How to Stop Someone From Accessing Your Phone Remotely: Our Expert Guide

Brandon Way - September 7, 2024

When someone manages to access your phone remotely, you are at risk of losing your information, data, and privacy. This type of situation can be very scary and stressful, and it’s important to understand how to stop someone from accessing your phone remotely in order to protect yourself. Our article here at checkpeople.com gives you important details to know, such as signs your phone is being accessed remotely, in addition to providing you steps on how to stop this access.

Is It Possible for Someone to Access My Phone Remotely?

It is possible for someone to access your phone remotely, and this is typically done through spyware apps and general vulnerabilities in the security of your phone. Public Wi-Fi networks, phishing links, and other scams to gain access to your information or your phone can leave you at risk of dealing with a hacker or scammer accessing your phone remotely.

Once someone gets this access to your phone, your privacy, data, and safety are at risk, as they will have access to all of your information and accounts.

Signs Your Phone is Being Accessed Remotely

If you suspect your phone is being accessed remotely, there are a few signs you can look out for to confirm this. Below, we will give you an overview of some of the most common signs your phone is being accessed remotely.

Unusual Phone Activity

Unusual phone activity can include things like unexpected battery drainage, overheating, and the use of data where you don’t remember using your phone’s data. All of these items can indicate that there are apps or spyware running in the background of your phone that might be accessing your data remotely without you knowing about it.

Unusual Phone Behavior

Unfamiliar apps, multiple pop-ups, ads on your phone, or unusual activity on your email and social media accounts can indicate that someone has access to your phone or that something installed on your phone is remotely accessing your data.

Poor Phone Performance

If your phone is freezing, becoming unresponsive, slowing down, or randomly rebooting, it might be because of malicious software and spyware on your phone running in the background. This can cause serious issues with your phone’s performance, and poor performance can indicate remote access is happening out of sight on your phone.

Repeated Security Alerts

Repeated security alerts from your phone’s security apps or continued unfamiliar login and security alerts from accounts on your phone can indicate that someone has remote access to your phone and they are attempting to hack your accounts.

How to Stop Someone From Accessing Your Phone Remotely

The following steps can help you stop someone from accessing your phone remotely and protect you from future issues with scams or hackers trying to access your phone. You may need to utilize one or more of these actions to fully remove someone’s remote access from your phone.

Update Your Phone

Regular updates for your phone’s operating system can help patch any security vulnerabilities and update your phone. This may prevent future hacking issues and remove apps or spyware that have been installed on your phone to spy on you.

Increase Network Security

Public and insecure Wi-Fi networks are a major culprit when it comes to giving others remote access to your phone. Increasing your network security by installing a home Wi-Fi network with a strong password and security helps to protect you at home, and you can use a VPN outside of the home to protect your device’s information.

Utilize Security Software

Reputable and legitimate security software companies have both desktop versions for your computer and apps that can be installed on your phone to detect spyware and malware. These apps will remove these items, and they may send you security notifications when an issue has been detected.

Common security software to use includes Avast, Norton, and Malwarebytes.

Review Apps and Permissions

Sometimes, apps can be installed on your phone without you knowing, or an app may seem suspicious once you install it. It’s important to unstill suspicious apps as soon as possible and to avoid downloading pirated apps or apps from third-party websites.

You should also regularly review the permissions granted to apps on your phone and make sure that only the legitimate and necessary apps you choose can access important data like your microphone, camera, and location.

Use Strong Passwords

Using strong passwords for all of your accounts and your phone can make it much more difficult for hackers to get into your phone or to guess your passwords. You will also want to use two-factor authentication to ensure that your security for all of your accounts is as high as possible.

Only Install Trusted Apps

Clicking on random links, installing pirated apps, or using apps from third-party websites can result in hackers and scammers gaining remote access to your phone. Never click on suspicious links in texts or emails, and take your time to review a source before installing or downloading an app. You should also uninstall apps you don’t use a lot to reduce the chances of the app affecting your phone’s performance.

Lock and Secure Your Phone

Leaving your phone unlocked and unattended can leave it vulnerable to suspicious apps or to someone installing a bunch of spyware onto your phone. Your accounts may also be hacked, and your data may be stolen. You should always lock and secure your phone and try not to leave it unattended, especially around people you don’t trust.

Perform a Factory Reset

Performing a factor reset completely clears your phone and erases all data. This can prevent someone from having remote access to your phone. However, you should make sure that your legitimate apps and data are backed up and stored somewhere safe before you do this, or you will lose all of your data.

FAQs About Remote Phone Access

Remote phone access can be a confusing topic. Below, we answer your frequently asked questions about remote phone access to shed some more light on this subject.

How Can Someone Control My Phone Remotely?

Once someone has access to your phone remotely via spyware, malicious software, or a fake app, they can install other apps on your phone, look through all of your data, and steal your data or information. This is done through the connection that they have built into your phone.

In most cases, scammers and hackers will control your phone remotely from their desktop, and they will not stop until you discover them and remove them, or they show their hand and start demanding money.

How Does Someone Get Remote Access to My Phone?

There are many different ways that someone may gain remote access to your phone, and it’s important to be aware of these methods so that you can better protect yourself. Below, we give you an overview of the most common ways remote access is gained on your phone:

• Phishing attacks designed to steal your information easily give hackers access to your phone
• Suspicious links and fake apps can install spyware on your phone without you realizing
• Insecure Wi-Fi networks can leave your devices open to hacking and suspicious remote access
• Fake websites or illegitimate websites can steal your personal information, banking details, and passwords, leading to remote access being installed on your phone
• Jailbreaking your phone can leave your device vulnerable to hacking

Always be cautious when online, and refrain from clicking on links or downloading items from suspicious emails; always get your apps from the official Apple or Play store, and take the time to review your phone regularly for suspicious activity.

Who is the Culprit Behind Most Phone Hacks?

In general, phone hacks and remote access to phones are the result of hackers and scammers attempting to steal money or information. However, ex-partners, spouses, and other family members may be trying to track someone else in their lives, and this can result in illegal and unsafe remote phone access.

It’s important to note that it can be legal to access your phone remotely sometimes, such as when a tech support team needs access to troubleshoot your phone (verify that the tech support team is legitimate and not a group of scammers before granting access), or when an employer needs to add trackers to a company phone.

Do I Need a Professional to Stop Remote Access to My Phone?

In some cases, you may need a professional to help remove remote access to your phone and protect your privacy. Typically, this is only necessary in cases where you cannot find the app or security breach that has left your phone vulnerable to remote access, or when you are being threatened by scammers or the person who hacked your phone.

If you have reason to believe that the remote access to your phone is malicious and being done as a threat to you, you may need to file a report at your local police station and speak to officers about how to protect your safety.

Keeping Your Privacy and Data Safe

Dealing with a phone hack is stressful, and it is important to take action the moment you suspect that your phone is being remotely accessed by someone else. When you take quick action, you have a better chance of removing the remote access to your phone and protecting both your privacy and data.

If you need help dealing with a hacked phone or removing remote access that has been placed on your phone, you may need to contact a cybersecurity or tech professional for further assistance.