The idea that someone could be stalking you — anywhere — is disturbing. But thinking about how it can happen right on your smart phone so that you don’t get a moment’s peace, even when you are home, is infuriating AND terrifying. You may not automatically know if your phone has been essentially hijacked by hackers who are taking your data and using it for malicious intent. But if you have been noticing your device isn’t acting the way it used to, something could be up — and a hacker could be at the center of it all.
These three scary signs may indicate that someone is tracking you on your phone. We also provide solutions for how to stop it.
New Apps Have Appeared On Your Device
When is the last time you scrolled around your home screen to check out all of your apps? When you do, are you noticing the presence of apps that you are 100 percent sure you never downloaded? These apps could be used to monitor your activity and could be one major sign that you’ve been hacked and are being tracked. The same applies to browser history — give yours a look to make sure there aren’t suspicious looking websites in your history.
Solution: First, delete all of the apps that you did not download yourself. Next, clear your browser history by going to Settings > Safari > Clear History and Website Data. Lastly, it’s always a good idea to change the passwords on all of the apps you use and websites you frequent — just in case.
Your Storage Space Is Diminishing
Your storage space will naturally be eaten up by the apps that you are using and the photos and videos (along with other files) that you store on your device. But this should be a gradual occurrence — one that you can stay on top of so that you can delete files as needed, or send them to iCloud storage, in order to free up the your phone’s storage space. If you’re suddenly receiving storage space empty pop-up alerts, and you haven’t drastically changed your own behavior on your device, it could be a sign that you’ve been hacked and are possibly being tracked.
Solution: It’s important to figure out the source of your storage space issues. Go to Settings > General > Storage. Check out what is eating up all your storage. Is it app usage? If so, look through your apps to make sure there isn’t anything there that you didn’t download yourself. Delete anything foreign you.
Suspicious Accounts on Find My iPhone
One of the quickest ways to tell if someone has gotten hold of your Apple ID and password is checking out the Find My iPhone feature in your settings. Here you’ll see all of the devices that are signed in with your Apple ID.
Solution: Remove any and all devices that you don’t recognize (aside from your own). This will cut off their access to your device.
Safeguard your device against future bad actors and malicious intent by making sure your passwords are long, complex, and different for every website and app you visit. Use two-factor authentication wherever it is allowed for an extra security measure and never share your passwords with anyone unless you trust them completely.
