How do I know if my phone is tapped?
The confidentiality of a person’s personal data is a topic that many mobile phone users often doubt. The most ardent supporters of the theory of widespread surveillance are ready to accuse any application of wiretapping. Let’s try to figure out how to actually find out about surveillance, as well as who can track smartphone users.
Signs of wiretapping
There are several ways to track users via phones. The most time consuming and expensive is the installation of physical tracking devices (bug). The more common way of wiretapping is using an app. And since the first method is almost impossible to meet (this is the lot of special services), let’s talk about the signs of the second method – wiretapping using applications.
Self-activation / deactivation of programs and functions on the phone
A spy app that lands on your phone gains control over the actions on the device. This means that it can independently:
- Turn on the microphone.
- Turn on the camera.
- Make videos.
- Send information.
- Enable / disable other applications.
If the user noticed that the phone is behaving too actively without his participation, it is recommended to check the list of applications manually, and then using an anti-virus program. This is how you can find a spy who is sending confidential information about a user to hackers.
Battery level drops rapidly
This symptom is a direct result of the previous point. If third-party functions or programs are constantly enabled on your phone, the battery level will drop much faster. What does this mean? Either the battery capacity has decreased, or a tracking program is running on the phone. Of course, you need to check the battery status first.
Traffic is spent faster
Has the monthly mobile Internet traffic started to run out faster and is not enough for everyday needs? There are more obvious reasons to check: Have there been major unplanned downloads? Perhaps the user forgot to switch from mobile internet to Wi-Fi at home?
If the user is sure that he himself could not use all the traffic, the reason may lie in the listening program. An Internet connection is required to send user information (audio and video recordings), which explains the disappearance of traffic.
The phone is slow
The sudden activity of third-party applications can load the mobile phone system. Because of this, the work of the usual programs will be slower. However, the deterioration in phone performance can be justified in other ways: the device is old, there is no free space, too many applications are turned on, etc. Wiretapping is one of the last factors.
Should you be afraid of wiretapping?
As mentioned earlier, the equipment for wiretapping is expensive, and the process itself is quite laborious. Nobody will bother installing a bug on smartphones of ordinary users. And although many are sure that the state is monitoring them, in reality everything is easier: it makes sense to follow those people who have valuable information.
Most often, you can find spy apps that are not targeted at someone in particular. Such programs collect all the information available on it, without focusing on audio recordings of conversations. Their purpose is to get to the user’s banking information or to “leak” preference data to advertisers. Although the latter is no longer so relevant: companies have much more legal ways to find out what potential customers want to buy or order.
