps support all Android devices with Android 4 or newer versions. Apps that enable remote installation and remote monitoring on iOS devices can accept just about any iOS device, provided it has iCloud backup. By tracking the iCloud backup, the apps give you access to the target’s Instagram messages and other phone details regardless of the phone model.

NOTE: Some apps might have more complex compatibility requirements like jailbreaking and rooting. That means they only work on phones that have specific security restrictions removed.

Stealth Mode

If you’re wondering, “Can you log into someone else’s Instagram without them knowing?” most Instagram spy apps support stealth mode, enabling you to keep your tracking campaign to yourself for as long as you want. They have lightweight algorithms that operate without using any tangible amount of phone data.

Once installed on the target phone, they fade into the phone’s background completely. They don’t display any symbols anywhere – not on the home screen, app menu, or app drawer in the phone’s settings. They don’t take up any significant amount of space on the phone’s memory, battery life, or data. 

Price

The best Instagram spy apps come at a price, but you can rest assured you’ll be getting your money’s worth. You can determine the value-to-price ratios of each app by comparing their offerings. Apps with high-end pricing provide unparalleled features, ease of use, and reliable support.

Paid apps also use different pricing models – monthly subscriptions, multiple pricing tiers, one-time payments, etc. Some apps offer free trials, but you won’t find a totally free app.

To date, we’re yet to find a free spy app yet that doesn’t have some ulterior motives behind it. The ones we found were totally unreliable, misleading people with false claims. You might even end up exposing yourself or your target to serious security and privacy breaches. 

Ease of Use and Installation

Perhaps the most important factor is the ease of use and reliability. An app can come with all the bells and whistles, but what’s the point if you can’t use it to see someone else’s DMs on Instagram? The best Instagram spy apps come with an intuitive user interface, guides, and tutorials, as well as reliable technical support.

They feature a clean, no-frills interface that lets you get down to business whenever you want to.

One simple way to investigate the ease of use is by checking out user reviews. What are customers saying about the product? A few negative reviews aren’t a bad thing. But if you have an overwhelming majority complaining about the app’s reliability, you need to look for better alternatives. 

Customer Service

Some people believe excellent customer support is just the icing on the cake. However, given how sensitive monitoring someone’s Instagram can be, you could make use of all the support you can get.

Top-notch spy apps offer support through many channels, from live chat to email and phone. But you should be able to have someone on your case when you’re stuck with the app. Excellent technical support team advises you on just about any issue related to your app use, whether it’s technical difficulties or how to deal with the evidence you’ve obtained. 

Refund Policy

Many spy apps are so confident with their offering they guarantee refunds if the app doesn’t deliver the goods for you. But refund policies often have unique conditionality, so make sure you read them thoroughly before purchasing.

Some might have a window for refund requests – usually weeks or months. Others might require some proof that you properly followed the instructions for the app’s use.

You can also look through user reviews to see whether they indeed hold up to their refund policy. If there are complaints of inconsistent refunds, perhaps it might not be the right app for you.

What Are the Best Parental Control Apps for iPhone?

So, the big question now is, “what apps meet these criteria?” Thankfully, you don’t have to dabble into swathes of apps and scour hundreds of user reviews to draw up a list of candidates.

We’ve applied both personal experience and customer reviews to draw up the selection for you. 

mSpy – The Best Instagram Spy App

mSpy needs no introduction. But it’s important to underscore its superb parental control functions. mSpy keeps you in lock-step with all your kid’s phone activities, allowing you to regulate their screen time easily and effectively.

With mSpy, you can monitor your target’s incoming and outgoing Instagram messages, photos, videos, and device location. The biggest advantage for parents with mSpy is that you can control exactly what apps your kids have access to on their phones. This way, you can prevent them from installing apps that might contain adult content or be otherwise harmful to your child’s well-being.

How to Install mSpy? 

If you make a decision and choose mSpy as your preferred spy app, you need to know that its installation is hassle-free and requires a few steps:

1. Sign up for your mSpy account.
2. Download the software and enter your target’s phone.
3. Run the app and scroll down to the Instagram spy feature.
4. Sit back and read through their Instagram activities.

NOTE: Target phone needs to be jailbroken/rooted to enable advanced monitoring features.

Pros

✅ Simplifies the process of tracking someone’s Instagram from start to finish.

✅ A clean, easily navigable user interface.

✅ Reliable technical support.

✅ An excellent value-to-price ratio.

Cons

❌ It’s hard to find an equivalent alternative to mSpy.

