[dropcaps]I[/dropcaps]n the technologically advanced era we currently live in kids are becoming more and more tech savvy. Thus, parents are getting left behind in a cloud of smoke and mirrors. Parents yearn for the ability to monitor their child’s daily activities, devices, and understanding who they really are versus their online alter ego.
Pumpic, a mobile monitoring company, has created a digital solution to this problem that monitors your child’s mobile device. Pumpic gives parents the ability to view their child’s social media posts,SMS/MMS messages, current location and more.
Setup
In order to use Pumpic, the targeted device to be monitored must be rooted. You will also need to log on to Www.Pumpic.com to register/sign up for an account.
1) After registration, you will receive an email with your login and password credentials.
2) You will need to log in to Pumpic and follow the setup wizard to continue.
Follow Setup Process:
- choose OS (Android);
- download the app on the phone that you are going to monitor (the target device) and make all necessary settings
- enter a PIN code on the target device to connect it to your Control Panel
- set up an admin password for Pumpic app on the target device
3) After approximately 20 minutes, monitoring will start on the target device.
Function
In order to monitor a device, I had to be logged into Pumpic.com and access its control Panel. The control panel is professionally designed with a crisp clean white layout overlaid with minimalist icons. Navigating between the features menus is effortless and intuitive; I just had to scroll up and down with my mouse.
When you click on a particular feature, for example SMS: a web page displays the date of the message, type of message (SMS/MMS), the number it was sent/contact name, the messages content, and the status of the message if it is still on device or has been deleted. This same formula is a recurring theme although it changes to fit the current category you are monitoring.
Surprisingly, Pumpic was very accurate on the location of the device I monitored. Pumpic pinpointed the location within 400 feet of the device’s actual location.
Emails, photos, and videos when monitored synced with the monitoring app with no problem and appeared nearly in real time with a slight lag of 45-80 seconds.
Monitoring the device without having to sneak or actually have the it in hand allows for a controlled, confrontation-free experience. What’s great about Pumpic is you don’t need to rely on neighbors or friends spying or your children, expensive camera equipment, you just have to have an internet connection and know how to navigate a web browser.
Target Audience
So whom might be interested in using Pumpic? Pumpic allows you to monitor a device although it is not done subtly. In order to use Pumpic, you need to have the app installed on the target device and with that being said the app on the phone is listed as “Monitoring”. So if you are wanting a secretive monitoring solution PumPic is not for you. PumPic is great for parents who are really interested in monitoring their child’s posts, actions and really don’t care about invading their child’s privacy.
What We Like
- Pumpic is very useful monitoring tool
- Design is professional clean and intuitive
- Application and monitoring options are easy to use.
What We Don’t Like
- Device has to be rooted in order to use app
- Pricing options, not a set one time fee, have to select from a variety of monthly payment options
- The app has to be first set up on the monitored device, would prefer an option where monitoring is more subtle.
Summary
My initial thought of Pumpic was “Wow, that’s a lot of power – one app to have the ability to track a devices movement, view social media posts, set geological gates, view the user’s typed keystrokes and more.”
After using Pumpic, I found the app to be packed with an array of useful features that allow a parent or loved one to gain endless information on the devices user. The idea behind Pumpic monitoring is genius. With that said, my experience with Pumpic gave me an eerie voyeuristic sensation due to the fact that you are able to be really intrusive with the access you have from the device.
I believe that Pumpic is very useful, but I would like to see features that gives more of a proactive approach to the monitoring service. What good is it to just see the posts and messages sent from the device? Why not go further and give at least an option to toggle on or off to first view or scan messages and posts before they are sent/posted.
Pumpic is a well-designed app that is easy to register, set up, and use. Pumpic enables you to deeply monitor a personal vault that is normally locked tight and protected by any means necessary.
The sweeter features come at a recurring fee with packages ranging from $5.33-$83.99 with payment intervals of 1 month, 3 month, 6 months, and 12 months. If you want to monitor closely, be prepared to spend some cash. Worth noting, there is also a free 7-day trial available here.
Disclaimer: BE AWARE
Above is the surface review of the functionality of the device, along with its respective star rating (below). Nevertheless, we feel strongly that you should also consider the following before using this service.
The reviewer of this service installed the necessary programs on his device in order to give a review. When he completed using it, he naturally uninstalled the app as he did not have use for it. When this was done, he received a call from someone at Pumpic, who proceeded to ask him questions regarding the un-installation of the the service.
