You may probably be wondering why your phone may be bugged or tapped, but the truth is that there are many including your partners (when there is trust issues) and the government or even your employer who suspects you that may want to tap your line for different reasons. The surprising thing is that tapping your phone is not even something that is very hard to do. So, how can you tell when your phone has been tapped?
Just as it is easy for someone to tap your line, so is it also easy for you to find out but that is only if you are attentive enough and you take the time to observe somethings that normally, you would take for granted.
Signs That Your Phone Has Been Bugged
Here are the simple ways to know if someone has bugged your phone or is spying on it or has tracked it. People may track you on different levels, but the signs are pretty much mostly the same. Importantly, it doesn’t matter the make of the phone, the signs do not differ. Here are important things to look out for:
1. Background noise when making calls
One of the things you should consider and take seriously is background noise when you are making all your calls or when receiving. Naturally, there are some calls that you may get background noise but when you get them with every call, you should start asking questions because it could just be that someone is listening to your calls.
You need to know that as a result of the network, you may sometimes hear some background noise which is caused by network issues. If it continues and the sound changes from time to time, it could just be a sign that you have been compromised.
2. How much are you spending?
If at the same time you start noticing the strange background noise you also begin to realize that your bills for data and text messages are going much higher than you would normally expect, that may just be one of the signs that your phone has been bugged.
The reason behind the increased use of data is that sometimes, the spy app may need to be sending the information it has gathered as such it will be using your data and sometimes it will be sending text messages. You may not find the spy app, but it may still be there.
3. How about your battery life?
Also, have your eyes on your battery life to see if it is dropping much faster than you would expect. When it comes to how your battery life drops, a lot of things could account for that including your phone activities such as the calls you make, the games you play, and much more.
You may as well try saving power so as to see if that will work in cutting down the battery you consume. More so, you may as well use apps such as Coconut Battery and Battery Life if you are using an Apple device to see what is causing the drop. For someone making use of an Android device, you may decide to use either Power Battery or even the Battery Saver 2018.
You should know that how old the battery is and the way a device to used will also determine the battery life.
4. Strange Text Messages
If you are beginning to receive strange messages that you don’t know their sources, it could also be one of the signs that your phone has been bugged. The text messages will most of the time come in the form of codes and numbers which you neither need nor understand.
Such messages come to your phone as the codes and commands that are sent to the phone from anyone that has bugged your phone or is spying on you. The codes tell the phone what to do.
5. Is there interference with other electronic devices?
When you are receiving calls, go towards your TV or Radio and see if there will be any network interference. If it keeps interfering with your devices, the main reason behind that may be that the phone is been tapped.
Even if you are not on call, you can also sometimes get the interference when you take the phone close to your TV or radio if indeed, you have been tapped.
6. Unknown apps and increased ads
If suddenly you find apps on your phone that you don’t know where they are coming from, you should start asking questions. When your phone has been tapped, it is through certain apps that your calls and other activities.
With these apps, it is mostly your information that is being stolen and not necessarily to tap your calls. If it is a malware, you may get to start receiving more adverts than you have bargained for.
7. Is your phone delaying to shut down?
Normally, your phone should not take too long to shut down. However, if alongside the above signs your phone will also not shut down or it is taking forever to do that, it just means that there are other things that you don’t know that are controlling your phone.
A few other things may also cause your phone not to shut down, but if it does that and you also get the above signs, most likely, your phone has been tapped.
8. Is your battery getting warm even without using the phone?
The only reason why your battery should get warm is that the phone is being seriously tasked. If you keep your phone without any use and it still gets warm, there could be some processes that run in the background that should not be running or it could also mean that someone has gained control of your phone.
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Before you can conclude, however, if your battery is damaged or maybe you are running a poorly optimized app on the phone.
9. Random phone activities
If without using your phone it begins to act on its own, there is the possibility that it has been hijacked by a virus or you have been tapped. These are the things that could give someone else the permission to use your phone. Such a person could restart it and do so many other things.
How to Know if Your Phone Is Tapped?
It is important that you understand that the fact that you experience one of the signs that your phone has been bugged stated above does not necessarily mean your phone has been bugged or tapped. For you to come to that conclusion, you should experience most of the signs above and make sure that it is not a program that you have installed or something else that is causing the signs.
For Android
If you are using an Android phone, the easiest ways to know if you have been bugged is to go to the Settings on your phone, and then Applications, and select either Manage Applications or Running Services. Look through it to see if there is a file or program that you don’t know. Surf the internet on any program you see and you don’t understand.
Most importantly, if you have confirmed it, be careful of the programs you delete so as not to end up damaging the entire phone.
For iPhone
The good news with iPhone is that for anyone to install any such app or tap your phone, one may need to jailbreak the phone. The bad news is that it is harder for you to know if it has happened.
That said, you can check to see the software on your phone and for any that you are not sure you downloaded, check the Apple Store. If it is not there, it could be that someone is spying on you with it.
What to do if your phone has been tapped
If your Android phone has been tapped, the simple thing you will want to do is to carry out a factory reset. Before you do that, make sure to back up your important files as it will clean your phone to its original state.
For iPhone, all you have to do after backing up your files is to have the latest OS version updated on your phone through iTunes.
