Last reviewed: September 14, 2026
In general, yes. The Civil and Commercial Code places parental responsibility on parents: to care for, protect and raise their children under 18, and that duty extends to their digital life. The same Code and Law 26.061 recognize the child's right to privacy and a progressive autonomy — more from age 13 — so supervision must be proportionate to their age. With an adult — your partner, your ex or a child over 18 — accessing their communications without consent is a crime (article 153 of the Criminal Code).
It is the most common question among parents in Argentina, and the short answer fits in a paragraph. The details matter because the law treats reading a chat, seeing a location and recording a call differently, and because a 9-year-old and a 17-year-old are not the same case. This guide goes through the Constitution, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Law 26.061, the Civil and Commercial Code and the Criminal Code so you can supervise your child without crossing a line.
Article 18 of the National Constitution declares correspondence and private papers inviolable, and article 19 protects people's private actions. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, with constitutional rank since 1994 (article 75(22)), adds two pieces that coexist: article 16 forbids arbitrary interference in a child's private life, and article 5 recognizes parents' right and duty to direct and guide the child "in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the child". The whole answer lives in that balance: protection proportionate to age.
Since 2015 the Civil and Commercial Code replaced "patria potestad" with parental responsibility: the set of duties and rights of parents over the person and property of the child, for their protection, development and comprehensive formation while they are a minor and not emancipated (article 638). Article 646 lists the duties: caring for the child, living with them, providing support and educating them, considering their specific needs. Supervising the phone of a child under 18, for protection, is part of that care.
The Code sets a principle no other law in the region states so clearly: the greater the child's autonomy, the smaller the parents' representation (article 639). Article 25 distinguishes a child from an adolescent from age 13, and article 26 recognizes the adolescent's capacity to decide on personal matters according to their maturity. Law 26.061 completes it: children have the right to a private life and family privacy, free of arbitrary interference (article 10). In practice: checking a 9-year-old's phone is supervision; doing it with a 16-year-old without a concrete reason and without their knowledge is an interference that is hard to justify.
Since Law 26.388 on cybercrime, improperly opening or accessing someone else's electronic communication, or intercepting or capturing it, is the crime of violation of secrets and privacy (article 153 of the Criminal Code), with a heavier penalty if the content is also disclosed; accessing a restricted computer system or data without authorization is another offense (article 153 bis), and publishing someone else's private communication yet another (article 155). This applies to your partner, your ex, a child over 18 and any employee's personal phone, even if you pay the line. It binds you with your child too: never share screenshots of their conversations.
The law does not require telling a minor, but the child's right to be heard (article 646 of the Civil and Commercial Code and article 3 of Law 26.061) and UNICEF Argentina's digital-parenting guidance point the same way: explain what is supervised, why and until when. A teenager who discovers by accident that they were watched experiences it as a betrayal and becomes more secretive, the opposite of what you want. A written family agreement is also your best backing if anyone questions the supervision, for instance in a personal-care (custody) case.
Argentina has criminalized grooming since 2013 (article 131 of the Criminal Code) and in 2020 created the national prevention program "Mica Ortega" (Law 27.590), after the case of a 12-year-old girl groomed by an adult through a video game. It is the clearest example of the legitimate reason that supports supervision: detecting in time an unknown adult contacting your child, requests for photos or meetings. If you find something like that, preserve the evidence and report it to the specialized cybercrime prosecutor's office or the 137 helpline.
When parents are separated, both keep parental responsibility unless a judge decides otherwise: supervising the child is defensible; using their phone to watch the other parent is not, and it backfires before the family judge. Devices handed out by a school are governed by its coexistence agreement. To do it right: confirm your child is under 18 and that you hold parental responsibility; use a device you own or that they use under your responsibility; have a real protective reason and write it down; talk to them and, with teenagers, agree rules in writing; scale the scope to their age; share nothing of what you see; protect your account with a strong password; and when they turn 18, stop, or turn it into an arrangement with their consent.
Generally yes, as a parent holding parental responsibility, especially with a protective reason. From age 13 the Code recognizes the adolescent's progressive autonomy, so keep the scope proportionate and make sure your child knows the rules.
Yes, for a minor in your care. Tracking an adult's location without consent — partner, ex, adult child — is illegal and can amount to harassment.
This is the most delicate area. The other person on the call has not consented and, if they are an adult, the recording could be treated as improperly capturing a communication (article 153 of the Criminal Code). Limit it to concrete risk situations, with your child's knowledge; call logs and messages do not raise that problem.
No. Accessing another adult's communications or phone without consent is a crime (articles 153 and 153 bis of the Criminal Code), even if you are married or pay for the line, and disclosing what you find increases the penalty.
Not without their consent. Paying the line or owning the device does not give you the right to supervise an adult. If they agree, in writing, that is a different situation.
Yes, when it is installed on the Android phone of your own minor child, or on an adult's device with their informed consent. Any other use is illegal and violates the terms of service.
How to set it up as parental controlThis guide is general information about Argentine law as of the review date, not legal advice. Laws change and each province also has its own child-protection law. If your case is specific — a personal-care (custody) trial, an emancipated minor, a criminal complaint — consult a family-law attorney.
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