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A company has developed commercial spyware for the Apple iPad that allows employers to silently view e-mail, Web activity and other information of employees even after their histories are deleted.
Retina-X Studios announced availability of the technology, known as Mobile Spy for the Apple iPad, last week. The software runs on any jailbroken device, and is also available for Google Android, BlackBerry, Apple iPhone, Windows Mobile and Symbian OS devices.
The company is pitching the system as a way to help businesses enforce their acceptable use policy on company-owned devices, as well as a means for consumers to back up their own personal activity or monitor their children’s use of the device.
According to the company, the software runs in stealth mode and no mentions of the program are shown inside the iPad. After the software is set up, it silently records the contents of all e-mails sent or received, as well as Web addresses visited in Safari and any contact added to the iPad’s contact list.
When activities are logged, they are silently uploaded to the user’s private online account, according to the company. If no Internet connection is present, the logs will resume upload at the next Internet connection, and accounts can be checked online from any browser without further access to the iPad.
“Any device that can browse the Internet or send e-mail can lead to unauthorized activities,” Retina-X Studios CEO James Johns said in a statement.
He added that the company will continue to expand the technology with new features such as the ability to record GPS positions, photos and notes.