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Mobile phone monitoring
Mobile phone monitoring is not a rare phenomenon. Mobile phones usually store a very large amount of personal data in recent years. You probably use your mobile phone on a daily basis to:
- Send text and email messages.
- Save voice mail messages.
- Send photos or videos to friends, family or your partner.
- Search the internet and social media and much more.
But why would someone spy on you? There can be many reasons for someone to tap your phone.
Reasons for mobile phone monitoring
Perhaps your phone contains important business data that a spy wants to know about. Other times a wife wants to know about a potential relationship. Perhaps, you have an important job or one with many responsibilities. For example, scientists, journalists, judges, or other government employees could be potential targets for those interested in extracting personal information. So, how do you know if someone is monitoring your phone, and what can you do about it?
Unfortunately, even a strong password on your phone is not going to protect you from cell phone surveillance. Moreover, there are many monitoring software on the market that can track all your cell phone activity without your knowledge. The most advanced apps can even steal your passwords, use your camera to spy on you, or even lock your phone completely so you can’t use it anymore.
Mobile Phone Monitoring and indications
In this guide, we’ll look at 10 ways to know if someone is tracking your mobile phone and how you can stop them. There are a few signs that should ‘sound the alarm’ and could indicate the possibility that your mobile phone is infected with spy software that monitors your activities. The clues vary and some are difficult to detect. However, if you know the typical signs, it is not difficult to determine if there is malicious tracking software installed on your device. Here are 10 ways to determine whether or not your phone is being monitored.
Uncontrolled and unusually high data usage
Is your monthly data usage unusually high? Then there’s a good chance someone has installed a spy app on your device. Generally, low-quality spy software uses a significant amount of data to send the collected information from your mobile phone.
On the other hand, the top spy software on the market requires much less data to send the information collected from your phone. It’s almost impossible to see if a high-end tracking app is installed on your device in your monthly data usage review.
Signs of activity in standby mode
Except for standard incoming calls, messages and other standard notifications that trigger activity on your mobile phone, your mobile screen should not light up in standby mode. Also, strange sounds that are heard while using the cell phone are a sign that something is wrong.
Unexpected restart
Is your phone restarting for no good reason or without you doing it? In this case, it is possible that someone has unlimited access to your mobile phone. If someone has remote access to reboot your device, they can certainly do a lot more or see all your activity. Therefore, the possibility of them having control over your phone is almost certain.
Strange sounds during calls
In the past, telephone lines were not always stable and without strange sounds in the background. However, today’s networks usually have a strong signal and a stable connection. Therefore, it’s not normal to hear strange clicking sounds or distant voices interrupting your conversations. If you hear distant voices and you are sure that there is no one near the person you are talking to, there is definitely a possibility of call interception.
Unexpected text messages
Have you received text messages that look like a combination of letters with hieroglyphics? Usually, a message containing a variety of strange symbols, random numeric sequences or other characters indicates the presence of a tracking software on your mobile phone.
Low-quality monitoring software uses this type of coded language to communicate with their remote application. Sometimes, in this case, it is a sign that their software is not working properly.
Increase in battery usage
An obvious indication of tracking software on your mobile phone is if you notice a sudden drop in the performance of your mobile phone’s battery life. The spy software on a phone monitors all your activities and sends the recordings to a third party device.
So if your mobile phone is losing battery percentages at a high rate, it is most likely due to spy software. When the spy software makes recordings with the camera or speaker, it will drain a significant chunk of your phone’s battery. Especially considering that your phone was idle at the time. If you’re not sure if it’s a faulty battery or spyware, try a new battery.
Temperature rise in idle mode
This is one of the less obvious points, because the battery temperature of a mobile phone can also be linked to a large number of different technical issues. However, if you haven’t experienced such a spike in battery temperature in the past and you haven’t used your phone, but it’s still relatively warm anyway, it could be caused by monitoring software sending data to another device.
Increased finish duration
A computer always closes all active processes after you decide to close it. A mobile phone follows exactly the same routine.
Difficulty shutting down your device
Are you experiencing problems when trying to shut down your device? It could be a sign that your phone has been compromised. Usually, spyware continues to run in the background and can prevent you from completely shutting down your device. If your phone’s background doesn’t seem to fade to a completely black screen when you press turn off, it’s likely caused by a spy app.
Your mobile phone is getting slow
Newer mobile phones are equipped with powerful hardware and software. Your phone should be able to run many different applications at the same time. If you notice that your phone is suddenly showing signs of a significant drop in speed, it is probably being checked and monitored remotely.
Mobile phone monitoring: Troubleshooting on android
Mobile phones have some applications pre-installed from the factory. They are very specific and are listed by the manufacturer. So after you see what they are you need to look for apps in the phone’s settings. Any app that is not mentioned by the manufacturer and you have not installed it yourself is suspect and should be removed. Apart from the apps, we would suggest a factory reset. Caution is needed here though.
