As hackers continue to improve their methods, it can be tricky to tell if your phone has been compromised. But, despite their sneaky tactics there are some telltale signs to know if you are being tracked.

Unusual Battery Drain. One of the most common signs that your phone is being tracked is an unusual battery drain.

Tracking apps use GPS, and other sensors in your phone to collect data, and this process consumes a lot of battery power. So, if you notice that your phone is losing its charge quickly, it is a good idea to check if there is any tracking app installed on your device.

Data Usage If you notice a sudden increase in data usage on your phone, it could be a sign that your phone is being tracked. Tracking apps use your phone’s data connection to send data to the person tracking you.

Unusual Background Noise If you hear unusual background noise while making a phone call, it could be a sign that your phone is being tracked. Tracking apps use the microphone in your phone to record your conversations, and this can cause background noise.

Slow Performance If your phone’s performance has become slow and sluggish, it could be a sign that your phone is being tracked. Tracking apps use a lot of system resources, which can cause your phone to become slow and unresponsive.

Pop-Ups and Ads If you notice that your phone is displaying pop-ups and ads more frequently than usual, it could be a sign that your phone is being tracked. Tracking apps can display pop-ups and ads on your phone to collect data or generate revenue.

Phone Temperature If your phone feels warmer than usual, it could be a sign that there is a tracking app running in the background. Tracking apps use a lot of processing power, which can cause your phone to become warmer than usual.

Unfamiliar Apps Noticed any unfamiliar apps on your phone. It could be a sign that your phone is being tracked.

So, if you see any unfamiliar apps on your phone, it is a good idea to check them for any tracking features. 8.

Tracking apps can send commands and messages to your phone to control it remotely. So, if you receive any unusual or suspicious messages, it is a good idea to check your phone for any tracking apps.

Luckily, there are warning signs that you can pick up on that will alert you that there may be spyware infecting your device and monitoring your activities. While some signs are tougher to pick up on than others, if you stay aware of how your device usually performs, you can detect if something is going on with your device.

1) Unusually High Data Usage Has your monthly data usage spiked recently. Is your device suddenly using more data than normal, bumping up against your monthly data allotment, yet you haven’t changed your online habits.

Lower-quality spy tools will try to send as much data about your device back to their home base (AKA the bad guys) as they possibly can. This can use large amounts of data.

This makes detection a bit tougher. It all comes down to making sure that you stay aware of your monthly data usage and pay close attention to any sudden spikes in usage that you might see.

This means you can quickly check data usage without the need to search around on your provider’s website or app for data usage information. How to Check Cellular Data Usage on Android To check your cellular data usage on an Android 10 device, do the following.

Tap “Mobile Network” (It’s in the “Network &amp. Internet” section.) On the Mobile Network screen, tap “App Data Usage.” Here, you can view your current cellular app data usage.

(The process should be similar on other versions of iOS and on iPads running iPadOS.): Open the iOS 16 Settings app. Tap the “Cellular” menu option.

On the Usage screen, you can view the data usage for the current month. 2) Cell Phone Shows Signs of Activity in Standby Mode While you should expect your iPhone or Android phone screen to light up when you receive an incoming call, message, or most other types of notifications, your smartphone’s screen shouldn’t be lighting up for no reason while it’s in standby mode.

3) Unexpected Reboots Is your smartphone rebooting for no obvious reason or without you manually rebooting it. Someone may have unauthorized remote access to your smartphone.

This would also indicate they have all sorts of other access to your device and the personal data stored on it. It could also mean the latest app or operating system you recently downloaded has a bug in it.

See if you can duplicate the device reboot by using the app that was open when it happened. On your Android device, you can to scan your device.

4) Odd Sounds During Calls In the days of analog cell phone networks, weird noises in the background and unstable connections were to be expected. However, today’s all-digital cell networks usually provide connections that are stable and mostly noise-free.

5) Unexpected Text Messages Have you either received unexpected messages with weird characters in them or have your friends or other parties reported receiving weird or offensive messages from your phone. This can be a sign that you have spyware or malware installed on your smartphone.

If the victim taps the link, the worm can infect their smartphone. On your Android device, you can install and run security software such as antivirus or anti-malware to scan your device.

Also, be wary of clicking links in these text messages, as such links can also be used to scam you via phishing schemes to steal your personal and/or business information. This is true on both the Android and iOS device platforms.

Or, it could mean that your device is infected with spyware, and the additional load it’s putting on your smartphone is draining the battery quicker than usual. Spyware monitors all of your on-device activities and sends information about these activities back to the bad actors that infected your device.

