It's just spyware. It should be forbidden.
If you think you need something like this in your relationship, your partner deserves something better than you. If you think your partner betrays you, talk to him/her.
If you think you need something like this in your relationship, your partner deserves something better than you. If you think your partner betrays you, talk to him/her.
Given that text messaging is the dominant means of communication for many people, it really becomes crucial that you don't let your phone out of your sight.
What if I'm traveling to a high crime area? I might want to install this on my phone, to make recovery simpler in case someone steals it and starts messaging their friend bragging about their great new phone, and to meet them at Taco Bell in five minutes so they can show it off :)
While your use of the program would be fine, the promotional video linked in the New York Times article makes it clear that the intended use is to spy on your significant other's cellphone. There are much easier ways to recover stolen phones than to install a program on it that will forward text messages to your non-stolen second phone, but good luck with that.
For example, an app that allowed me to browse my SMS messages wouldn't be blocked, but clearly if someone stole my phone, they could then browse my SMS messages.
The app isn't deceptive to the person installing it.
And can Google remove the app if it wasn't installed from the app store? I can sideload it can't I?