Look, I’m gonna be straight with you - the “without them knowing” part is where you lose me.
I get the safety angle, trust me. I’ve got a teenager bouncing between two houses, and yeah, I use monitoring software. But here’s the thing: my kid knows about it. We talked about it. It was awkward as hell, but we did it.
Going full stealth mode on your own kid? That’s a recipe for nuking whatever trust you’ve got left when (not if) they find out. And they will find out eventually. Teenagers aren’t stupid.
If you’re genuinely worried about safety stuff - predators, dangerous content, location during emergencies - have the conversation first. Set boundaries. Let them know you’re checking in. You can still see everything you need to see.
Just my two cents from the divorced dad trenches. Your mileage may vary.