How to find out if your cell phone usage is under surveillance
Gone are the days when mobile phones were only used for calls and texts. Nowadays, they are a personal assistants, portable entertainment centres, tour guides and much more. These devices hold a large amount of information about us, which is why it is crucial to protect their security. Private conversations, online banking details, logins and passwords could be accessed by others with the help of spy software.
This powerful application can be obtained legally and it can serve good purposes, such as checking your young kids’ phone usage to protect them from harmful content or online predators. Companies can also benefit from these programmes, as they are useful for monitoring work mobile phones to ensure that staff are not leaking confidential information. In both cases there are certain limits and laws to follow (for instance, employees must be aware that the device is under surveillance), but these are legitimate reasons for using mobile phone spy software.
However, due to the invasive nature of this type of technology, there is a chance that it could be used to access your personal data without your knowledge. Luckily, spy software cannot be installed remotely and anyone who wants to monitor your mobile phone usage would need to get their hands on your device. The first step to avoid becoming a target of monitoring software is to keep your mobile phone secure. Lock your device and make sure that is not easily available for those who may want to spy on you.
It is not always easy to confirm that your phone is being monitored, but there are some indicators that would reveal the presence of spy software on your device. While the signs may not be explicit, if you suspect that someone has installed spy software on your phone, you should pay attention to any possible hints. We will reveal some of the things you may experience when dealing with spy software, but keep in mind that some of the issues listed could be caused by something else. Advanced spy software is designed to run stealthily in the background, without leaving any trace on the device, but if you come across many of the signs mentioned below, there is a high possibility that your phone is under surveillance. Here is what to look out for.
Unusual phone behaviour
Keep an eye for any changes on your phone’s performance or strange behaviour. If the device keeps shutting down, lighting up or making beeping sounds without any explanation, it could be due to mobile monitoring software.
Battery life changes
Some mobile phone monitoring applications use up a lot of battery. If you find that your battery life is running down considerably faster than usual, there could be spy software installed on your device.
Increase in data usage
The less sophisticated spy programmes tend to use more data to collect and send reports from your mobile phone. If you notice that your monthly data usage has increased without apparent reason, you may be dealing with spy software. You can keep an eye on your data usage with the help of apps like My Data Manager by Mobidia Technology and Data Usage by Sigterm.
Background noise
While this may be caused by a bad connection, if you notice background noise (clicking sounds, beeping, static or voices) quite regularly, it is possible that your call conversations are being listened to or recorded.
Receiving odd text messages
Receiving text messages that only have strange characters, symbols and numbers may be another sign of spy software. Mobile monitoring programs may issue commands to the targeted phone via text messages and if the software has not been configured correctly, you would be seeing these texts.
What about iPhone?
Spy software can only be installed on jailbroken iPhones, therefore if your phone has not been jailbroken you should be safe. However, if someone is persistent on targeting your phone, they probably won’t think twice about jailbreaking your device to complete the installation. The usual indicator of a jailbreak is the Cydia app, but this can also appear as Icy or as the Installer app on your home screen. Of course, the spy may have hidden any evidence and you would have to look further to find the Cydia app.
Jailbreaking allows installation of software not supplied through Apple, so if you see any apps that you don’t recognize, you should check if they are available in the App store. If you didn’t jailbreak your phone, you can restore your device to default settings and get rid of any possible spy software with one simple step. Just update to the latest iOS to remove the jailbreak and any software not obtained from the App store. Remember to backup your data prior to the upgrade.
Conclusion
Just because your phone is being affected by some of the issues described above, it does not mean that your mobile phone is being monitored. However, if you experience several of these signs regularly, there is a significant risk that spy software is installed on your phone. As usual, prevention is the best weapon so make sure that you find out more about the way spy applications work. Remember that physical access to the device is required, therefore it is more likely that someone close to you install the monitoring software. Use a password lock on your mobile phone and keep your phone secure at all times.
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