Dallas Business Journal Covers AppLock Cloud Launch

Dallas-based Android app development company Gizmoquip this month released AppLock Cloud, a remote Android device management tool for parents.

The new app follows the release of the company’s flagship application, SMS Tracker, a sometimes controversial remote monitoring app. Both AppLock Cloud and SMS Tracker are available on Google Play.

Media research indicates children and teens spend close to 11 hours a day on their mobile devices, Michael Kupka, Gizmoquip’s CEO, told me in an interview.

As a parent, Kupta saw firsthand how difficult it is to place time limits on children when they’re on their device, so Gizmoquip developed AppLock Cloud to help parents to take back their children’s time and lead more balanced lives, he said.

Parents can place time limits and restrictions on their children’s Android phone or tablet by installing AppLock Cloud on their devices. Parents then register for an AppLock Cloud account using an email address and password and can manage and control how much time their children spend on their apps from any Android device connected to the Internet.

Kupka said he sees the potential for several million downloads of AppLock per year.

“The app business is rather interesting,” he said. “We like to do a lot of research and understand the market, but what we found is, you have to do a lot of research, throw things out to the market, and see what people gravitate toward.”

SMS Tracker and AppLock combined have been installed on 1.5 million devices, with SMS making up the bulk of those, Kupka said.

SMS Tracker was built so parents can remotely monitor their child’s smartphone behavior using SMS Tracker’s secure web portal, Kupka said. But others worry because it can also be used by stalkers, by people attempting to track cheating spouses or for other illegal or questionable purposes.

“There is the potential for abuse just like there is for alcohol or cars or firearms,” Kupka said. “This is the kind of thing where, when used properly, is a tool for good.”

The company cooperates with law enforcement in criminal investigations involving the use of Gizmoquip’s products, he said. Kupka said the company advises adults who find the app has been installed on their phone without their knowledge to contact police.

He said the company averages less than two cases per month in which police contact Gizmoquip seeking records because there’s been a case of abuse.

The app leads to positive outcomes more often than not, Kupka said. In one case, a customer whose husband had been unfaithful to her volunteered to have SMS Tracker installed on his phone as part of marriage counseling.

“She wrote a letter back to us after having used it for many months and said this app had truly helped restore her trust in her husband and was helping to repair their marriage,” Kupka said.

Gizmoquip has employees who work remotely across Texas, but it’s based in Dallas because of the plentiful data center colocation space, Kupka said.