Can you check if there is spyware on your phone? Signs that your phone has been hacked to watch for

SMARTPHONES are an important part of modern life.

You are just a couple of clicks away from key information like your online banking, contacts and personal details.

This means that it is more important than ever to make sure that your phone is properly protected.

Among the threats to watch out for include spyware.

Sign up to our daily newsletter

The i newsletter cut through the noise

Read More

But how can you check if someone has been snooping on your phone?

Here’s all you need to know:

What is spyware?

According to Wikipedia, Spyware is the name for a ‘software with malicious behavior that aims to gather information about a person or organization and send it to another entity in a way that harms the user’.

How to find out if you’ve been targeted by spyware?

If you have an iPhone, these devices have a high level of security.

According to Wired – unless you’ve got a jailbroken iPhone, it is almost impossible for spyware to be installed on your phone.

If you have an Android phone, you could be able to tell if spyware has been installed on your phone if it gets hot or the battery drains quickly when you are not using it.

You might also start getting strange/ unexpected notifications and it might take longer for your phone to start up than usual.

How to get rid of spyware?

On an iPhone, if you do a factory reset this should delete any spyware.

You can also get apps on Android phones that can track whether you’ve been affected by spyware.

The tracking software might appear tucked away in your settings, making it hard to find and delete.