If someone is tracking your iPhone, the last thing you’ll want to do is sit and wait until you’re 1000 percent sure — because, by that time, the hackers may have gotten hold of lots of your data. A better idea is to act when your suspicions are being given a big nudge. This means: when something seems off or wrong with your phone’s battery, data, or other bizarre activity you’re noticing, don’t sit by and let it keep happening.
Take steps to see if your accounts have been compromised, if someone is using your credit card or charging your Apple account, etc. From there, the faster you can change your passwords and switch to another form of security, such as biometric identification, the better.
Here are three ways to tell if someone is tracking your iPhone.
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1. Battery Drainage
When someone is tracking your iPhone, they’ve likely installed malware or spyware on your device. These programs will pick up on your activity and can also spy on your passwords and use them to gain access to your accounts. These forms of spying will absolutely be a drain on your battery, and you’ll likely notice that your phone has gone from being able to hold its charge for a few hours to needing to be charged every hour. If your phone and its battery are relatively new, don’t discount the possibility that your phone is being tracked.
2. High Data Usage
Malicious spyware and malware communicates with its command server to upload all of the data it has collected (your data). This takes up a significant amount of data and you may even find your provider letting you know that you’ve run out of data in your plan and will need to purchase more. To check your data usage, go to Settings > Cellular > Cellular Data Usage. If any app is using an extreme amount of data, look into this more. You should also make sure all of the apps on you phone are apps you’ve downloaded yourself. If anything appears suspicious, delete it.
3. Strange Messages
When your phone has been hacked, it isn’t uncommon to start receiving off messages like fake alerts from your bank or so-called government agencies — the point of which is to get you to reveal more information and data that can be used against you. Messages can also arrive as a result of malware that has been installed on your phone communicating with a central server and triggering your phone to send texts from strange numbers and push notifications.
Never respond to these messages and never (ever) click on links sent to you or follow up with information that has been requested of you. Change your passwords, enable two-factor authentication as another line of defense, and uninstall any apps that you don’t recognize. The sooner you take action, the more protected your data will be.
