If your phone is acting weird, you can use these tips to check for malware, scam apps, and other problems with your device. Plus, we’ll explain how to keep you safe moving forward. Here’s how to know if your Android phone is hacked.
1. Poor Battery Life or Extreme Battery Usage
Even if you don’t see clear signs of suspicious activity, something malicious can still happen behind the scenes. One of the best ways to see if your phone has been hacked is to check your battery usage.
If your phone is hot for no reason, something could be running in the background while the screen is off. Some of the most advanced malware can still leave traces on your phone or tablet, so start by checking the battery usage menu. If your battery is constantly low, and you find yourself wondering, “Is my phone hacked?” then perform the below checks.
Open Settings > Battery > Battery usage and look for an unknown app or anything unusual.
This doesn’t happen too often because of the Google Play Protect system in Android that automatically warns you of existing malware-infected apps. In the example above, we see typical battery usage and drainage. If, in your case, any miscellaneous app drains a significant portion of your phone’s battery, that’s not good.
In this scenario, you probably have a keylogger or virus hiding its name to prevent being found. As a general rule, just look for anything unusually exhausting.
We all use our phones differently, but if you notice an extremely severe battery drain, that’s a concern. You can reboot your phone, force-close the suspect app, or, if possible, completely uninstall the app. If your battery is draining far too quickly, and you find yourself wondering, “Is my phone hacked?” then definitely perform this check.
2. Check for Random Unwanted App Installs
Another tell-tale sign of malware or phone hacking is if you see random apps installed on your phone. These are apps you didn’t install yourself. Malicious apps or sites can install a program on your phone and send sensitive information back to a third party.
Sometimes, this program won’t use much battery life, but it can still cause harm and drain your data. If you come across such a program, here’s how to get rid of it.
Navigate to Settings > Apps > All apps and scroll through the list of apps on your phone. Find anything you don’t want, tap it, and select Uninstall.
You should only uninstall apps that look suspicious and you know aren’t important. If you start uninstalling random stuff, you could cause more harm than good and break your phone’s vital components.
There are many apps that come pre-installed by phone manufacturers or carriers and are harmless. Make sure you use caution with regard to what you remove.
3. Unusually High Data Usage
Many people have unlimited data plans, so they don’t look at the Data Usage menu in settings. But if your Android is acting up, and you want to check if your phone is hacked, it’s another easy way to check for issues.
Follow the below-given steps to check your phone’s data usage:
Navigate to Settings > Network and internet. Select your preferred SIM. Scroll down a bit and tap on App data usage.
YouTube, Spotify, and other streaming services regularly use much data. But if another app is using way too much, something isn’t right. No random app should use 5GB in a given month, so look for anything out of place here.
When you find something that looks suspicious, uninstall it after making sure it’s not essential to your device.
4. Watch for Weird Pop-Ups and Ads
Pop-ups come in various shapes and sizes, randomly, and from all types of websites. We’ve learned to deal with them, and most of the time, it’s nothing more than an ad covering content.
Sometimes though, they can be a headache for you and cause you trouble. Keep an eye out for weird pop-ups or ads that look funny. You should never click on them.
Google made several changes in the last few years to avoid occurrences like this, especially in Google Chrome on Android, but it still happens occasionally. Usually, it’ll make your phone vibrate as pop-ups appear over and over. Sometimes, your screen will even flash.
But it’s completely fake; do not tap the Remove Virus Now button. Close your entire web browser and reboot your smartphone instead.
Never submit any personal information in an input field you’re not familiar with. In addition, you should avoid entering your credit card or password details on websites that look suspicious at first glance.
5. Apps and Phone Keep Crashing
Another sign that your Android phone may be hacked is if it keeps crashing. Often, Android phones will start acting weird, such as opening apps for no reason, or your phone will be slow or constantly crash. Sometimes, these problems arise because of a virus.
Here are some of the working ways to fix the crashing issues in Android:
Scan your device using Play Protect: First, try the Google Play Protect scanner built directly into the Play Store. Open Google Play and tap on your profile image at the top of the page. Then, go to Play Protect halfway down the screen and tap Scan to start scanning your phone and apps. Try antivirus scanners: There are dozens of antivirus scanners on the Google Play Store, but we recommend sticking to trusted brands and names. Look for well-known brands you’ve used on your computers, like Avast or BitDefender. These tools are great at quickly and easily scanning your device for problems. Update your phone: If you’re still using an older version of Android, then the apps may be crashing because of an unsupported Android version. To fix this, check out how to update an Android phone.
Hopefully, it’ll resolve the apps and the phone crashing issues due to malware. If you’re still struggling with it, you can also perform a factory reset on your Android phone.
Do a Factory Data Reset if You Have To
If you remove apps, run antivirus software, and still experience issues, a last-ditch effort is to do a factory data reset.
Remember that this process deletes everything on your phone, so be sure before proceeding. You can also check out some faqs about factory reset on Android phones to learn more about it.
Back up photos, text messages, videos, and anything else you want to keep, then proceed to factory reset your Android phone. Go to Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset).
Only resort to this when all other methods fail to work for you. Note that factory resetting your phone will wipe out everything. Your phone will boot up as it did the first day you got it. So you’ll have to set everything up again, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.
How to Check if Your Phone Is Hacked or Not
Hackers are creative when the target audience is large. As hacking methods are not all the same, it becomes difficult for a newbie to identify such things. So, this leaves you with a question, “how to know if my phone is hacked or not?”
Besides the ways mentioned above, a gradual decrease in your phone’s performance, the automatic changing of wallpaper, or unknown calls by your phone can be a sign that your phone has been hacked.
Being vigilant and careful can prevent you from dealing with potential security breaches in the first place. Here are a few things you can do (or look for) to keep yourself safe:
Stay updated and always install the latest software updates. Only get apps from trusted sources. Disable or uncheck the Install from Unknown Sources option in Settings. Use a fingerprint, face scan, password, or PIN for lock-screen security.
In addition to Android hacking, you must know how to tell if your phone is tapped on Android.
Stay Vigilant to Keep Your Phone Safe
The key to keeping your smartphone safe is simply by exercising caution and using common sense. Besides, you can also pass on the information to your friends, who often ask you, “how to know if my phone is hacked or not?”
