BlackBerry 'spy' software upgraded

SAN FRANCISCO – US software firm Retina-X Studios on Tuesday released a more vigilant version of its Mobile Spy program that captures every email and picture from BlackBerry smartphones.

“We invite you to open your eyes to the real actions of what your child or employee does on your BlackBerry device,” Retina-X chief executive James Johns said in a release.

“What if they are being dishonest or worse? The advantages of knowing the answers are far better than not knowing at all.”

The previous version of Mobile Spy software kept track of text messaging and telephone calls, providing online access to data by employers, parents or whoever else is paying for smartphone accounts.

New Mobile Spy 4.0 software also provides employers or parents with smartphone contacts, calendar events, memos and records of which mobile phone towers a device was within range range of, according to Retina-X.

“These new abilities help parents and employers track the activities of their monitored phones with greater accuracy,” the Arizona-based company said in a release.

“This new feature gives parents a way to monitor whether or not a teenager is sending naughty pictures. Employers can find out if company secrets are being snapped for later retrieval.”

Versions of Mobile Spy are available for iPhone devices as well as for smartphones running on Android, Symbian, or Windows Mobile software, according to the Retina-X website.

Monitoring by Mobile Spy software is designed to go unnoticed after the software is installed on smartphones, the company said. The monitoring service is available for an annual subscription of 100 dollars.