Taking screenshots, copying and pasting text, recording your conversations, and possibly taking photos or recording video can eat up battery life at an alarming rate. This is especially obvious when your smartphone is supposedly idle.

Then, monitor the battery usage. Sorry iPhone users, your device’s batteries are not removable.

Users running iOS 14 and up can take advantage of a privacy feature that alerts you when an app on your device is using its camera or microphone.

On the iPhone, do the following: Open the Settings app. Tap “Privacy” (“Privacy &amp.

Tap either “Microphone” or “Camera” in the privacy menu. On the next page, you can view which apps have access to the selected feature.

On an Android Device, do the following: These instructions are for generic Android 10. The steps will be similar for customized versions of Android 10 or for other versions of Android.

Go to the Settings app. Tap “Privacy.” Tap “Permission Manager.” Tap “Camera” or “Microphone.” Here, you can view which apps have access to the selected feature.

7) Increasing Battery Temperature in Idle Mode While increased battery temperature can be a sign of multiple technical issues, it can also indicate that unauthorized activities, like spyware activities, are occurring in the background. If you haven’t used your smartphone recently, and it’s just been sitting idle on your desk, it shouldn’t be warm or hot to the touch.

8) Increased Device Shut Down Time Your smartphone, much like a Mac or Windows PC, attempts to shut down all active processes before turning itself off or when it is rebooted. And, much like your computer, occasionally those processes can hang up and either prevent or greatly slow the shutdown process.

You may notice that your smartphone takes longer than usual to shut down right after you’ve finished an active period with your mobile phone. This could mean the spyware is working in the background, saving its ill-gotten information and sending it back to home base.

Again, this can be caused by a harmless app misbehaving, but if it just started happening recently, or is happening more often than not, your device might be infected with spyware. (Did anyone else hear Jeff Foxworthy say that last sentence in their head.

Okay.) 10) Your Cell Phone is Growing Increasingly Slower High-end smartphones made in the last five years or so should run fast and not show many performance issues during day-to-day use. If you notice your smartphone is lagging, performing much worse than usual, or is suddenly running out of resources like memory or storage space, it might be infected with spyware.

But, if you pay attention to how your smartphone usually performs, you can usually tell if something is going on.

Unfortunately, hackers may easily get access to your phone. For them, it may be as easy as requiring you to click a link or install an app.

Sometimes, you may not even be aware that it is there. So, how can you find malware on an iPhone or an Android device.

For iPhone: Jailbreak: Apple does not allow the installation of spying or monitoring technologies. Because of this, if someone wants to put surveillance software on your phone, they must jailbreak it first.

While jailbreaking an iPhone may improve access to iOS’s fundamental features, it exposes your device to several security dangers. After jailbreaking the iPhone, installing surveillance software becomes pretty simple.

Your data and user accounts will be vulnerable to hackers. While attempting to jailbreak your iPhone, it may become unusable.

Because of this, if you discover the Cydia software on your iPhone and you didn’t jailbreak your device, it implies someone else did it secretly and maliciously. Accept invitations from find my iPhone without knowing: By default, you cannot tell the device is being seen with Find My iPhone.

Using free/open/public WiFi spots: A public WiFi Internet connection implies that hackers can read your data since it does not need authentication. Additionally, the administrator of the WiFi network may be able to observe the websites you visit and may even sell your information.

But like jailbreaking, rooting Android comes with several security dangers. You would send updates to you over the air or OTA.

After rooting, rogue software may install certain more harmful applications without your awareness. Viruses and Trojans may attack your device.

In reality, they are still active and vulnerable to misuse.

Product-related questions.

There are several indicators that can help you determine if your iPhone is being tracked or monitored. Checking for unusual battery drain, overheating, and data usage can be a sign of tracking.

Search Question How can I tell if the police bugged my phone. Community Answer You might hear the sound of another line being picked up, or a clicking sound while talking on the phone.

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Question Can someone tap my phone to spy on me visually in my home. Community Answer Yes, once they get into your phone, they can listen to background noises, calls, or anything the phone can pick up soundwise.

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If you have Family Sharing enabled, you will automatically appear in the People tab for each person you are sharing with, but following the steps above to disable location sharing will prevent your family members from seeing where you are. Even with Family Sharing turned on, all parties involved must agree to share location data, and you can double check your Family Sharing settings to make sure location is disabled.

Tap on Family Sharing. Under “Shared With Your Family,” tap on “Location Sharing.” Make sure “Share My Location” is toggled off, or tap on an individual family member’s name to turn off location sharing on a per person basis.

How can I tell if my phone is ghosted. Ghosting is when someone abruptly cuts off contact without warning or communication.

