New Android app secretly forwards texts

Faith Merino · October 28, 2010 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/131d

The app lets suspicious partners spy on their significant others' texts

Do you have anything to feel guilty about? If so, you're in for a world of hurt, my friend. A new app has been released exclusively for Android that secretly copies and forwards texts to another user. Seriously. I’m not even sure if that’s legal… Yeah, I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s not legal. But it sounds…interesting.

The app, called the Secret SMS Replicator, was created by DLP Mobile and went live on Wednesday. The scenario that DLP outlines is the age-old “cheating lover” drama. Imagine: you’re in a relationship with someone who you think is seeing someone on the side. While your partner is distracted—baking a quiche, perhaps—you swipe his or her phone, secretly install the app (which has no visible icon and no shortcut), plug in your phone number, and create a password, and the app will commence to BCC you all of his or her texts.

Once you’ve gotten the evidence you were looking for, or are satisfied that your partner isn’t cheating, or feel like a jerk for spying on your partner’s texts while he or she was baking you a quiche, you simply text your secret password to that person’s Android device to discontinue surveillance activity. Until then, the app will silently and secretly continue to BCC you all of that person’s incoming texts.

“This app is certainly controversial, but can be helpful to people in relationships where this type of monitoring can be useful,” said Zac Tanjeloff, CEO of DLP Mobile, in an interview.

The concerned-citizen tone is a bit unconvincing when compared to the company’s blog: “Find out salacious details and he'll have no idea you're on to him. Perfect. Perfectly cruel. PS If you are my girlfriend please don't read this blog post.”

But there is one lingering question…why is it exclusive to Android? How often does an app come out just for Android and not for the iPhone? Tanjeloff’s explanation: “We can’t build it for the iPhone because it wouldn’t make it past the App Store approval process,” he told the New York Times. So evidently, if asked, Apple will calmly respond: “No. There is not an app for that.”

Founded in 2009, DLP Mobile claims to create about 100 apps a year for the iPhone and Android operating systems. In June, the company released the Mirror app for the iPhone, which allows users to turn their iPhone into a digital vanity mirror, complete with lighting adjustment.

Other DLP Mobile apps include the Universal Translator app for Android, which translates between different languages as users are speaking; the TranslateMe app for Android, which lets a user text a phrase or sentence and play it out loud in another language; the Late Mate app for BlackBerry, which randomly and automatically sets your device’s clock forward for those individuals who are chronically late and like to trick themselves into being on time by setting their clocks forward (but inevitably remember how far forward they set their clocks, thereby rendering the trick ineffective); and many more.

The New York-based startup has not disclosed funding details. The Secret SMS Replicator is available now for Android phones.