What would you do if you knew your phone is being tacked? It sounds terrible to hear, right? Read this article to find out how to know if your phone is being tracked.
In this digital world, mobile phones are an irreplaceable part of life. You use it every day to click images, browse the internet, play games, call, text, and so much more. From business to entertainment to education, you can do it all.
With huge advantages, there lie some drawbacks. People can track your phone, which puts your data and information at risk. And the tracking apps make it possible for your phone to be monitored by hackers, family, or the police. USSD codes are also helpful in finding out if your phone has been hacked.
Let’s get started and explore how to know if your phone is being tracked.
How can a cellphone be tracked?
Using technology can be a blessing as well as a curse. The activities you are performing on your phone can be tracked.
There exist spying apps for spying on Facebook, accessing browser history, or tracking skype messages that help parents monitor their child’s online presence. It lets you have various features, like remote control, content control, location sharing, etc.
But there can be malicious attackers who will get through your phone without getting physical access to your device. There are things you do that let hackers get unauthorized access to your phone:
- There are lots of phishing scams on the internet. You may have shared your credentials in the phishing scam, letting scammers track your phone.
- You are using an outdated version of the operating system on the device. The security is compromised without the updated version. So you need to update the operating system.
- Installing harmful apps from third-party stores.
- If you own a rooted Android or jailbroken iPhone, then the phone can be hacked into easily.
How to know if your phone is being tracked?
If you are wondering, “Is my phone being tracked by someone?” these are signs you need to be careful of:
Performance issues
You need to clean up cache memory regularly and unused apps to make your mobile device efficient. After doing that, if your phone’s performance is still slow, that may be a sign of your mobile being tracked.
Apps that are legit also consume power, but they don’t hinder phone performance randomly. However, you need to update your device regularly.
You can examine which apps use the most RAM. You can see the app usage and inspect the app that doesn’t seem right.
Unknown apps on your phone
You need to watch out for the apps installed on your phone as they could be spying apps. These unverified apps are established by the hackers or your ex for spying on your phone activities.
So if you notice such apps, take precautions by uninstalling those apps manually. And don’t install unverified apps.
Decreased battery life
Hackers insert spy apps on your phone to track it. These apps keep running in the background to track your devices. The hidden spy apps take screenshots of your phone and send them to the hacker. The data transfer happens constantly.
Having a spy app running in the background can tax your device’s battery. Those apps need to search for data and send notifications to the third-party tracking you.
This process consumes battery life faster, resulting in your phone’s battery drainage. If it doesn’t help, perform a factory reset of your device.
Unusual noise during the call
While you are on call, you may hear some distant voice coming through your phone, and that can be a pointer to tracking apps tracking your phone.
The tracking apps listen to your personal information by recording the call and sending the information to whos tracking. Echoing and beeping can be examples. Sometimes network problems also might cause this.
Be alert if you hear some noises during the call, as it could be a sign of being monitored.
Increased mobile data usage
Spying apps use your phone data to send your information from your device to whos tracking your phone. Since it tracks as well as records your device, it consumes high cellular data usage.
Turn off your wifi and turn on mobile data. You can check data usage to see which app takes up more data. If it’s an unknown app, take action to remove it immediately.
Phone overheating
You are using your phone, and it starts feeling too hot. Has that ever happened? It happens most of the time if you are playing games or using apps that need high processing power.
However, if it happens randomly without playing games or using high processing demand apps, then there can be an unauthorized person tracking your phone.
Automatic phone activities
If your phone runs automatically without you touching it, it’s a strong indicator of tracking apps tracking your phone.
The phone will randomly restart, and random messages will show up as well as light up when not used. There could be random browsing sites in your browser which you didn’t use. You may see WhatsApp messages to people you don’t know. These are some signs.
How to prevent your phone from being tracked?
Cell phone location tracking could be handy when looking for nearby restaurants or other important places to visit. However, it could also enable others to learn your whereabouts, either legally or illegally.
If you suspect you’re being tracked using your cell phone, disabling any of these features can help prevent tracking.
- Factory reset your phone.
- Uninstall suspicious apps that you didn’t install.
- Install antivirus apps to protect your smartphone.
- Don’t download applications and games from unofficial websites. The safety of your data and information is at most risk.
Your phone can’t retain all of its basic functionality while halting tracking. If you try these methods, you can minimize it though.
Conclusion
It is easy for anyone with resources to track your device. Nevertheless, you can see if your mobile is tracked or not by doing above mentioned things.
You can install some security apps like Kaspersky, avast, and so on to keep your phone security strong.