Pricing

eyeZy

eyeZy uses AI to collect and organize details of your target’s Instagram activities. It lets you view their Instagram chats with time and date stamps, shared photos, and videos in an organized manner. There are AI-powered features for tracking text messages, calls, Facebook, and other messaging apps, browsing activities, etc.

eyeZy can also track what your target does in the apps they use most often. The app’s reports feature is designed to provide you with actionable insights about your target, giving you extra data on the target’s photos and conversations.

How to Install eyeZy?

There are many different installation options to choose from, depending on your unique needs. You can either sync with your target’s Wi-Fi network or their iCloud or install it physically on a jailbroken phone for more tracking options.

Pricing

Pros

✅ Analysis-friendly Instagram updates.

✅ Comprehensive coverage of your target’s phone activities.

✅ 24/7 customer support.

Cons

❌ The price quickly adds up with multiple devices.

FlexiSPY

FlexiSPY is another Instagram spy app with a massive collection of advanced spy features, giving you full control over your target’s online activities. With FlexiSPY, you may view messages that are exchanged on Instagram chat in real-time, star your favorite conversations to reach them easily later. You have the option to receive a copy of these messages directly on your personal Control Panel. 

FlexiSPY uses its own high-tech tools and technologies to sweep, capture and collect all data from a user’s Instagram account. All collected information can later be accessed through a user-friendly dashboard.

How to install FlexiSPY?

If you wish to monitor your target’s Instagram using FlexiSPY, you need to take the steps above: 

1. Sign up for your FlexiSPY account.
2. Follow the download instructions.
3. Enter your target’s iCloud account on your dashboard or install the app physically on a jailbroken iPhone.
4. Start monitoring your target’s Instagram activities.

Pricing

Pros

✅ A comprehensive collection of phone tracking features.

✅ A good measure of advanced features.

✅ Constant technical support.

Cons

❌ Unfortunately, the massive feature range comes at a steep price.

iKeyMonitor

With a decent collection of spy control features, a crisp user interface, and wide compatibility, iKeyMonitor ticks all the boxes of a fine spy app. With this powerful solution, you will be able to monitor your children or employees and get a detailed report of their Instagram activities, such as sent and received messages with time and date stamps, keystrokes typed, screenshots of their chats, and visited websites. 

The app boasts a clean user interface that makes it easy to navigate, even for beginners. You can easily customize the program’s settings and track your targets using an easy-to-navigate Control Panel.

How to Install iKeyMonitor?

If you wish to try iKeyMonitor, follow this tutorial on how to install it.

1. Sign up for your iKeyMonitor account.
2. Load the download link on a jailbroken target phone or simply enter their iCloud credentials on your user dashboard.
3. Launch your dashboard and scroll to the Instagram monitoring features – the Instagram tracker, remote screenshot, or keylogger.
4. Start monitoring your target’s Instagram updates.

​​Once installed, iKeyMonitor will remain in stealth mode. It does not show up on your target’s home screen or in the application list. The icon is entirely transparent, which confirms that no one would guess that the spy app is installed on their device.

Pricing

Pros

✅ A user-friendly interface.

✅ Support for multiple languages.

✅ A simple setup process.

Cons

❌ Pricing can be a little complex.

Spyic

Spyic is a sophisticated parental control app with unique features designed to help parents monitor their children’s mobile activities. With Spyic, you can reach your loved ones’ Instagram details like their sent and received messages, shared media content, and much more.

Spyic allows for 100% anonymity of the user who installs it on the monitored device. The software leaves no logs or other traces that could reveal its existence or usage onto devices.

How to Install Spyic?

It’s extremely easy to install, all you need is to follow a few simple steps:

1. Register for your Spyic account on the app’s official website.
2. Install and configure the app following instructions in your account confirmation email.
3. Start monitoring your target’s Instagram.

Pricing

Android

iOS

Pros

✅ Provides full details of phone activities, including time and date stamps of content.

✅ Stealth mode that evades antivirus scans.

✅ Straightforward, easily navigable Control Panel.

Cons

❌ A scanty list of features in the entry-level plan.

❌ The pricing is much higher than average. 

Final Thoughts

Instagram is a heavily-secured site, but the best Instagram spy apps can help you hack the platform by accessing a user’s device. In this guide, we’ve shown you what to look for when searching for great Instagram spyware. We’ve also shown you 5 apps that best match these criteria. These apps are your best bet to see someone’s Instagram activity without being friends and keep close tabs on your loved ones.