Do you have doubts that someone is watching you through your phone camera? And you don’t want to be a victim of videos and pictures that bad guys take by monitoring an iPhone or Android phone?
So, in this guide, I’ll show you the most common signs that somebody is trying to monitor your cell phone’s front or rear camera. So, he or she can see what you’re doing at any time they want. Also, I’ll show you how to protect your mobile phone from spying and unauthorized access.
How to tell if someone is spying on your phone camera
Unusual phone activity
No matter if you have the latest iPhone version or old ones with different iOS updates, always, check your smartphone activity and see if there is an app that’s still active when you don’t use the device.
From the settings on your iPhone, for example, click on “Screen Time”, and check if there is any strange usage of an app that you don’t use at that time. iOS is smart a lot in this, and the system can show you the full iPhone activities by time and even graphs.
Unexplained battery drain
If your phone battery doesn’t save charge as expected, or suddenly it starts losing charge, then, that’s probably because one of your phone applications keeps working in the background.
That means the camera, microphone, or other tools are working from time to time without your permission. But don’t assume that’s always true. You could have a weather App or similar tools that check the data and cause the issues.
So, always, have a look at your apps and stop the app refresh on your iPhone, which should save the battery from being used a lot by other tools. Also, tools like WhatsApp, Messenger, etc should not be allowed to access your camera when you don’t use it.
On Android, that’s a different story; thousands of apps are free. So, they may have poor code and infrequent updates. Even more, many apps on the Play store cause issues more than offer benefits.
For that reason, I recommend removing any phone application that you don’t trust. It could be the one that spies on your camera and allows others to watch you where you go. Moreover, your partner may have installed spyware on your Android phone. So, they can watch you 24/7, and by resetting your device to factory settings, that’s the last solution, unfortunately.
Many malware scanning tools for smartphones just don’t work, and prevention is better than dealing with these problems.
Check your iCloud files
Don’t be one of those who trust the security of any cloud platform at 100% and say, my videos and pictures are safe on iCloud; they’re not all the time. Many leaks happen in millions of photos and videos from well-known individuals because of such hacks and data issues.
For now, you should always have a look at your iCloud photos and videos. Then, look for any file you don’t recognize. It could be used by hackers to get all the photos you take on your iPhone and save them for slow upload to prevent you from noticing that.
Your phone is always warm
When someone uses your phone remotely and sees what you do etc… that consumes a lot of energy and drains the battery faster. But of course, that causes the phone to be a lot warmer than what it should be, and in this case, that’s an alarming sign another person is using your iPhone remotely.
That being said, when you charge the phone, it will be warmer, and that’s normal. However, if that happens when you don’t use it, then it’s not normal, and you should investigate the issues.
Lots of data usage
If you don’t browse Youtube that often, then, seeing lots of data usage on your phone bill should not be ignored. In fact, spying tools may send large files of data that could include videos recording your camera and even a microphone. Then, these sites save the file on their servers or in other places.
For that reason, always check how much data your phone uses per month and look for any unusual number in Gigabytes of data that you can’t explain the reason behind. That could be the videos that someone is getting from your phone camera.
How to protect your phone camera?
Even when you protect your phone camera and microphone, you should always look for the above signs to check if there is any unusual l activity on the device. But also, there are many things that you can do to prevent strangers from watching you through the phone camera, and here is what you can do.
Limit the time for iPhone usage
This is a smart way to protect the iPhone from being monitored, and also, it’s another method to check if someone is using an app on the device.
- First, click on your iPhone settings menu
- Find “Screen Time” and click on it
- Click on “App Limits” ( you can limit the daily time per app or category of applications on the iPhone)
- Now, you need to click on “Add Limit”
- iPhone will ask you to enter your passcode for security (the 4 digits)
- Now, find your camera under the “Photos” app, or search “camera” from the top of the screen. Also, you can check all the apps that you don’t use often
- The app will be added to the list
- Click on “Next”
- Set the maximum daily time for that application
- Make sure the option “Block at End of Limit” is active (green)
- Validate by clicking on “Add” from the top of the screen
Here is how to find these options on iPhone through screenshots.
By doing this daily screen time limit, the iPhone will be more secure, and once there is an app that someone is using remotely, you’ll get a notification before that time expires by 5 minutes. So, that’s another feature to see if someone is remotely watching you through your cell phone Camera.
Use a VPN
A VPN is a must-have software for every phone and computer. It can encrypt the connection when you browse websites and never share your real IP address with anyone that can be used to track your camera. In addition, having a good VPN should protect your phone from many online threats and security problems, days and nights.
Cover the Cam when needed
This is the easiest way to stop others from watching you when you use your phone cam. But ensure that you don’t damage the glass of the camera on your device with adhesives or paper that can scratch the surface.
Just put a small screen cleaner cloth that doesn’t stick to the camera if you feel that someone is monitoring your device. This is the first thing to do when you think that there are suspicious activities on your phone.
For instance, you may search Amazon or Google for a phone camera lens protector, and there should be many options and colors. If there is no option to cover the phone camera and protect it against a spy, use a small piece of soft paper and hold it there.
Stop giving your phone to others
When someone else asks you to use your phone next time, ask yourself why, and if you should do it. In fact, spying tools just need one click on a text message to access your phone and let your boyfriend or girlfriend watch you through the camera and even hear what you say.
So, always avoid giving your mobile phone to strangers even if they ask for an urgent call. If you should do that, make sure you block them from accessing your messages, apps, photos, and other data.
Don’t use public WiFi
Browsing your social media account through WiFi in cafes, restaurants, or other places is not secure. You need to take that into consideration, there is no safe WiFi that’s accessible by other users who can intercept your calls and video chats if they have the needed skills. Or, if you should use such networks, make sure you have a VPN at least and don’t stay that long on public WiFi connections.
Others can track your camera on other devices
This is true, and I wanted to add it to help you recognize the danger of having your devices opened to bad guys who could easily record what happens in your entire home. In fact, if you have smart home devices like millions of people, then you should be worried about this.
These devices, such as Alexa by Amazon, smart TVs, and other electronics that monitor your home lights, temperatures, air quality, and even security cameras, can be used by others anytime. However, that won’t be easy for people to track and watch you using your home cameras, unless there is a known security issue with those systems, or when a team of experts gets into the programs by hacks and other ways.
Personally, I don’t recommend linking all your smart home devices using the same WiFi router that you use for work and family members. Instead, invest in a secondary WiFi device with its own IP address and configuration. Then, connect your building’s security cameras and other sensitive electronics to that well-protected WiFi router or Internet connection.
That way, you’ll have separate Internet access to home devices and phones, which should help in protecting your privacy and prevent hacks. But always, make sure these systems are up to date and check your records and Internet bills to see if there is anything wrong with data uploads.
Conclusion
Being watched by someone else when you use your phone through its camera is not that hard to avoid. Just look at the above signs, and you can tell if your device’s camera is spying on you or not. If that’s the case, then apply the tricks and tips in this guide.
You don’t have to be worried all the time about these issues. But if you can’t find a solution, and you still think that a person is spying on your iPhone, then, reset it to the default settings and never install apps from any website.
