If you have to ask that question, you may have some valid concerns about your personal data. You might keep your cell phone safe and locked with a PIN code, a fingerprint, facial recognition, etc. But is that enough? Sadly, there is a way someone can on your cellphone spy without ever touching it. It’s called spyware and has many ways to get inside your mobile device.

How to know if someone is spying on your phone

Here are the most common warning signs that your phone is being tracked, tapped, or monitored by spyware software:

1. Anomalous data usage

You probably know your monthly mobile data usage. If you notice any strange data usage spikes, it may be a sign of spy apps. If someone is spying on your cell phone, they’re using the network to download the data collected on you.

2. Unusual activity on linked accounts (Google, Facebook, iCloud)

As we mentioned, someone can start spying on you via your iCloud account – multiple spyware mobile apps do just that. However, unusual logins and other activity on platforms like Google and Facebook may also signal a breach in your defense. 

3. Weird pop-ups

We’re not talking about the GDPR or “Please disable AdBlock” stuff here. If you’re receiving push notifications for fake virus alerts and such, it may be a sign that your mobile phone is infected by adware – an obnoxious form of malware. From being annoying to carrying phishing attempts, they threaten your security.

4. Phone getting slower

If your cell phone is old or filled to the brim with apps, it’s natural. But if it’s not, you should be worried. cheating partner use their share of processing power to track your phone.

5. Random reboots

Your phone should not reboot without your say-so or an obvious critical error. Frequent unexpected reboots may be a sign that your phone has been hacked. 

6. Longer or impeded shutdowns 

This one is hard to notice because we hardly ever shut down our phones these days. However, if your phone is taking a long time to shut down – or just doesn’t shut down – it may be due to interference from the spy apps. Try it a few times to be sure. 

7. Your emails end up blocked

Have your friends or coworkers missed your emails because their firewalls blocked them? This may indicate that malware is operating on your phone and infecting your correspondence.

8. The phone wakes up randomly 

So you left your phone idle, it went into standby mode and possibly locked the screen. And suddenly, it lights up, yet there aren’t any incoming calls, messages, push notifications, or anything similar. This may be a sign that someone hacked your smartphone.  

9. Interference outside phone calls

You know how your phone causes interference with nearby electronics when you’re on a phone call? Well, it shouldn’t do it when you’re not. In these situations, it may be a sign of a listening app sending information to whoever is stalking you. 

10. Weird noises during phone calls 

Mobile phones have advanced to the point where you shouldn’t hear random sounds and distant voices during your phone conversations. If this keeps happening – and it’s not just background noise from the end of the line – someone may be tapping your call. 

11. Weird texts

Who’s texting these days? In any case, if you receive weird text messages that are weirder than the usual marketing stuff, those may be control messages meant for a spy app on your phone. Those messages usually contain strange symbols, character combos, and such. 

12. Unusual battery drainage

Has your battery started draining faster without any particular reason (like installing new apps)? Well, spy apps need the energy to function just like any other piece of software, and if they’re constantly recording your audio, they need quite a bit more. 

On the off chance that it’s just the battery getting old, try using the battery with another device (if your smartphone doesn’t have a replaceable battery, take it to the service or something). 

Unless you have one of those phone models that just shipped with an exploding disaster battery, your phone should not be heating up when idle. While a single occurrence of that may be explained by some app going awry, if you experience this on the regular, something is amiss – and you probably have a spy app on your hands. 

14. Autonomous app storage permissions (for Android phones)

If you find your Android phone allows downloading and installing apps outside of the Google Play Store without asking you first, you might be dealing with mobile infidelity.

You can check this by going through your Storage permissions in the Settings. 

Do you have unfamiliar apps on your phone that can store stuff? If so, someone may be spying on you.

15. Bad screenshot quality 

Word around the block is that keyloggers – spyware that records your inputs (read: typing) – can mess with screenshot quality. So if you notice your screenshots aren’t looking as good as they usually do, this could indicate your phone is being spied on. 

16. Autocorrect doesn’t work well 

Autocorrect is a finicky beast on the best of days. However, if it starts acting strange or lagging, this may be the result of a keylogger at work. After all, what better app to steal your inputs if not the keyboard or autocorrect? 

Can someone spy on you when your phone is off?

Yes, there are ways to spy on you via your phone, even when it’s turned off. In the Snowden days, there were rumors of NSA software called “The Find” that could tap switched-off phones. 

But a more likely situation – and something that a regular hacker could do – is making your phone appear turned off when, in truth, it’s just pretending to be. Locking the screen, blocking calls, and turning off notifications, makes it possible to simulate a switched-off state. 

This can’t be done remotely – someone or something has to compromise your phone in the first place. Only when malicious software has been placed on your phone can such tricks be accomplished. 

Another related subject is Airplane Mode. For iPhone users, turning on Airplane Mode doesn’t mean the phone is immune to tracking. An iPhone will still ping other iPhones via Bluetooth as part of the system that makes Find My Device and Apple AirTags work. So while this doesn’t allow hackers to access your files, they can still track your location. 

How can someone remotely access my phone? 

The best way to hack a phone is by physically installing one of the monitoring apps from the app stores. But there are other things to be on the lookout for if you’re worried that someone may hack your phone. Your cell phone can get compromised by one of these other means: 

Suspicious emails: just as you shouldn’t open suspicious email links and attachments on a computer, neither should you do so on your phone. 

Compromised apps: maybe you downloaded some third-party app that wasn’t vetted by the app store or got a free VPN, 38% of which were found to contain malware (at least on Android devices). Once again, the infection is happening with your help.

Jailbreaking: mostly an iPhone issue – if you want to install third-party apps on Apple products, you need to jailbreak them…which opens you to a world of risks. 

“No-Jailbreak Apps:” a rare category of Apple monitoring apps that spy on you by accessing your iCloud updates. 

Sure, all of this sounds terrible. But there are ways to remove spyware from your device. 

Website: