To wonder if a couple are spying on my son on whatsapp

[southerngirl10]

My DS received nasty texts from a couple at my son's school. I started a thread on the weekend and was advised to go to the police. Now, this couple's profiles have appeared on my DS's phone. He said he definitely didn't add them. Their son knows my DSs number. I've just checked google and have become aware of Whatsapp spy bots. Anyone come across anything like this before?

@lalafafa

Has your son been bullying their son?

There was a minor skirmish in school. They said our DS attacked their son which didn't prove to be case - the real story was confirmed by the teacher. Their son provoked my son and my son unfortunately kicked out. It was basically an everyday school occurrence, not an 'attack'. The school said it was no big deal. The father then sent me three nasty texts about my son.

How could they add themselves to my son's phone?
If you have a user account, say a Google account, that you've ever logged onto on his phone or he has one he ever logged into on your phone, contacts will be copied from your phone to his. I have all of DH's contacts because he once logged into his own account from my phone.

They are not spying on your son via WhatsApp. WhatsApp messages are encrypted and can't be read outside the chat they take place in.

Does your son take the phone to school, could someone else have added the contacts there?

They cannot have inserted themselves into his contacts. They must have messaged him or him input their number manually.

Did you find their details on his phone? If so I wonder if they've sent him messages at some point and he's deleted them as he doesn't want you to see them?

Is it possible they have told their own son that they want numbers of all his contacts incase of emergency or if he goes missing. Could also be their way of checking their child is not contacting people they shouldn't

Go to the school as well. Tell them you've involved the police.

Or your son put the numbers in there to send messages back to them and lied to you about it

@lastcall

Go to the school as well. Tell them you've involved the police.

From the other thread I think the OP was going to speak to the school following the weekend.

I've found the problem: My phone was synching to my sons and I've recently added them to my contacts so I can identify their numbers so I wouldn't have to speak them. Sorry, I'm not very technical (I would put a big embarrassed smiley face here, if I knew how to, lol.

I’m glad you solved the mystery OP! They’d need to have your sons number to contact him but it’s good that he’s blocked them just incase.

My main concern here OP, is your worried that there are spying facilities, in an app your 11 year old son uses, you don’t know how the app works, you know that people can contact him without adding him just by the number… and yet your allowing your 11 year old son to be on this app. Do you control his phone use at all? I can’t imagine what good that would do if your that technically incompetent anyway.

You need to focus on keeping your son cyber safe, know the ins and outs of the apps he’s using. Please.

Are you using an iPhone and sharing an Apple ID? If so you might want to also make sure his phone isn't getting other content from yours like texts and photos.

I've a few friends who put used their own Apple ID to set up their child's phone and then got a shock to find their text convos and photos synched to their child's phone as well as browser content.

Because he's still quite young and has already had hassle I'd watch some YouTube videos on his phone and teach yourself the basics about his phone and also about social media apps and the settings and stuff within them that can help keep children safe.