How to tell if someone has been going through your phone

Start with an honest point: most people who worry about this are right to pay attention, and most cases turn out to be a person who knows your PIN or picks up your unlocked phone, not a hacker. The first step is to stay calm and look carefully.

Signs that someone looked at your phone

• It was locked and is now open, or the screen is on when you left it off.
• Things are in a different place: a photo is open, an app is on a different screen, or a chat is scrolled to a place you didn’t leave it.
• Someone knows things you only said in private or only put on the phone, such as where you were or what you bought.
• Notifications appear read that you haven’t read.
• Your PIN has been watched. A person who stands close, or asks you to type it, can learn it.
• Login alerts arrive from your accounts for devices or places you don’t know.

None of these proves anything alone. A pattern of them does.

Signs of spying software

Stalkerware is built to hide, so the signs are indirect:

• Battery drains faster, or the phone is warm when idle.
• Data use is unusually high.
• Settings you didn’t change, such as an option for installing apps from unknown sources.
• An app you don’t recognize, sometimes with a plain name such as “system service”, or an app that has permissions it doesn’t need.
• The phone slows down or restarts at odd times.

A fresh problem like these can also be an ordinary bug, so don’t jump to conclusions.

What you can check yourself

1. Your app list. Scroll through every app. Look for anything you didn’t install.
2. Permissions. On Android, open Settings > Security & privacy > Privacy > Permission manager, and look at which apps use location, camera, microphone and photos. On iPhone, open Settings > Privacy & Security, where each permission lists the apps that have asked. Menu names differ between versions.
3. Account sign-ins. In your main accounts, look at the list of devices and recent logins, and remove any you don’t know.
4. Screen lock. If you think someone knows your PIN, change it to something longer. See PIN vs pattern vs passphrase vs biometrics.
5. Updates. Install the latest system update, which closes known weaknesses.
6. Face and fingerprint. Remove any face or fingerprint you didn’t add yourself.

Make it harder next time

• Use a 6-digit PIN or longer, and don’t let anyone watch you type it.
• Turn on auto-lock with a short delay.
• Put the most private photos behind a second lock, such as an encrypted vault, a hidden folder or a locked folder. Read how to hide photos on iPhone or on Android.
• Don’t install apps from unknown sources.

A calm safety note

If you think a partner, family member or someone who controls you is watching your phone, your safety matters more than the evidence. Removing spying software can alert them, and some may react badly.

• Use a different device, one they can’t reach, to look up help, such as a library computer or a friend’s phone.
• Contact a domestic violence helpline or a technology safety organization. In the United States, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233, and the Safety Net Project at the National Network to End Domestic Violence (techsafety.org) has plain guides on phone safety. Outside the US, search for your country’s helpline.
• Ask a trained helper to help you plan before you remove anything.
• Keep your evidence, such as screenshots of strange settings, in a safe place away from the phone.

Where Silo fits

Silo locks its contents behind a PIN or passphrase, locks when the screen turns off, and can cover its screen in the app switcher. That keeps a casual snooper away from the photos inside it. Silo has no account for someone to sign in to, and no ads or ad tools.