We wrote about spy apps for the iPhone previously and think that it is about time to list down some for Android devices as well. This list features some of the more creative uses of smart Android devices from sending secret messages or calls to tracking down someone’s location.

Again, don’t take this as a challenge to go on imaginary missions like a wannabe spy and getting yourself into trouble for all the wrong reasons. These apps can be used for many legitimate reasons that have little to do with turning into James Bond and getting into fights on top of a train, chasing down bad guys and kicking their butts like Bourne, or wearing amazing disguises and using mind-blowing gadgets like Ethan Hunt.

It doesn’t sound that much fun now, does it? No matter, onwards to the list!

Recommended Reading: 20 Best iPhone Spy Apps

1. Cell Tracker

Have someone you need to track? Like a delivery guy or a sales rep for your business? If you give them a company phone, having cell tracker on it can log down their location, where and when they have been to a place, every half hour. Cell Tracker automatically collects the location of the device holder through WiFi/GPRS. Tap on ‘View Now’ to see the list of location the target device had visited.

2. Children Tracker

Environments change and a parent’s worse nightmare is finding that their community’s crime levels have risen and their children could be victims of crime. Paranoid or not, if you are not against the idea of tracking your child’s whereabouts (for their safety), Children Tracker is a fine tracking solution to have. All you need is to install the app to the phone, run it and lock/hide the app then track the phone online.

3. Ear Spy

Ear Spy lets you appear immersed in your music but in secret, it amplifies the sounds around you via your device microphone all the way to your earphones. Have your earphones in your ears and under your hoody, but leave your smartphone bare to pick up conversations in its surroundings. The app also has an equalizer to enhance the listening conditions of your surroundings.

4. Mobile Hidden Camera

What spy list can be complete without a hidden camera app. Activate it then tap on the black screen to grab a fast snapshot with no one the wiser. You can also capture videos on it. Once you enter video mode, it will automatically record the feed until you stop it. This app covers a variety of camera features while still keeping the app minimal and easy to use.

5. Sneaky Cam

Appear like you are working on something else on your camera with this sneaky cam. Choose and fix a background of your choice to show when Sneaky Cam is on. The background image can be a browser or even a shot of a music player. Tap on any part of the screen to start capturing images, and not worry about anyone catching you in the act.

6. Spy Message

Want to send a confidential message to your business partner but doesn’t want it to be kept in his/her phone? Time your message to be automatically deleted over time without leaving a trace. Spy Message allows you to exchange secretive messages and appointments, then have the message self-destruct (minus the explosions) after a configured time frame.

7. Secret Calls

Protect your contacts and keep your call activities safe with Secret Calls. This app can easily hide your phonebook contact icon to prevent anyone from seeing them, and automatically delete all outgoing and incoming call logs so no one can trace them, even they have your phone.

8. Spy Video Recorder

As a spy, you would want your recording device to be appear turn off to avoid anyone knowing they are being monitored. This app does that on top of keeping you updated with before and after pictures of the place you are monitoring, e.g. when there is unauthorized movement.

9. Secret Agent Fake Call

If you want to create a fake call that comes in in an opportune time, this app is for you. Secret Agent Fake Call ‘calls’ you and prepares pre-recorded conversations, customized messages and you can even schedule when the call can come in. Complete the illusion by selecting the secret agent identity you want to be, and use it to prank your friends.

10. Secret Agent

This last app is Secret Agent, a complete toolbox that every spy should have. It contains useful tools and sensor features for you e.g. a spy torch, a fun (fake) infrared-style camera filter, a compass, a spectrum analyzer, secret audio recording, sensor data and many more!

There are a ton of content writers out there in the virtual zone who are willing to swear that the formula for the perfect article or blog format does not exist, simply because they have never seen it. Well, guess what… they have never seen a million dollars either, but believe me, it is out there.

The formula for the perfect article or blog post every time exists and it will not take a genius to figure it out. In fact, I am willing to bet that the following six tips to follow is pretty close.

Very soon, someone a little bit smarter than me will add a few items, change things around a tiny bit, and presto…they will have the formula named after them. Let’s hope they have a good name. The Ethel Snoozelburg perfect article and blog format formula does not have a great ring to it, but here we go: 6 steps to conquering the perfect article format.