If you back up your apps, a factory reset will ensure that all your apps as well as monitoring and logging software are downloaded again. So in this case, backing up is not recommended. In addition, specific to Android devices, the Android phone cannot be tracked without first having software approved on the phone! It is absolutely impossible.
To track a mobile phone with Android an application or tracking software is installed on the target phone. Whereas, to install the app, physical access to the Android device is needed. To date, no technology has been invented that allows access or monitoring of Android phone remotely. Therefore, frequent checking of a device regarding its installed applications and its operation is an effective method of protection against malware.
Mobile phone monitoring: Troubleshooting on iOS
As Jailbreak is a prerequisite for installing mobile phone monitoring programs, simply updating your operating system becomes very effective. If you are already using the latest version, you can simply back up your basic data and restore the device, as restoring to previous iOS versions may be technically difficult. There is one exception to this method however.
There is a certain mobile phone monitoring software that uses iCloud to log your data. In this case, securing your iCloud account should be taken as an extra precautionary step. Updating your password and upgrading to 2-factor authentication is vital nowadays to ensure that you don’t fall victim to not only spying but also hacking.
Mobile phone monitoring and legal framework
For the above reasons, because in most cases fundamental human rights, which are also constitutionally guaranteed, are violated, the legal framework has been strengthened in recent years through the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which punishes to a large extent the offenders due to the technological development that is a dangerous “tool” in the hands of people who can sometimes irreparably damage the dignity and personality of people.
On the contrary, it is sometimes necessary for the police to monitor criminals and murderers who are a public danger. In these cases, the lifting of privacy is legitimized for the public interest that is superior to the individual interest, and this is also supported in the GDPR as a general rule for all countries.
Private Detective Pelekasis Nikos
“The above text may be indicative of practices and methods used in the past. Some tactics and methods may now be applicable under the new law 5005/22 concerning the procedure for the removal of privacy of communications, cybersecurity and protection of personal data of citizens.”
Difficulty shutting down your device
Are you experiencing problems when trying to shut down your device? It could be a sign that your phone has been compromised. Usually, spyware continues to run in the background and can prevent you from completely shutting down your device. If your phone’s background doesn’t seem to fade to a completely black screen when you press turn off, it’s likely caused by a spy app.
Your mobile phone is getting slow
Newer mobile phones are equipped with powerful hardware and software. Your phone should be able to run many different applications at the same time. If you notice that your phone is suddenly showing signs of a significant drop in speed, it is probably being checked and monitored remotely.
Mobile phone monitoring: Troubleshooting on android
Mobile phones have some applications pre-installed from the factory. They are very specific and are listed by the manufacturer. So after you see what they are you need to look for apps in the phone’s settings. Any app that is not mentioned by the manufacturer and you have not installed it yourself is suspect and should be removed. Apart from the apps, we would suggest a factory reset. Caution is needed here though.
If you back up your apps, a factory reset will ensure that all your apps as well as monitoring and logging software are downloaded again. So in this case, backing up is not recommended. In addition, specific to Android devices, the Android phone cannot be tracked without first having software approved on the phone! It is absolutely impossible.
To track a mobile phone with Android an application or tracking software is installed on the target phone. Whereas, to install the app, physical access to the Android device is needed. To date, no technology has been invented that allows access or monitoring of Android phone remotely. Therefore, frequent checking of a device regarding its installed applications and its operation is an effective method of protection against malware.
Mobile phone monitoring: Troubleshooting on iOS
As Jailbreak is a prerequisite for installing mobile phone monitoring programs, simply updating your operating system becomes very effective. If you are already using the latest version, you can simply back up your basic data and restore the device, as restoring to previous iOS versions may be technically difficult. There is one exception to this method however.
There is a certain mobile phone monitoring software that uses iCloud to log your data. In this case, securing your iCloud account should be taken as an extra precautionary step. Updating your password and upgrading to 2-factor authentication is vital nowadays to ensure that you don’t fall victim to not only spying but also hacking.
Mobile phone monitoring and legal framework
For the above reasons, because in most cases fundamental human rights, which are also constitutionally guaranteed, are violated, the legal framework has been strengthened in recent years through the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), which punishes to a large extent the offenders due to the technological development that is a dangerous “tool” in the hands of people who can sometimes irreparably damage the dignity and personality of people.
On the contrary, it is sometimes necessary for the police to monitor criminals and murderers who are a public danger. In these cases, the lifting of privacy is legitimized for the public interest that is superior to the individual interest, and this is also supported in the GDPR as a general rule for all countries.
Private Detective Pelekasis Nikos
“The above text may be indicative of practices and methods used in the past. Some tactics and methods may now be applicable under the new law 5005/22 concerning the procedure for the removal of privacy of communications, cybersecurity and protection of personal data of citizens.”
