Phone Text Messages

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-13-2007
Phone Text Messages
4
Fri, 04-13-2007 - 4:48pm

Has anyone found a website that can translate the text messages my 14 year old daughter sends? The phone bill gives me the numbers sent...I want to translate that in to text.
Any ideas?

Thanks,

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-16-1999
Fri, 04-13-2007 - 6:00pm

Are you sure what the phone bill is giving you isn't the phone numbers that she sends the text message to? That's all I get on my phone bill, not a record of what was said. If you're trying to figure out the lingo the kids use in their text messaging, try this link:

http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm

CUL8R
(See you later)
Rose

Avatar for heartsandroses2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 04-13-2007 - 10:46pm
I have asked both our carriers, Verizon and Cingular and they both said the actual text of the msg is not tracked or recorded anywhere - only the numbers they are sent to or received from. Sorry. Boy, do I wish I could get a hold of those!
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-19-2003
Sun, 04-15-2007 - 9:50am
I'd say unless your kids are involved in some questionable activities, most of the time the text message isn't going to say anything more than "meet me in front of the school after school", "where are you having lunch", "i saw so-and-so kissing so-and-so", or "omg really?".
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-20-2005
Mon, 04-16-2007 - 2:15pm

You can't - plain and simple.

Text messages are not recorded or saved - only the number the message is being sent to or from is recorded.

I have a very sneaking suspicion that somewhere in the great cyber space community there is a recording of said messages - I mean, if we thought someone was guilty of terrorism or stalking or something, wouldn't the police want some kind of evidence? But I'd be willing to bet you wouldn't be able to get it without some sort of court order - and "I want to know what my teenager is saying to his friends via text" is not really gonna cut it.

Personally, I find I get along with my son better when I don't ask to see his TM's - but that's my son - what you can do (and I did for a while) is insist on looking at your child's phone before they delete incoming our outgoing messages...or tell them you'll block texting. They have to clean up their in and outboxes every 50 messages or so - so you can tell them you're going to look at them first.

I'd be willing to bet you're not going to see anything more substantial than LOL or OK, though.