A new smartphone app lets parents spy on their kids--for their own protection, of course.

A St. Louis, Missouri dad invented the "Catch Me If You Can" and "Protect Me If You Can" apps for Android. "If You Can" allows parents to track kids' smartphones via GPS, and to create a virtual fence of sorts so it will alert them if the child goes somewhere deemed off-limits.

"The app sits on the phone and uploads the activities that the child engages in, text messages, phone calls, pictures that they're receiving or sharing with friends," says inventor Kevin Bloom. Parents can also view call logs, listen to phone calls, and get other instant alerts "when your child steps away from school at a time that they shouldn't be leaving school, or when your child engages in phone activity while they should be sleeping," he adds.

The apps come in two versions. "Protect Me" is a visible form of the app, if parents want their children to know they are being monitored, while "Catch Me" is the version that can run in stealth mode, without the child's knowledge. They run $20 and $30 a year, respectively.

Bloom is fully aware that a jealous lover, crush, or spouse might use the app to spy on an adult without their knowledge. But in this case, his software makes clear that they will cooperate with law enforcement if that happens.

As for those who think the spy capabilities of the app are a little too Big Brother-ish, Bloom--the father of two daughters ages five and eight--says, "I feel I have an obligation to do everything I can to keep my child off of a milk carton."