Hackers and cyber criminals may use spoofing to trick your contacts or people in your area code into answering their calls or texts.

Pinging is an essential technology for many apps that rely on location technology to work properly. It works like breadcrumbs for the apps to follow.

It becomes unsafe, however, if your phone is tracked or monitored without your consent, as with spyware or stalkerware. If you suspect you may be tracked without permission, follow our steps to manage your location-sharing and stop phone tracking.

Forms of tracking apps are often used legally to keep track of employees and minors. More nefariously, however, some cyber criminals use spyware to hack vulnerabilities in existing apps to gain access to your phone usage and location.

While there is no definitive way to know that you’re being monitored, there are several common symptoms that may mean your phone is being tracked.

How can you tell if your iPhone is being tracked? ^[11]

There are a few ways in which you can tell if you’re being tracked on your iPhone. “To begin with, if your phone has suspicious apps installed that you didn’t install yourself, this is a clear indication,” White says.

Sometimes a decreased battery life can be an indication of tracking, especially if it links with any of the other ways we have suggested. If calls are experiencing a lot of interference that isn’t linked to signal issues or background noise, this can point towards a tracked phone.” It can be difficult to determine what is tracking and what is as a result of an older device, White notes.

What can you do if you suspect your phone is being tracked. Okay, so now that you suspect your iPhone is being tracked, don’t panic — BUT do make sure you take steps to correct the issue.

“A lot of people are unaware of these settings on an iPhone. To begin with, I would recommend placing your phone on airplane mode and turning off the Wi-Fi, this will prevent anyone tracking the phone from being able to see your activity.

This will stop any location monitoring and keep you and your activity safe overall.” And if you are still concerned about tracking or hacking, White reminds speaking to a professional, and potentially changing your number and handset as a precaution.

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Helpful Codes to Find Out that Your Phone is Hacked ^[12]

Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) is a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol. It is used for communicating with your mobile network operator using text messages.

Here are some USSD codes that can help you determine if your phone is being hacked. Code *#06# for IMEI Check: IMEI is an abbreviation that means International Mobile Equipment Identity.

It doesn’t provide any information about if your phone has been hacked, but that doesn’t mean it’s not useful. Your IMEI number is a code that helps you to check where your phone is.

All you need to find your IMEI number is to dial the code *#06#. If your phone’s battery is removable, you may be able to find it there.

One of the signs that you’re a victim of this attack is that your phone rings without you being notified of an incoming call in any other way. You can use the code *#61# to check your call forwarding settings.

*#062#: Redirection Code Whenever you notice that you aren’t getting all the calls and text messages your loved ones send, hackers might have tapped your phone to redirect them all. You can use the code *#062# to see if your calls get redirected when your phone is off.

Show who catches my phone data when I’m busy or reject the call: *#67# Like the redirection hack, sometimes hackers can pick up on calls you reject or the calls you get when you’re on another line. At that time, you can use the code *#67# to see the number that receives your unanswered calls.

FAQs about How to Know If Your Phone Is Being Tracked ^[13]

Can my phone be tracked without me knowing. Yes, tracking apps can be secretly installed on your smartphone without you even knowing.

How to stop phone tracking. Firstly, uninstall unknown and useless apps if you find some on your iPhone or Android phone.

Make sure to install apps from App Store or Play Store. Once you find someone is , factory reset your device immediately.

Open the Settings app, tap Privacy or Privacy &amp. Security, and choose Microphone.

Conclusion This guide has discussed how to tell if someone is tracking your iPhone or Android phone. You can follow our guide and check the signs one by one.

Aiseesoft AnyCoord is the easiest way to hide your location from others. More questions.

What do you think of this post. Excellent Rating: 4.9 / 5 (based on 163 votes)Follow Us on More Reading This article will offer you several solutions to block websites on your iPhone that you don’t want others to browse.

How do you set Google Maps for fastest route. This post shares 2 methods to get the fastest route home and to work.

How do you fix iPhone stuck in recovery mode loop. Learn 3 ways to fix iPhone attempting to recover data.

You can even plan a moving route if needed.

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Why Someone Would Divert Your Calls & Texts ^[14]

they’ve set up that charge by the minute. Someone could also try to access other accounts you’ve locked down with 2-Step Verification.

Another reason is for long-distance international calls. a hacker could give someone in another country your number and then receive the call while you foot the bill.

Consider a different browser on your phone ^[15]

three-dot menu to the right of the address bar and select New Incognito tab. Mozilla’s free Firefox Focus app is another solid option that erases passwords and browsing history after each session.

Alternatively, iPhone users can use the default Safari browser and access a private window for stealthy browsing. Tap the window icon in the bottom right corner.

