How to Detect Spyware on iPhone

Security should always be the thing you pay close attention to as an iPhone users. In addition to the common risks, like iPhone virus or email/SMS spam, there is also one thing you should watch for -- spyware.

Here in this post, I will show you what spyware is and how you can detect spyware on your iPhone and clean the spyware from your iPhone.

What is spyware?

Spyware is just like a spy. It's software that, in a secret manner, monitors your device activity, obtains your personal data, and transfers your data out from your device.

Spyware is usually capable of getting your information, which include your photos, videos, contacts, SMS, recordings, and location. Some types of spyware can even be used to eavesdrop the conversations on your iPhone.

How to detect spyware on your iPhone?

If you have two or more of the following symptoms on your iPhone, it might have got spyware:

Your iPhone battery drains too quickly

Spyware usually runs on your iPhone with a lot of activities, and this consumes your battery significantly. (Note that this can also be a signal that your iOS battery is getting worse. You can also try to fix your bad battery life.)

Your iPhone is overheating frequently

The spyware doesn't only speed up your battery draining, but causes your iPhone to overheat frequently as well, because it keeps your iPhone hardware running for a long time. (But if this happens alone, it's more likely an issue with something else. You can try to fix this with this post: Why Does My iPhone Get Hot? Fixed!)

Your iPhone data usage increases a lot

As mentioned above, spyware can transfer data out from your devices. So this causes a lot of unusual data usages.

You receive a lot of unidentified login requests recently

Spyware sometimes tries to use your Apple ID. When doing so, there will be sign-in requests sent to your iPhone. If the requests you've received is unidentifiable, you should be careful.

You hear background noise when having a phone conversation

Spyware can listen in on your phone conversations, and this often causes unusual noises in the background. 

How to clean spyware from your iPhone?

There are a few ways you could try:

Uninstall any suspicious app

Spyware usually gets on your iPhone via apps you install from the sources other than App Store. If there is this type of apps installed on your iPhone, and it is acting up after that, just uninstall the apps. 

Factory reset your iPhone

This can help you erase all data on your iPhone, including the spyware. (So you need to back up your iPhone data before doing this. And in case you lose your data during the process, you can use a iPhone data recovery program, like Leawo iOS Data Recovery, to recover the data.)

To factory reset your iPhone:

1. Go to your iPhone settings.
2. Go to General > Reset, and tap Erase All Content and Settings.
3. Follow the instructions on your iPhone to factory reset your iPhone.

This should clean the spyware from your iPhone.