Your whole life revolves around your mobile phone. For this reason, it is worrying to learn how easy it is to be spied on.
We are addicted to chat apps, social networks and endless scrolling on Facebook. Even if time allowed you to have a human conversation on the phone, you'd rather type a few words into a WhatsApp window, ignoring the very real possibility that those words might propagate to several other devices.
In an online universe ruled by cloud services and cross-platform applications, it's easier than ever for everything you do on the Internet to be mirrored on another gadget, smartphone, tablet or desktop.
Whether it's chat apps like Messenger, WhatsApp, or Telegram, if someone signed in with your account six months ago, they still have unfettered access to all of your conversation history. If we are talking about access to your Apple or Google account, the situation is even worse.
Without your explicit consent, someone can restore your cloud backup to another iPhone or Android smartphone. The gesture in question will be reflected in the transfer of photos, notes, calendar appointments and many other data to a second device.
Basically, if you're not careful, someone can create a mirror of your pocket phone from the time of your last backup.
Often, it doesn't even matter if you have two-step authentication enabled on certain online services. Keep in mind that if you leave your phone unattended for a few minutes, someone can see your Facebook, iCloud, Google or any other platform login confirmation SMS.
How to know if you are being spied on: best practice tips
Before I detail how you can tell if someone is reading your WhatsApp and Messenger conversations or accesses your iCloud or Google account, you must bear in mind some general particularities.
If you care about your privacy and are aware that a significant part of the data on the smartphone in your pocket is sacred to you, it is very important not to neglect the implementation of additional security measures.
Overcoming the fact that a phone without a security code can be stolen and used the same day, the principle of the weak link in the chain of weaknesses applies.
You have activated your two-step authentication on Google for nothing, if the moment you receive the confirmation SMS, the additional code appears in all its glory on the locked screen of your phone. Without a security code on your mobile, it only takes a few seconds for someone to get your code and delete the SMS that sent you.
If you have a smartphone with biometric authentication, fingerprint or Face ID, take advantage of those options and, behind them, type a security code as elaborate as possible. It might as well be 25 characters, because you will almost never type it, and it will be impossible for another person to guess.
If you want to prevent being spied on, on your iPhone you can define an alphanumeric code to secure your phone in Settings or Configurations in the Face ID and Passcode or Touch ID and Passcode section.
Tap on Change Code, a second tap on base on passcode options and opt for Custom Alphanumeric Code. Type the key phrase or random combination of characters and reconfirm it.
On Android, the mechanism of further securing your phone is quite similar.
You go to Settings and you are interested in the Security and location section. Tap on PIN lock, if you have one set and opt for Password. With newer versions of Android, the password set here is required to turn on your device.
So, if you are no longer in possession of the phone, no one can see your messages, installed applications, photos and many other data.
How do you know if someone is seeing your WhatsApp conversations and prevent it
To make your life easier, WhatsApp works not only on mobile but also on desktop or laptop, both through a dedicated app and through the website.whatsapp.com. It only takes a few moments for someone to get their hands on your unlocked phone to pair it with a system and mirror all your conversations, incoming photos, and groups you're in.
This process is easily reversible, if you are aware that it has occurred. If not, someone can see everything you've discussed in the past months and what you'll be discussing in the coming months.
To check if you are a victim of such a scenario, go to WhatsApp on iPhone or Android, tap on the lower right corner of Settings and go to the WhatsApp Web/Desktop section.
If there is any device or system listed there like in the screenshot above, someone has seen all your messages for some time. With a tap on disconnect all sessions, you'll break that pairing, but the damage will already be done.
As a result, you'd better make it a habit to go to that section of WhatsApp settings to see if you have anything to worry about.
How do you know if someone has access to your Facebook and Messenger account
In addition to the very large number of posts you put on Facebook, the Messenger application would could be the focus of your online social activity. For this reason, you would do well to protect your account and make sure that it is not someone who already has access to it.
If you want to know how to know if someone has access to your Facebook account, Zuckerberg's social network provides you with a centralized panel with all the information you need.
Log in to Facebook, tap the three dashes in the bottom right corner, scroll to the bottom of that menu, and go to Settings & Privacy. After entering Settings, you are interested in the Security and login section. At the top of the new window you will see a list of all terminals and PCs from which you have recently logged in to Facebook or Messenger.
If you identify an unknown device, tap on it and choose "Disconnect".
From the same Security and login menu, you can change your Facebook login password and enable two-step authentication.
The latter is very important and requires a tap on Use two-factor authentication at the bottom of the screen. There, you can opt to receive a confirmation code via SMS on each new device you or someone else tries to log in to.
How to get the most out of Telegram's extra security
The Telegram app offers an increased level of security compared to other chat apps. In addition, it is among the only programs that allow you to associate an additional security code for accessing conversations.
At the same time, however, Telegram is cross-platform and your conversations can be mirrored on the desktop through an application of the same name or online, through a web page accessible at https://web.telegram.org.
To see if someone has paired your Telegram mobile app with a desktop or laptop, just enter the program and tap on Settings in the lower right corner. From here, you are interested in the Privacy and Security section.
Tap Active Sessions and make sure there aren't any devices or systems in that list that you don't recognize. Otherwise, click Terminate all sessions. Also from Privacy and Security in the telegram application you can opt for the activation of a security code every time you access the program in the Passcode & Make ID.
That code can be changed an infinite number of times and can take any form. You can also define how quickly the application requests it from the moment you exit the program.
How to find out if someone is accessing your Google account
If you're an Android owner, your whole life revolves around a Google account. Your photos are in Google Photos, your contacts are in Gmail, your calendar in Google Calendar, and so on.
Also, if someone has gained access to your Google Account, they can permanently locate your device and restore your Google Drive backup to another device.
If you want to check which devices, browsers or systems are currently using your Google account, go to myaccount.google.com. With a tap on any item in that list you can remove it from your account and disconnect from Google.
If there was one that you don't know, it would be good to at least change your password from now on and implement a two-step authentication mechanism. The latter is done from the address myaccount.google.com.
As with other online services, you can opt to receive an additional code on your phone in addition to your password, or you can use the Google Authenticator app for the same purpose from Google Play or the Apple App Store.
How do you know if someone is using your iCloud account
Just as a Google account is central to any Android smartphone owner, an iCloud account is vital for users of iPhone. You need an Apple account both to install apps from the App Store and to perform cloud backups of photos, locate your iDevices, and sync all your data between devices.
If someone has access to your Apple account, they can mirror your phone to another iPhone or iPad. All your messages received and sent from iMessage can reach you on a tablet or a second phone. Your Facetime conversation history can appear on a Mac, iPhone, iPad, in addition to the terminal you normally use.
[read more]
To see which devices are signed in to your Apple account and know if you have anything to worry about, go to appleid.apple.com on your phone, tablet or PC. Sign in and at the bottom of the main screen you'll see a series of devices that you or someone else is signed in to.
With a tap on one that is unknown to you, you very easily reach a suggestive button with the message "Remove device". If you don't change your Apple ID and password at that point, it's very important to remember that the person will remain logged in.
To change your Apple password, go to this address. Also from there, you can enable two-factor authentication. From then on, you'll get a notification on your phone every time someone tries to sign in with your Apple ID after they've entered the correct password.