Tabs in the Private Tab Group aren’t shared with your other Apple devices, even if you’re signed in with the same Apple ID. To close private tabs, tap the window icon, then swipe left on each of the tabs you want to close.

Use Tracker Detect on Android to scan for AirTags ^[16]

app, available in the Google Play Store for free, allows you to use your Android to search for and track items that work with Apple’s Find My network, such as AirTags, and are separated from their owner for at least 15 minutes. No Apple ID account is required.

If this is your first time using Tracker Detect, you’ll be prompted to give the app access to Bluetooth, which it needs to find any AirTags. Your Android will scan for up to a minute, and if it finds an AirTag near you, it will appear as “Unknown Airtag.” If you don’t find anything, you can try the scan again, especially because the tracker must be separated from its owner for at least 15 minutes to appear.

Unknown devices in family sharing or FindMy ^[17]

Yasar Turanli/Shutterstock. Family sharing and FindMy are a good way for trackers to gain access to your Apple devices.

Most people do not check these very frequently, as they’re mostly used in emergencies or to update and add new members. As a result, this tool has a lot of access granted to a user’s account which can be used for nefarious means.

If you do find a device in there that you do not recognize, there is an easy way to remove the device. Head to Settings &gt.

Family Sharing. Click on the device you want to remove, then click “Remove from Family” to clear that device from your family sharing.

How to Protect Your Phone Against Spying ^[18]

Here are eight ways to protect your cell phone from spyware apps in 2023: Keep your phone safe. You can reduce your risk greatly by making sure your phone is only touched by people you trust.

Secure your phone. Lock your device with a secure password, PIN, or fingerprint, and turn on authentication for app installs.

When you’re choosing apps in the App Store, look for credible apps with a well-established user base. Be especially careful with simple apps such as calculators that could have been quickly put together as a trojan horse to conceal spyware.

Be careful with incoming links. The easiest way to install spyware remotely is to persuade the phone’s owner to install it.

Because the apps were in the official store, many users trusted them. Take care with unexpected SMS messages too, as.

Use strong passwords for all your online accounts. If someone knows your iCloud password, they could access data remotely from your phone using a solution like Cocospy.

You’re safer if your device operates completely within the safeguards of the Android and iOS operating systems. Spyware can be more easily installed on rooted and jailbroken phones, and your device may be more susceptible to malware.

Updates to your cell phone’s operating system can improve security by removing flaws that have been discovered since the last update. An iOS update will also bring the phone back under Apple’s protective umbrella if it has previously been jailbroken.

Don’t give apps permission to use your location or access your photos without good reason. Be careful with official apps too.

Additional Security Tips for Android Users Block unverified apps: Android phones let you block software being installed from outside the official Google Play Store. Go to Settings &gt.

Menu (top-right icon) &gt. Special Access &gt.

Find the suspicious app and deselect its All From This Source button. This isn’t strong enough to block all spyware, and it won’t protect you from compromised apps in the official store, but it’s a sensible precaution to take.

Open the Google Play Store, tap the menu, then choose Play Protect. Make sure it’s turned on.

Run antivirus: You should use antivirus software to scan and protect your device from spyware. Available packages include , , and.

It’ll tell you whenever a new app is installed on your phone, or an app is updated. NOTE: iPhone apps don’t have the freedom to view other apps in the same way Android apps do.

Instead, to protect yourself on iPhone, you should run a security application, like or , to keep you safe from malicious websites.

Use a VPN to prevent phone tracking ^[19]

While Internet security may seem like a full-time job, there are apps you can use to protect your privacy automatically. will mask your internet activity, hide your location, and prevent tracking.

How to find spy software on your mobile device ^[20]

As you read earlier, Apple has gone to great lengths to try and make iOS as secure as possible. While there’s not a “find spy software” feature built into the platform, there are a few ways you can check for it.

Check your battery usage One of the best troubleshooting features in iOS is the battery screen. Whether you’re having issues with your battery or not, it’s constantly tracking which apps are consuming the most amount of power.

This is how you can get to that screen: Open Settings.Tap Battery.Then, scroll through the list and look for any suspicious apps consuming an unusual amount of power. 2.

To check your app list, go to Settings &gt. General &gt.

Look for any apps that you don’t recognize or that you didn’t download. Eliminate slow iPhone performance Spyware often makes iPhones terribly slow, but so does clutter.

Get the app now. 3.

They’re not able to verify and vet all of the software available on the jailbroken ecosystem. So, that means if your iPhone is jailbroken, you might have spyware installed as a system file.

Then, navigate to /Library/MobileSubstrate/DynamicLibraries/ and look for any files that you don’t recognize.