How to Know If My Phone is Hacked?

Table of Contents:

• Why Would Your Phone Get Hacked?
• How Can I Tell if My Phone Has Been Hacked
• How Do Hackers Get Your Phone
• What is the First Thing You Do When You Get Hacked
• How to Prevent My Phone from Being Hacked
• Conclusion
• Frequently Asked Questions

Our phones are like a part of our body that does more than just one thing daily. From sending personal messages, using banking apps, keeping work credentials, to having health data, everything our phone keeps. But what if someone gains unauthorized access to your phone or your phone gets hacked? This will not only disrupt your privacy but also lead to financial or identity theft while draining your resources.

Millions of users are getting concerned about their mobile security and the growing problem of phone hacking. In an analytical report by Certo Software in 2024, it was estimated that around 6.3% of phones online have malicious apps installed, while phishing scams target 83% of them.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to tell if your phone is hacked, techniques employed by hackers to hack your phone, and ways to protect your smartphone from getting hacked in 2025.

Why Would Your Phone Get Hacked?

Don’t think your mobile phone is safe because hackers mainly target the phones of celebrities, politicians, and mainstream personalities. Nearly everyone is targeted because not everyone keeps their mobile phone secure, and that’s because not everyone is aware of mobile security.

Here’s why hackers would want to hack your phone:

• To hack your personal information, i.e, photos, videos, messages, contacts.
• Access your bank details and financial data.
• Install malware and spyware to track your online activities.
• Using your phone as a device to spread malware and phishing scams.
• You can use your device for crypto mining, also known as cryptojacking.

How Can I Tell if My Phone Has Been Hacked

Below, we have elucidated the vivid signs which are also the indicators of your mobile has been hacked:

1. Unusual Battery Drainage

If your phone’s battery drains rapidly, some malicious apps run in the background. You may not know this, but hacking tools like spyware or malware thrive on power as they keep transmitting user data from one place to another.

2. Reduced Device Performance

Many times, phones that have been hacked show sudden lagging, crashing, or freezing signs. The reason is that there are so many hidden apps consuming your phone’s RAM and processing power without you knowing it. Sometimes, it’s also due to device aging or bugs in the software that make your phone run slower than usual.

3. Increased Data Consumption

Upon experiencing a sudden spike in your data usage, even though you are not streaming or downloading, consider this a warning sign since many spyware programs compile and send a large amount of data to external servers.

4. Unknown Apps and Settings

If you find any unknown apps installed on your smartphone, it’s better to delete them asap. Also, you may want to check accessibility and developer options in the settings. If your phone is actually hacked, chances are these settings might have been altered.

5. Overheating

If your phone is getting hot in an idle state, some spyware is running in the background. Device overheating is a major problem that the experts must check.

6. Frequent Pop-Ups and Ads

Some fake apps unload a plethora of adware onto your phone that works by showing you frequent pop-ups and redirecting ads, even when you are not using a browser.

7. Unknown Texts or Calls

If your contact notifies you that they have received a text or call from you, something you didn’t do exactly, this means your phone is hacked and is sending messages without you knowing.

8. Warning from Your Antivirus Software

If you are getting security warnings from antivirus software, it’s better not to avoid this. This means the tools have caught malicious software in your mobile that can compromise your security.

How Do Hackers Get Your Phone

There are a number of ways your phone can get hacked. Hackers employ different methods to give their best shot in compromising your device security. Here are a few attempts:

• Phishing Attacks contain links that you can receive via mail, SMS, or social media that must not be installed. Because they contain software that will ask you to insert your credentials just to hack it.
• Third-party apps should always be installed after extreme consideration. Installing them can be risky as you grant them unwanted permission to access the files on your phone.
• Public Wi-Fi is hackers’ favorite because it is an unsecured public network. Hackers aim to intercept your data by connecting to the same network and accessing your information through spyware.
• Bluejacking and other forms of Bluetooth exploits allow hackers to hack nearby phones.
• Jailbreaking (iOS) and Rooting (Android) offer limitless features to the users,  but they also open gates for hackers to infiltrate your data.

What is the First Thing You Do When You Get Hacked

After noticing multiple signs of mobile hacking, here are a few immediate actions you need to take:

• Disconnect your phone from the internet, turn off the Wi-Fi, and mobile data, so it will stop the communication with external malware servers.
• Turn on Airplane mode to disable all wireless communication on your phone.
• Delete all the unknown or third-party apps that you have or have not recently installed.
• Change the passwords for your banking, emailing, and other social media accounts. To do this, use a different device, i.e, PC or Laptop, because it would be unwise to do anything on our phone as it has been hacked already.
• Run a security scan using antivirus software of your choice. This will identify the threat and remove the suspicious files from your phone.
• Update the operating system to fix bugs and other vulnerabilities.
• A complete Factory Reset will wipe all the data, so you can start fresh. This is your last resort, and to do this:

Android: Settings > System > Reset > Factory Data Reset

iPhone: Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.

How to Prevent My Phone from Being Hacked

You can make your phone impossible to hack if you follow the following tips:

1. Use Strong Passwords and Biometrics

Strong passwords and biometrics will help you protect your mobile phone from being hacked. Simple PINs and passwords should be avoided since they are easy for hackers to decipher using different tools.

2. Avoid Apps from Unknown Sources

Most phone applications are from reputable sources such as Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Downloading apps from unknown sources can increase the chance of phone hacking and expose your device to vulnerabilities.

3. Update Apps Regularly

Due to the lack of updates, outdated apps are prone to cyberattacks, and this can result in getting your phone hacked. For security and a smooth user experience, downloading app updates regularly is important.

4. Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication not only adds an extra layer of security to your phone but also builds an impenetrable barrier for hackers to stay out.

5. Avoid Suspicious Links

Clicking on these unknown links sent to you via email, messages, or pop-ups will result in revealing your login information to hackers.

6. Turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth While Not Using

This will minimize the risk,s such as tracking and remote access using Wi-Fi and other wireless connections.

7. Use a VPN

There is a whole line of experts who believe that using a VPN is the best thing you can do to protect your mobile phone. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypts your mobile connections and hides your IP address, a perfect combination to avoid hackers at all times.

Conclusion