How do I know if my phone is tapped?
Tapping is the activity of secretly fitting a special device to someone’s phone in order to listen to their phone conversations without being noticed. How do I know if my phone is tapped or monitored?
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How to protect yourself from phone tapping?
One of the best-known ways to spy on you in this way is to have downloaded a virus which will then install itself on your phone and spy on your conversations.
To avoid this, it is generally enough to follow the golden rule, namely never to save anything on your phone that does not come from the official store of it. Indeed, the applications present are controlled there.
Read also: Improve Cellphone Signal With This Code | Can be used for all types of cellphones
Therefore, unless there is a big flaw in the system of one of these applications, you can rest easy.
But if you prefer to be “convinced,” there are a variety of antiviruses developed specifically for cellphones that can help you eliminate viruses that may be escaping through tight cracks.
How do I know if my phone is tapped or monitored?
Hackers or other people around you can spy on your phone to check your messages, calls, emails, notifications or any other information. This operation is usually targeted and performed through spying software available for monitoring Android phones and iPhones.
Android phones are much easier to tap than iPhones. In the case of iPhones, the other party will likely need to jailbreak the device before installing a backdoor or spyware. Anyway, whatever your device, here are some tips to help you check if your phone is tapped or monitored.
1- Increase in data usage
2- High battery consumption and overheating
3- Abnormal behavior or advertisements on the device
4- Fake apps or unknown apps on the device
5- Suspicious messages
6- Unusual noise during calls
7- Detect spyware using third-party apps
What to do if your phone is tapped?
If your phone is bugged, follow the steps below to remove any spying or bugging software from your Android or iPhone.
1- Activate airplane mode
The first step is to enable airplane mode. This blocks all connectivity functions and cuts the connection of the application or tool that tries to spy on you. Once done, you can move on to the other methods below.
2- Uninstall unknown apps
Now carefully check the list of installed apps and remove any app you don’t remember installing. Even if you have the slightest suspicion, delete the app.
3- Remove administrator access from the device
Are you unable to uninstall a particular app on your Android phone? Uninstall button grayed out for this app? This is likely because the app has device administrator access. Most malware or spyware uses this to prevent users from uninstalling them.
To remove device administrator access, go to Settings > Security & lock screen > Device administrator apps and turn off the switch for all apps except Find My Device from Google and those for which you have intentionally enabled access.
4- Restart in safe mode
If a rogue app is preventing you from disabling it, restart your phone in safe mode. This will disable all third-party apps on the phone. You can then uninstall the application without any problem.
Restarting in safe mode varies by phone. Usually you get the safe mode prompt by pressing and holding the power button in the power menu.
5- Factory reset the phone
If the spyware is still present on the phone then do a full factory data reset but be sure to backup all important data.
Factory reset for Android phone
- Open Settings on your Android phone.
- Navigate to System > Reset options.
- Click Delete all data (factory reset).
- Confirm to continue.
Factory reset for iPhone
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Click General.
- Next, select Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Erase All Content and Settings and proceed.
- If you have a jailbroken iPhone with spyware installed, back up the data and restore the device using iTunes or recovery mode.
6- Update your phone software
Finally, check and update your phone with the latest software available. This will fix security vulnerabilities and ensure that they cannot be exploited again to infect your phone.
Conclusion: Check and prevent your phone from being tapped
Here’s how to check if your Android phone or iPhone is tapped or monitored by someone. Besides, we have also mentioned the steps to prevent your phone from being spied on. Hope this helps you to prevent others from spying on your data. If you have anything to add, let me know in the comments below. Stay tuned for more such articles.
Sources: PinterPandai, Pcmag
Photo credit: Picryl / Dvidshub
