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CellPhone spyware is an application that when installed on your mobile
phone can allow someone to monitor all your activities on the mobile
phone. Cellphone spyware isn’t the same as computer spyware.
What spyware does to your phone
In most cases, when spyware is installed on your phone, it will monitor:
- All the emails you download on your phone
- The photos you take using the phone
- The location of your phone
- Internet browsing history and bookmarks
- Your contacts
- Your text messages and phone number
- Your phone call history, including the phone numbers, duration of calls, and dates.
The above actions will depend on the spyware installed on your phone.
If your phone has been rooted (Android) or jailbroken (iPhone), the spyware can also:
- Use your phone’s microphone and record everything around you
- Monitor phone conversations
- Monitor your messaging apps, including Skype, Viber, WhatsApp, etc.
The perpetrator will monitor the above activities on a website.
How do you know if spyware is on your mobile phone?
It’s difficult to tell whether your phone has spyware installed. This is because spyware is installed by tech-savvy hackers, and they work secretly without interfering with your mobile phone operations.
The best way to ascertain whether your phone has spyware is to take it for forensic examination by a police officer, or you can hire a legitimate hacker to do the job for you.
However, some clues may lead you to the conclusion that your mobile phone has spyware installed in it. These clues include:
If a person you suspect had access to your phone
Remember that spyware has to be downloaded and installed on your
phone. So, try to figure out if someone you suspect had
access to your phone. The whole process requires about 15 to 20
minutes.
If the suspect has some information about you
If you suspect that your phone has
spyware installed in it while at the same time you realize
that there is someone who knows more about you than they
should, maybe they are monitoring all your phone activities.
Strange activities on your phone
In some cases, when your phone has spyware, you may notice a sudden increase in data or battery usage. This is a clear indication that there’s spyware running in the background. The phone may also start dropping calls or shutting down by itself.
How can you remove the spyware?
If you can’t take your phone to a police officer or a legitimate hacker, but you suspect that it has spyware installed, you can remove it by yourself. All you need to do is to restore your phone to its factory setting, and the spyware will get eliminated. Whoever installed it would have to get access to your phone to install it again.
Final Word
If you feel your phone is greatly compromised, you can dispose of it and buy a new one. But if you are planning to continue using the phone, you can keep it away from anyone you suspect might have installed the spyware. Also, remember to back up all your files, videos, and photos on the phone.