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Need to keep tabs on employees' phone activites? Save 20 percent on FoneMonitor

BBH exclusive! Make sure your employees are using their phones for good, not evil.
Written by Rick Broida, Contributor

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FoneMonitor

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I'm sure no employer wants to go all Big Brother on workers, but when you're talking about company-issued phones being used for company purposes, well, I'd say it's both acceptable and important.

I mean, suppose an employee is texting inappropriately? Or using a company vehicle for personal errands? You'd want to know, right?

Enter FoneMonitor for Android, which allows you to track things like calls, messages, photos, location (including geofences) and more. (There's an iOS version as well; see below.)

The service has Premium and Ultimate subscription options starting at $29.99 per month, but for a limited time, BBH readers can get 20 percent off any plan with promo code SENMKT07.

In my humble opinion, the smart buy is the 1-year Ultimate subscription, which is normally $99.99 (only $10 more than Premium) -- but $79.99 with the code.

The key difference between the two tiers: a keylogger. With Ultimate you can monitor every single keystroke. It also adds app support, allowing you to track usage of everything from Facebook to Instagram to Skype.

All that relates to the Android version of FoneMonitor. If you're an iPhone shop, you're stuck with a single tier of service and a monthly subscription option ($39.99, minus 20 percent with the code). Thankfully, you don't need to jailbreak the phone, but you do need access to the associated iCloud account.

I haven't used FoneMonitor myself, as I don't have employees to monitor. ZDNet hasn't reviewed it, and I've yet to find any good real-world reviews to share. However, you can check out a fully functional demo right in your browser, and there's a 7-day refund policy if you decide it's not a good fit for your org.

My take: If you need to keep tabs on your employees' phone activities, this looks like a comprehensive and reliable solution. They may not like it, but, hey, they're not the ones signing the paychecks.

Side deal: Still in the market for an affordable standing desk? Check out this deal on the Halter ED-600, which has never been cheaper.

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