Apple’s iPhones are possibly some of the most secure mobile devices available today, and the bar is being set higher with every security update and every new iteration of the device. However, while this may give it an advantage in the sea of smartphones available in the market today, it doesn’t mean that they’re completely safe from keyloggers or spying apps for iPhone.
So, if you have an iPhone and have noticed certain signs that might make you think you’re being spied on or simply want to know what signs you can look out for in the future, you’re at the right place. This guide will take you through these signs, along with certain precautions and remedies to prevent or remove spy software from your device if it happens to be infected.
What Are the Signs of Spy Software on an iPhone?
Detecting spyware on your iPhone is an essential part of maintaining your mobile device. Not all types of malware consume more data or battery than normal. Some of these types of malware are easily removed with reliable antivirus solutions, but there are some ways to avoid becoming a victim. Here’s a look at some of the most common types of malware and how to protect yourself. These tools can also help protect your mobile device in the future.
Check Your Device’s Battery Consumption
First, check the battery life of your iPhone. If you notice a sudden decline in its battery life or that simple tasks are consuming a lot more of its battery all of a sudden, this could indicate the presence of spy software. This is a warning sign that the spy app has taken over your phone and is constantly relaying all your inputs to an online server for a hacker to access.
You can also check the battery life of your iPhone by checking the Battery Usage option. This can often happen if you’ve jailbroken your iPhone. Jailbreaking is the process of reducing the device’s security barrier in order to install certain applications that would otherwise be harmful to it or to unlock certain other capabilities. This is why someone who’s jailbreaking their iPhone must always be wary of the risks of their iPhone being an easy victim of spyware.
Look Out for Strange Sounds or Changes
Always be on the lookout for strange sounds while using your iPhone. This could be during a phone call or while performing regular activities on it like sending a text message or using Google Maps to navigate to a certain location. If you suspect your phone is being tapped, spy software will be able to send messages, chats, recordings, and even internet searches without your knowledge.
Apart from any strange sounds, if you also come across strange changes to your device’s settings that you didn’t change, this could mean that someone is doing them remotely without your consent. If you notice this, you must either scan your device using anti-malware software or take a backup and factory reset it to get rid of the spy software. Additionally, mobile devices get slow with time, so uninstalling unused apps and maintaining a healthy internal storage level are essential.
Check Your iPhone for Unusually High Data Consumption.
Another way to identify spyware on an iPhone is to check for unusually high data usage. The correlation between the two si that spy software relies on your internet connection to upload all the information fed into your device to its servers, and given that this information can be a lot, especially if it consists of high-resolution images and videos, the whole process can significantly reduce your data availability.
You can check this from the iPhone’s settings by visiting the network and data section and checking how much data was consumed by all the apps combined, and tallying that with the total data used during the present cycle. If this calculation presents some kind of difference, this could indicate that there’s some application or software in the background that’s using your device’s data.
You Notice Your Device Heating Up a Lot
Typically, your mobile device is hotter than normal when it’s using high-processing applications. However, this can happen even when you’re not doing anything! These tracking apps are straining your device’s computational power, which results in an increase in heat. Sometimes, this can also happen when your device is lying idle, which could point to an application running in the background and stealing all your sensitive and private information. Celltrackingapps can be remotely installed on your device, making them even more of a threat to your security.
Check The App Permissions On Your iPhone.
When setting up applications on an iPhone, we often tend to give them a bunch of permissions without reading what they’re all about. While a lot of applications are trustworthy and won’t misuse your data, others installed from third-party sites or designed by malicious coders can do so. As a result, it’s essential that you review the applications installed on your device from time to time. If you find any that you’re unsure about, uninstall it right away. Among those that you retain, go through all the permissions you’ve given them and de-select those you don’t want the apps to have. These could be access to your messages and calls, and sometimes even to your location.
How to Keep Your iPhone Safe From Spyware
Install an Anti-Malware Program on Your iPhone
If you’re concerned about the security of your phone, you can use Bitdefender, a strong antivirus compatible with both Android and iOS devices. Bitdefender can detect malicious code on your phone, including those that mine cryptocurrency, click on ads, and perform other nefarious activities. If you’re unsure about whether you’re using an app with spyware, swipe it up and check if you’re still being tracked.
Set a Strong PIN On Your Device
One of the key precautions you can take to keep your iPhone safe is to set up a strong PIN or enable Face ID. This can go a long way in keeping your device safe from someone who manages to get access to it either by stealing it or using it when you’re not looking.
Factory Reset Your iPhone.
Another key step to take if none of the solutions given above work is to factory reset your iPhone altogether. This reverses all the changes on your iPhone, deletes all the data present on it, and returns it to its factory settings. However, before you do this, you must ensure to take a backup of all your data so as to not lose it once you start installing your applications again. This can happen a lot with WhatsApp, so you must check how to backup your WhatsApp data.
Final Words
As you can see, there are several signs that can point to the presence of spy software on your iPhone. These are listed and explained above and can be crucial in detecting spy apps on time and taking the right action. As Angelica Rivera’s guide on phone trackers shows, these apps are easy to install on iPhones, thus making it essential that you’re always on the lookout for them.
So, keep the precautions mentioned in mind, and you can ensure that your data and social media conversations are safe at all times.
