With Twitter and Snapchat widely used by teens and young adults, Instagram appears to be stealthily creeping up to be the most popular social media platform, with nearly 1 billion active users. And, with parents increasingly concerned about their children’s activity on an image-based platform, Instagram (and, in particular, Instagram tracking apps) have emerged as incredibly useful tools for parents who need to monitor their child’s activities online, to help reduce the risk of cyberbullying, and ensure overall digital safety.
The concern is real, and the need for Instagram tracking is more significant than ever. Yes, Instagram is fun and pretty social, but with that comes the potential exposure to inappropriate content, unwarranted access to potential pedophiles, drug dealers, and even other children indiscriminately engaging in bullying. Insta-tracking apps can provide good parent monitoring systems to check direct messages, track shared media and photos, view stories, and generally monitor usage.
Why Use a Professional Tracking App for Instagram?
Professional Instagram tracking apps provide myriad benefits over simple monitoring methods. Moreover, these advanced tools provide much more useful information regarding digital behaviors, highlight potential risks before they become problematic, and allow parents to intervene before kids find themselves in trouble.
When choosing an Instagram tracker for your child, parents should prioritize reliable apps that provide robust functionality and offer customer support. Families today cannot afford to miss the relationship of trust they have developed with their child. They should also have monitoring solutions that track not just Instagram but also the changing landscape of digital experiences for the whole family.
The Top 8 Instagram Tracking Apps of 2025
Msafely – A Reliable Solution for Instagram Tracking
Msafely is the best phone tracking app for monitoring Instagram in 2025. Combined with the easiest implementation, Msafely owns complete and extensive features like location tracking, social media monitoring, and SMS & phone call monitoring. Most importantly, Msafely has a unique way of monitoring a device that allows, in most cases, no access to the physical device or installation of any software onto the device – it truly is an elite app.
Features:
- Complete monitoring of all Instagram messages, including deleted messages
- Track media files, including automatic backup
- Capability to track who is viewing your child’s story and receive notifications of screenshots
- Real-time tracking of location
- Works equally well across IOS and Android platforms
Msafely uses an innovative solution for the iPhone. If the child’s iPhone is linked to iCloud, the parent would only need the iCloud credentials of the target child’s phone and can, in minutes, set up the monitoring, and it is completely invisible. For Android, you can use either the old way (APK install) or the revolutionary way through Google Cloud – without any app install and using the target child’s Google account credentials.
Price:
Starting at $49.98/month, they cover all monitoring features.
3-Month Plan: 28.33/month
12-Month Plan: 11.66/month
SpyX – High-Performance Tracking
SpyX provides excellent Instagram tracking services, but its standout features are in the advanced analytics and reporting categories, as it offers social media monitoring features that go beyond Instagram and can include numerous platforms at the same time.
Key Features:
- Multi-platform social media monitoring
- Advanced keyword detection and alerts
- Report usage analytics in-depth
- Takes remote screenshots
Pricing: Plans start at $14.99/month, with the highest tiers offering premium features.
mSpy – Complete Parental Control
mSpy remains one of the most important monitoring solutions for monitoring social media. This application includes quality Instagram parental controls for concerned parents.
Key Features:
- Direct Message monitoring of Instagram and Facebook
- Access to and backup of media files
- Analysis of the contact list
- Tracking activity timeline
Pricing: Plans start at $48.99/month.
Bark – AI-Enabled Monitoring
Bark uses artificial intelligence to analyze the content of Instagram and the conversations that take place there. Bark uses this information to provide parents with smart alerts based on potential risks and concerning interactions.
Key Features:
- AI-enabled content analysis
- Smart Alert system for assessing risks
- Screen time management tools
- Social media monitoring across platforms
Pricing: Bark’s plans start from $14 per month.
FamiGuard – Family Safety
FamiGuard is a family safety monitoring solution with solid Instagram monitoring tools aimed specifically at parental oversight.
Key Features:
- Instagram activity monitoring
- Safe search
- Tracking of app usage
- Emergency alerts to family
Pricing: Plans start at $39.99 monthly, available on family-friendly pricing tiers.
MMGuardian – Educational
MMGuardian is an education-centered Instagram tracking service that takes the monitoring concept and applies helpful educational tools to help children develop healthy digital habits.
Key Features:
- Monitoring of Instagram conversation threads
- Filtering educational content
- Digital wellbeing tools
- Customizable settings to restrict
Pricing: Plans start at $9.99, and it offers discounts for educational organizations.
Eyezy – Stealth Monitoring
Eyezy is a stealth monitoring service for Instagram and other social media platforms that operates fully in stealth mode.
Key Features:
- Invisible monitoring operation
- Full access to your teenager’s Instagram account
- Activity updates in real-time
- Social circle monitoring
Pricing: from $38.39/month for the premium stealth features.
ClevGuard – Smart Parental Control
ClevGuard provides smart parental controls that get familiar with your teenager’s Instagram behavior, offering changing and individually customizable monitoring options.
Key Features:
- Smart monitoring algorithms.
- Tracking Instagram stories
- Smart notifications
- Synchronize use across devices.
Pricing: Starting plans at $39.99/month, and you can suspend subscriptions whenever.
Comparison of Features
App | Instagram Monitoring | Setup Difficulty | Stealth Mode | Starting Price | Key Advantage |
Msafely | ✅ Complete | Very Easy | ✅ Yes | $49.98/month | No installation required |
SpyX | ✅ Advanced | Moderate | ✅ Yes | $14.99/month | Multi-platform support |
mSpy | ✅ Comprehensive | Moderate | ➖ Limited | $48.99/month | Established reputation |
Bark | ✅ AI-Powered | Easy | ❌ No | $14/month | Budget-friendly |
FamiGuard | ✅ Family-Focused | Easy | ✅ Yes | $39.99/month | Safety emphasis |
MMGuardian | ✅ Educational | Moderate | ✅ Yes | $9.99/month | Learning approach |
Eyezy | ✅ Complete | Moderate | ✅ Yes | $38.39/month | Stealth operation |
ClevGuard | ✅ Smart | Easy | ✅ Yes | $39.99/month | Adaptive algorithms |
Conclusion
With the complexities brought on by parenting in this digital world, tracking apps for Instagram have become an integral part of parenting for today’s parents. The eight apps that we reviewed for this guide are industry leaders, and each has unique strengths and specialized features to help meet varying family needs.
Msafely stands out as the clear favorite with its no-installation approach, extensive features, and ease of use. However, families with more particular needs may decide they prefer other options like Bark, which combines AI-powered technology and monitoring, or mSpy, which has been around forever and has an established reputation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Are Instagram tracking apps legal?
- Yes, parents have the legal right to monitor the digital activity of their children, including their Instagram activity; however, laws are widely variable, and it is important to take these responsibilities seriously.
Q. Will my child know that the tracking app is installed?
- Most professional tracking apps, such as Msafel,y use stealth technology so they won’t know they are being monitored.
Q. Can these apps recover deleted Instagram messages?
- Many advanced tracking apps can take a snapshot of Instagram messages and store that information before that information is deleted; therefore, those apps essentially allow parents access to lost messages, even after the messages have been deleted.