Are you a teenager who is suffering from the strict parent syndrome or are you a person who is struggling to safeguard their privacy from the prying eyes of their significant other? And want to know How to Find Hidden Spy Apps on Android?
It may have started because of your parents being protective of you or your partner might have asked for your social media passwords but sooner than later, you’re on the verge of a constant paranoia that your phone is under a surveillance app.
Oh, you didn’t know about these things, did you? Up until this article, your biggest concern was someone snooping around your phone but now you’re in a state of utter shock.
What did you think that technology advancement was only for the development of secret messaging apps? Well, let me burst that bubble for you and tell you that you were wrong.
There exists a new category of applications called hidden spy apps which can extract information of your device or keep track of your messages without you knowing. Terrifying, right?
Now, your next question might be that how to find hidden spy apps on Android. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered in that arena also. Read this article to know how to find hidden spy apps on Android.
What is Spy App?
Spy apps are basically applications that are software specifically designed to get a hold of someone’s texts and call records secretly.
True to its name, it is used to spy on someone’s information that might be used against them. With the help of these apps, you don’t even need a password to get into someone’s device.
These apps will collect information that they find sensible without your knowledge and there are various applications available on the internet that offer free tracking.
Now that you know what are these apps let’s find out how will you know that your device has one of them.
What are The Signs of Hidden Spy Apps on Android?
Now, you might be wondering what signs of hidden spy apps on Android you need to look for. Well, there are plenty. For instance, if there is a sudden increase in data usage of your phone, you might need to look out for your privacy.
You might even receive messages asking for two-factor authentication that you didn’t even request. Sometimes, you might hear weird sounds on phone calls indicating that the app is recording them.
Your battery might start to drain faster than usual. Your device can also suddenly become quite slow in its performance and overheat quite frequently. There might be issues with you shutting down your phone or with the battery life.
Often, people also find storage activities on their phone when left in standby mode and random reboots happening. Search for these things if you’re overthinking about what are the signs of hidden spy apps on Android.
How to Find Hidden Spy Apps on Android?
Now, to answer the question, “How to find hidden spy apps on Android”, you need to follow a few simple steps.
- Through the settings app
Go to your device settings and then, proceed to the apps section. See all the names of the apps and look for something that you don’t recognize there. If you find any app like that then it might be a spy app, uninstall it that very moment.
- By searching the app drawer
You can go to your app drawer or go to settings. There you’ll find a hide apps menu. Just click on it and you can find all kinds of hidden apps that might be on your device.
- Use the Android File manager
You can even open the Android file manager and look for files that you find suspicious. Delete them right away to get rid of any malicious applications or files.
- Use google play protect on the google play store for any kind of malware or spy app and delete them if any are found.
- If you find a location symbol tracking your location without your permission then, it might be a spy app and you should look for its symbol in the app drawer or hidden apps folder.
So, these were the ways how to find hidden spy apps on Android.
How to Find Hidden Spy Apps on iPhone?
The only effective way of finding hidden spy apps on iPhone is to use a dedicated cybersecurity tool and you might be able to get an answer to the question of how to find hidden spy apps on iPhone.
How to remove hidden spy apps on Android?
Now to enlighten you about how to remove hidden spy apps on Android, there are some ways that you can approach :
- A) Factory Reset
- Go to your settings and then open the system and then reset the options.
- Now, either select factory data reset or erase all data.
- After clicking on reset advice, your phone will ask for your pin and then it’ll start resetting into a new phone. Don’t select the “set up as new” option.
You can do the same on iPhone.
- B) You can even update your system software.
- C) You can also manually remove suspicious spy apps.
- Hold down your power button until you see shut-down options.
- Select the Power off option until the “Reboot to safe mode” box appears, and then tap on Ok.
- You can also open settings and select apps and notifications. Look for any suspicious apps and uninstall them if found.
- Sometimes the apps might have permissions that prevent them from being uninstalled. You can remove such permissions by going to settings and security, then advanced, and finally device administrators. Remove the permission and then, uninstall the app.
These were the ways on how to remove hidden spy apps on Android.
How to Prevent Your Android Phone From Getting Spyware?
Now, the final step in your privacy protection is how to prevent your Android phone from getting spyware.
There are certain measures that you can take in order to safeguard your phone and your privacy. You should always set strong and complex passwords on your phone.
There are many users who take this not so seriously and end up with spyware on their iPhones. You should also install security applications both on Android and iOS which will notify you whenever there is a new application installed.
Never forget to install anti-malware tools to protect your device from any malicious third-party app. Your phone storage should always be encrypted to prevent anyone from getting a hold of your data even when it gets lost.
You can also reboot your phone from time to time so that the risk can be reduced. You should constantly check if your Google Maps is sharing your location with any other device.
If yes, then change it as soon as possible. So, these were the ways how to prevent your Android phone from getting spyware.
FAQs
Can a spy app be installed remotely?
Installing a spy app remotely is a myth that has just been fueled by movies and YouTube but is quite impossible. You definitely can’t install a spy app on an iPhone remotely and installing it on an Android is also a near-impossible chance only.
How can I tell if my phone has a spy app on it?
Your phone will show you certain signs to let you know that it has a spy app on it. For instance, there will be too much data usage, battery drainage, weird sounds during phone calls, taking a long time to shut down, signs of activity when in standby mode and so much more. These are the signs which will help you in answering “How can I tell if my phone has a spy app on it”.
How do I unhide a spy app on my phone?
Go to your device settings and then click on the hide apps menu. It will show all the hidden apps that are not showing on your phone menu. And that is the answer to “How do I unhide a spy app on my phone”.
What are the names of spy apps on Android?
There are a number of spy apps for Android such as mSpy, FlexiSPY, Spyzie, IKeyMonitor, Google Family Link and so many more if you choose to dive deep into this arena.
Conclusion
I know that this is a matter of great concern and, to be honest quite unethical that people can go to these measures to pry on someone. As technology is evolving people’s senses of right and wrong might be becoming derogatory.
Nevertheless, we can’t control what people do or don’t do but we can simply protect ourselves better. T
herefore, we hope that this article helped you understand the ABCs of spy apps and also enlightened you about how to find hidden spy apps on Android. Whatever you do, always stay vigilant!