Recommended Reading: 5 Tips To Write A Post In 60 Minutes

Six Steps to Perfection

The six steps must start with content and format. Let’s face it; you can have the perfect formula in effect from top to toe but if your content is bad, no one will ever know because no one will ever read it through. The perfect formula will start with short, crisp paragraphs for scan-ability factor.

1. KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid)

If you can write short, informative paragraphs consisting of crisp sentences in everyday English, you have the first step down cold. Just remember KISS and you’ll be fine.

Read Also: 10 Writing Tips For Bloggers

2. Seeing is Believing

Images that are relevant to the subject matter, and are clear and easy to make out are essential for the perfect article. I personally am not a big fan of video in article writing but if that is what floats your boat, go for it. However, please do not stick a cooking video in the middle of an article about the proper way to clip your toenails; that’s going to stick out like a sore thumb.

3. Bold and Italics make your Point

Do not be afraid to use bold and italics to help make your point. If that is what it takes to get you where you are going with a difficult or complex explanation, it is perfectly fine and helps the scanners to stay on point. If you feel strongly enough about it… underline it as well!

4. Subheadings Rock

Too much to stomach in one go? It’s not a college admission test, you are not pleasing academics who grade you by the amount of gibberish you can fit in a single sheet of A4 paper. Want your readers to keep going? Break it down and give subheadings that tell them what is going to happen in the next 3-4 lines. And then, you may rock.

5. Avoid Useless Content

The only time you can really get away with useless content is if you are so famous that everyone is going to hang on to every word you write, even if you are an idiot, or if you write so well, and are so interesting that the rest of us cannot help but read what you write and then stand in awe afterwards, while contemplating life’s most important questions. Otherwise, useless content – like this – is against the rules. Just say no.

6. Lists Rule

Everyone loves a good list. Scanners are drawn to lists like moths to a flame, except they do not burn their wings and then flutter around on the floor for a half an hour before being eaten by the cat.

A good bulleted list accomplishes some or all of the following:

• draws the scanner’s eye
• answers a direct question with more than one answer
• promises a detailed explanation
• provides a set of attributes
• looks neat and organized
• helps fulfill a word count requirement (shh… it’s our little secret)
• inspires ideas for further material for the writer

The numbered or bulleted list is the best way to reach out from a page and draw a reader back. If you find yourself bogged down with lengthy content, which is sometimes unavoidable, turn it into a list and keep them reading.

Read Also: 7 Insane Habits To Destroy Your Freelance Writing Career

Friendly Reminder

These six steps to the perfect article or blog every single time were all about formatting. The formula assumes that, as a content writer, you are able to produce interesting, original work without the benefit of long paragraphs and bulky descriptions. Save that stuff for your novel. The perfect article or blog post is interesting thanks to its topic and the writer’s ability to make a point in a hurry.

So the perfect format formula is only half the battle towards the perfect article or blog post. Run the format right, and combine it with the perfect formula for SEO, and you will have attained perfection. We have more tips on how to SEO-ize your post, so stay tuned.

Don’t like always being left out of a group photo? Well many smartphones have a front camera and a back camera. In the Samsung Galaxy S4 you can take photos simultaneously with the back and front camera in the same photo. We’ve found an app that lets you something similar to that with your iPhone.

Frontback lets you take photos separately with your iPhone’s front and back cameras, then it combines the two pictures into one cool grouped image. Frontback is supported on all iOS devices. Here are Frontback’s cool features.

Recommended Reading: Snap Photos With Voice Control Using Vapp

Getting Started with Frontback

After downloading the app, you have to register for a Frontback account to start using it. After registering, you’ll get the option to connect your Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

At the writing of this article, a Frontback account doesn’t give you features like searching or following other users but we may see that in the future.

Snapping A Frontback Picture

Frontback photos are taken on the back camera first. Hit the camera icon in the middle of the view to snap your first picture, hold your position and tap the camera icon again when the app switches to the front camera.

The top half is your snap from the back camera, while the bottom half is from the front. The front and back cameras won’t be taken simultaneously. If you’re unsatisfied with either of the pictures, tap on it to retake the photo.