We then reached out to the Pumpic team regarding the situation as we found it somewhat alarming. After seeking clarification, and in turn expressing concern, Pumpic did not seem to directly address our concern, but advised it would not share the information with other parties or use it for personal purposes.
Considering the nature of this service, and the fact that you need your device rooted, we felt that we should be transparent about our experience so that our readers have all the information before using a product we reviewed.
If interested in using Pumpic click the link here. If you have used Pumpic tell us about your experience by leaving a comment below.
Warning to anyone thinking of buying: the “10 day refund” has a list of qualifying conditions that are long and exclusive – which makes me wonder why they bother to advertise such a refund? I bought a subscription, encouraged by the “10 day refund” which was advertised, only to find they refused to refund me when I decided it was not a good fit for our intended use.
More fool me for not reading the reams of small print, so Buyer Beware as the old maxim goes.
Dear Tim,
Thank you for considering Pumpic and giving it a try. We are sorry to hear that the app was not the right solution for your intended use.
We do our best to let our clients learn as much about our product as possible before buying it. That’s why on our website we try to provide comprehensive description of all the Pumpic features. In addition, there is a demo you can try to see how the app works (http://demo.pumpic.com).
We appreciate your feedback about Pumpic Terms and Conditions that seemed confusing to you. We will consider your opinion and think how to express this information in a more easy-to-understand way.
Refunds are indeed not provided in case the application works as it is supposed to, which is a common practice. However I’ve checked your case to found out that the team moved away from our policy and made an exception for you.
Anyway, we hope that the monitoring solution you have picked will meet your needs. If not, we will be happy to see you among our satisfied clients!
Sincerely,
Desiree Oyer of Pumpic
DO NOT PAY FOR A SUBSCRIPTION WITH PUMPIC. I had the same issue as the other commentor: I paid for a year premium subscription and paid $83.99, based on the web site stating that a refund would be available within 10 days of purchase. The web site lists MANY reasons that they will not issue refunds. I requested a refund, listed three reasons that were not among their disallowed reasons, and was STILL not given a refund. Calling the company gets you nowhere, as the support representative cannot help you, and will not transfer you to a manager or supervisor. I have exchanged multiple emails and phone calls at this point, and they continue to refuse to issue me a refund. I am disputing the charge via my credit card company and also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Their web site was rife with spelling and grammar errors, and the final straw for me was them requiring me to enter my Apple ID and password directly into their web site. Based on the content of the site and lack of information and errors I previously received, I did not feel comfortable doing this. DO NOT do business with Pumpic.
They’ve now updated their web site to remove the link to the 10-Day Refund policy. I have screenshots from 4/18/16 and 4/25/16 showing the respective presence and absence of the banner.
Same issue. BUYER BEWARE!!! THERE IS NO TEN DAY REFUND. Also, they expect you to jailbreak your iphone to make any of the software work. Anyone who has jailbroken before understands this is not without consequence to the performance of your iphone. Very fraudulent advertising. So disappointed that they are trying to make money by stealing.
Pumpic is terrible. I purchased a 12 month subscription for my daughter and two months later apple pushed a software update and Pumpic no longer worked. It did not work for the next 6 months. They refused to refund our money or offer any credit. We were out tons of money and no longer had phone monitoring. Their customer service was horrendous. Stay away from this sham.
Looking forward to seeing how this product works.
Absolutely do not purchase this product. It’s not very good and they do not issue refunds. Very shady operation. Beware!
I have been using the Icloud version (not jailbreak) for 1 1/2 years and have loved the product. A month ago, The icloud accounts on 2 devices have been enabled inactive. After a month of working with Apple and Icloud and lots of testing to see what the root cause it, Pumpic must be the issue. Has anyone else been having issues with Pumpic locking your Icloud account after about 12 hours (4 synchronizations)? It all started March 4, one week after adding another pumpic subscription with an ipad.
Yes, I was trying this product and it also disabled my child’s apple ID, after around 12 hours. Have you found another product that does not do this?
I’ve been using this product for 1 1/2 yrs with no issues and really like it. It’s only been recently that there’s been a problem. I have finally convinced Pumpic that it’s their issue and not Apple. Right now I’m waiting for them to fix it but I’ve been doing a lot of research. No one comes close to offering what Pumpic does for non-jailbreak. I’m thinking about trying Webwatcher for the free 7 day trial.