All of us own a smartphone these days. Android is preferred over other OS at times because it is easier to use and the phones are cheaper. Most of us use our phones without even giving a thought about the things that are present in it. We tend to download apps randomly and use them without thinking about what it may bring to our phone.
If you have followed the news, then you may have heard that spying on a person is quite common. It may lead to data or identity theft, which isn’t desirable. Technological advancements have opened up the private life of many people and it may hamper one’s privacy. So, it is always better to have a good check of your phone to find anything that can be suspicious of it.
In most cases, you as a layman will never be able to differentiate between the things happening to your phone and you will take it as normal. Some incidents have been noted where people are discovering hidden spyware on their android phones which can be pretty harmful.
Let us know about these creepers which may hide in your phone and we will also tell you the ways which will help you to discover how to find hidden spyware on an android phone.
What is spyware?
Espionage is one of the genres that are loved by people because of the thrill that it provides. The thrilling end over there and you will never want your privacy to be breached.
Spyware is such a hidden software that lies in your phone to extract the private data that you may not want to share with other people. It is generally described as a malware that you are unaware of.
This is the most common way for frauds to get your data and extract your whereabouts. The spyware often creeps into the phone with downloads, especially from third party sources or insecure websites. These are the 4 most frequent spyware that is found on Android phones:
Adware
This is a spyware that is supposed to spy on the cache of your phone which stores your browsing history and usage data of the device.
This malware checks the things that you like and eventually notifies the owner to show you the advertisements according to it.
So, they are encroaching on everything that you are doing on your phone even if you don’t want them to know.
Trojan
You may have heard about the Trojan malware as it is frequently found on the PC and now it is also found on the phone.
It is one of the most dangerous malware out there and it passes off in the system without even notifying you about the threat.
The worst thing about Trojan is that it targets sensitive data such as your identification number, bank details, etc. which all of us do have on our phones.
Tracking cookies
Most of the website depends on cookies to run them, so they are often present on our phones.
This malware goes through the cookies to learn more about the websites that we frequent or those in which we are interested in.
They generally sell their information to marketing divisions to bombard us with advertisements or recommendations.
System monitors
Can someone hack my phone and read my texts? You wouldn’t want this spyware to be on your phone as it scans the whole system to extract all the information that they can get.
This malware can record your calls, go through your text messages, and access the private parts of your phone and your activities on the phone. They get into the phone by disguising themselves as a freeware.
Can you locate and delete spyware on your Android Phone?
Of course, there is always a way out when it comes to spyware. It is undesirable to get them into your phone but you have to take the right step to find out about them and then to delete them.
The list of the app is one of the easiest places to go looking for this spyware and you should check out any option that you feel is suspicious. If you think that your phone has spyware, then do a factory reset on your phone as it erases all the data and apps that are present on the phone.
Another thing that you can do is to check out apps that help you to delete the spyware apps, but you should always go for secure options. So, let us tell you some of the ways on how to stop someone from spying on my cell phone.
How to detect Spyware on your Android Phone?
As we said above, often spyware does get into our phones and we aren’t even aware of the way to check the presence of them. Most of us aren’t even aware of all the settings that are present in our phone.
That is not the right way to deal with things, especially in a time when data is never safe. So, here we will see some of the ways to check for spyware on the phone and they have been tested to work by several people.
These are the most common signs of having spyware and it is a sign for you to reset your phone or use an anti-virus which will eradicate the unwanted malware. If you have your phone with you right now, do try them out to see if it is a threat. Or you can also tally the symptoms to check if any of them are true for your phone.
You should note that the things that we will mention can also happen to the phone for other reasons. So, if your phone doesn’t have spyware, then it might be necessary for you to take it for a thorough check-up. Let us have a look at them to locate spyware on android.
Read more: How To Figure Out Who Hacked Your Phone?
Strange behavior in your phone
Is your phone lagging too much even if it is new? Does your flash turn on suddenly at times? Do the screen lights come on at times or are there any strange sounds? If you have faced these things on your phone, then it might be a sign that you have spyware.
You need to observe your phone for some time to notice the strange behavior. If you have a rooted phone, then it might be more susceptible to these things.