Once you’re done, you’ll be ready to share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter, or save it to your camera roll. Give it a fun caption before you share it out (no help from Frontback there, you’re on your own).

As for sharing on Instagram, you’ll be redirected to the app on your phone for you to repost it there.

Frontback also has a feed where you can see, like and share pictures picked out by the Frontback Staff.

Limitations

That’s seriously all this very new app can do at the moment. You are stuck with this generic top-bottom look with your photos and the app doesn’t feature any filters or editing features to help you enhance your snapshots, just yet.

You can fall back on Instagram (or other photo editors) to help enhance your photos. But we believe that if we give it some time to get its feed and other ‘following’ features to start, this app may find its way to a permanent spot on your iOS device.

It is vital for media-filled sites to have a community and a reader base, which involves interaction from the readers and moderators via commenting and forum systems. Let me present you a simple, feature-filled, record-breaking community system: Moot.

Moot offers some great and convenient features and tools that other commenting and forum systems do not: super-simple embeddable forums and comments, advanced styling options, affordable pricing, awesome feeds, is real-time and here’s the best part: Moot is the only forum and commenting system that allows users to have one login for forums and comments in your community.

Recommended Reading: Top 3rd Party Commenting Systems – Reviewed

Getting Moot Set Up

Getting started and all setup with Moot is a bit different from other community interaction services and apps, yet still simple and easy. Click "Setup” on the Moot website, and register your name (it has to be at least 5 characters long).

After choosing a name, you can register or log into your account. You will then run through a step-by-step introduction into creating your forums and commenting system with descriptions, names, topics, websites and finally publish your first forum post.

Installing Moot on Your Website or App

Getting Moot setup and ready to be used on your website and app takes only 5 simple and convenient steps.

Visit your forums dashboard on your Moot URL and click the Embed on your site link on the right hand bottom corner. Then follow the steps and paste the forums code on the appropriate page; do the same for the commenting system.

Embeddable code instructions:

1. Copy the code to your clipboard.
2. Paste the code in an empty HTML page( on your text editor)
3. Open the page on your browser for a quick look.
4. Integrate the source code into your site.
5. For more information, read the installation documents for more information.

Account and Websites Feed

Moot has a great and handy feature in your account dashboard for viewing the feeds most important to you. If you follow, like or comment on a user’s comment or forum post, the feed for that particular content will show up on your account feed. From there you can also comment, discuss, like and follow posts as well.

More Features and Tools

Online Users

Moot has a really neat and useful feature to show you or even your users who is online using your forums and commenting actively. You can also use the advanced CSS and Javascript editor to spruce it up a bit, if you prefer to customize these elements to suit your site’s design.

Real-Time Commenting and Following System

Your comments and forums feed, posts, content and other media will show in real-time. You can comment or post a reply to the real-time content without leaving that page.

Automatic Spam Checking

Moot has built in an automatic spam-checking system that fights and defends against spam, Akismet – Spam protection made by Automattic, the makers of WordPress.

Upgrading Your Account

Moot allows users to upgrade their accounts to get features such as custom branding for $10/Month and also for an extra $20/Month you can get a single site login across your whole website.

Advantages

• Search engine friendly. Pushing users to your site from search results.
• Syntax highlight and Live preview: See formatting, smileys and syntax as you type.
• Vector graphics: With CSS definable colors and sizing.
• Unofficial WordPress plugins are available.
• Automatic emails to follow new replies.
• Single sign-on support for your website, forums and comments!
• 21 localized languages and right-to-left (RTL) support.

Disadvantages

• Login via Twitter and Facebook. No login via other social accounts.
• Somewhat plain default design. Can be easily changed with CSS to match your web and app themes.
• No individual dashboard for comments (yet)
• Logo and other custom branding is only in the upgrade.

Conclusion

Moot is a great alternative to the other services and applications for forums and comment systems as it has some wonderful and useful features with great customization options, real-time capabilities, easy to integrate codes and more.

The default design and layout is a bit weak, but I found it very easy to customize Moot for my app's theme, and easy customization is always a big plus for developers.