Check your phone for apps that you might not have downloaded and which may have piggy-backed their way into the device. Do delete them and reset your phone to be on the safer side.
Read more: How To Tell If Your Phone Has Been Hacked?
Too much battery drain
The battery is an important part of having a phone as it determines the amount of usage that we can get from the phone. In the case of spyware, it is often seen that the phone’s battery gets drained quite quickly.
If you are using your phone for even a few days, you will be aware of the way that the battery works. So, if you think that it is draining too fast for no apparent reason and if your phone keeps heating up, then there can be spyware. Often the spyware apps run in the background constantly resulting in it.
Unusual noise during phone calls
Observe your phone to see if there are unusual beeps when you get a call or pick one up on your phone. This can be an indication for the opening of call recording apps on your phone that might be hiding in some corner.
Along with that at times if you constantly face stating sounds during calling in a place with good network coverage, then it might be a sign of spyware. Do not take it as an absolute as cellular networks often have problems.
Random shutdowns and reboots
A phone that has spyware may often shut itself down or reboot itself even when you haven’t done it. You may not notice it when it happens for the first few times, but it does get problematic when it happens frequently.
We will suggest you check the app section for any apps that you might think may cause the problem and do remove it from your phone. Search ‘check for spyware on my phone’ on the internet to know more about them.
Suspicious and strange text messages
Most of us do not pay attention to text messages these days if it is not from the bank or an important place. This is a good opportunity for the spyware spreaders to creep into the messages and there might be text messages with cryptic symbols and strange codes which you might ignore. So, if you feel that your phone might be under the threat of spyware, do not forget to check your inbox.
Improper data usage
The Internet is a boon for us, but it is also the gateway of spyware to enter the phones. Are you noticing a massive internet drain from a few days without any heavy activity? If yes, then you might check the app section of your phone to discover an app that might be draining the internet. Monitor your data usage and see the difference to find out the truth.
Strange sounds
Is your phone, making weird sounds, but there is not text message or any other notification? It may seem weird and you may ignore it, but this might be a sign of spyware hiding inside your phone. To reset your phone if you think that it will be a safe option.
Read more: How To Tell If Your Phone Is Tapped?
Delayed shut down
Have you pressed on the power off button on your phone and it takes ages to shut down? This is often unsuspicious to us as we think that the apps take time to close. It can also be a sign that there are apps that are hiding in your phone that you do not know about. So, observe your phone to see if this happens frequently as it can be a sign for you to reset your phone to get rid of the malware.
Being smart with apps
Most of us have the problem of downloading random apps from all over the internet. We do not even care to read the terms and conditions before installing the app. Often we will install a pirated or third party app on our phone and it is just the beginning of problems. If you have any such apps, it will be smart to delete them and reset your phone to be on the safe side.
Pop-ups
If you have been going through some insecure website over the internet, then you may notice that they are the heaven for pop-ups. These are uncertified ads that shouldn’t be shown to you. At times you may unknowingly press on one of them and things go downhill. Try to stay away from websites that display pop-ups or try using a blocker to prevent getting any spyware from them.
Suspicious Files
If you find your phone memory to be suddenly consisting of several files, then it can be a sign of spyware. Go through the files to find the unnecessary ones and get rid of them. Also, do not download content from suspicious emails. Learn about usual android spy app file names to get more help.
A lagging phone
It is annoying to use a phone that is too slow and we end up restarting it over and over again without thinking of a reason. Spyware may be a leading cause of a slow phone as it is heavy on the device’s system. Look for an app that is suspicious and is eating up a lot of space, if you find one does delete it.
Read more: How To Tell If Your Phone Is Being Monitored?
Check for a purpose
As we said, our unchecked internet usage is often the reason for getting spyware. Along with that others can also spy on us for different motives. There are apps that help them to spy on your phone without you knowing it. We will recommend you to use an anti-malware or spyware application on your Android phone to stay away from it.
So, here are some of the ways by which you can understand how to find hidden spy apps on android. If you find it to be true, then definitely factory reset your phone and be careful after that. We do hope that our points help you to have a phone that is safe and secure for you.
