How to Detect Hidden Listening Devices with iPhone

What are hidden listening devices?

A hidden listening device, often referred to as a “bug” or “wire,” usually consists of a small microphone combined with a miniature radio transmitter. Some modern solutions use Wi-Fi or even cellular connectivity, and almost all allow for covert surveillance.

Devices like these allow someone to spy on a victim and listen to their activities and conversations. Once the device is in place, the spy can connect to it remotely, either using a radio receiver or a device like a smartphone and listen to or record any voices and other sounds that are heard.

Because modern listening devices are so diminutive in size, they’re easy to conceal around the home, in a car, and in most other places—and near impossible to find if you don’t know exactly where to look.

Can iPhones find hidden listening devices?

Although hidden listening devices are difficult to detect, it’s not impossible. Many emit sounds, infrared light, or interference, and using some of the apps and features built into your iPhone—such as its camera and microphone—it’s possible you can see or hear these things to locate a concealed surveillance device.

Many believe, thanks mostly to movies and TV, that you need specialized equipment to identify a monitoring device that’s listening in on your conversations. And while that’s sometimes true for more sophisticated surveillance tech, the average spy uses cheaper, more accessible tools that are easier to detect.

In fact, many amateur spies now use hidden apps on iPhones to monitor their victims. Commonly called spyware, these apps are installed on your device, allowing someone else to take control of its microphone, cameras, GPS, and more to keep track of your every move or steal information.

Fortunately, spyware like this is easy to avoid with Clario Anti Spy, which can find and block monitoring software, nasty trackers, and other potentially dangerous apps on your phone or tablet. It even lets you hide your real location so no one can see where you really are.

Here’s how to use Clario Anti Spy to detect spyware on iPhone:

1. Download Clario Anti Spy on your laptop and set up an account.
2. Click Mobile scanner.
3. Connect your iPhone to your laptop via cable.
4. Click Scan my phone.
5. If Clario Anti Spy detects any signs of spying, follow the on-screen instructions to get rid of spyware on your iPhone.

How to find listening devices using an iPhone

To detect hidden listening devices with iPhone, use its microphone to hear noises or interference the device is emitting. Open the Voice Memos app in iOS, then press record. Quietly walk around the room and then, after a while, play back the recording, listening for odd sounds like static, buzzing, and clicking.

These are telltale signs that a listening device is present somewhere nearby. Other effective ways to find listening devices with iPhone include:

1. Use a flashlight for two-way mirrors
2. Try camera finder apps
3. Use the camera to look for infrared light
4. Use the microphone on your iPhone
5. Use a thermal imaging camera
6. Listen to interference through the call
7. Use a radio frequency detector
8. Look for weird Wi-Fi signals
9. Detection of magnetic fields

1. Use a flashlight for two-way mirrors

Two-way mirrors are commonly used to conceal cameras and other monitoring devices in questionable hotels and Airbnb homes. If you want to know how to find hidden cameras behind mirrors like these, press your iPhone’s flashlight up against the glass and pay close attention to the reflection.

If everything seems normal and you can’t see through the mirror, it’s likely safe. However, if you can see through it, or you can make out a camera lens or another room behind the glass, it’s almost certainly a two-way mirror.

2. Try camera finder apps

There are iPhone apps that supposedly help you find hidden cameras. Most of them do this by looking for lens reflections and infrared light, which modern cameras use for things like night vision and thermal imaging, and by scanning for nearby Wi-Fi and Bluetooth enabled surveillance devices.

It’s not clear how effective these apps are, but some of them, such as Hidden Camera Tracker and Hidden Camera Detector App, have very positive ratings in the App Store.

3. Use the camera to look for infrared light

If you don’t want to install more third-party apps, you can use your iPhone’s camera to look for infrared light from hidden cameras manually. First, make sure the room is as dark as possible. This will activate the night vision mode on any hidden cameras, and make the infrared light easier to spot. Next:

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Walk around slowly while pointing your iPhone at all areas of the room.
3. Scan for infrared, which looks like a purple or white light that’s not visible to the naked eye.

While using this trick, pay extra attention to areas where small cameras are commonly hidden, and to devices most vulnerable to hacking, such as smoke detectors and light fightings on ceilings and walls, ornaments, and pictures or paintings. Cameras are usually placed high up to give them the best view.

4. Use the microphone on your iPhone

Not all hidden cameras and listening devices use infrared, so they won’t be easy to spot using your iPhone’s camera. However, they may give off a unique sound instead, which you can try to pick up with your iPhone’s microphone. Make the room as quiet as possible, then try this:

1. Open the Voice Memos app, then press the record button.
2. Walk slowly around the room, making sure that you give your iPhone plenty of time to pick up sounds where hidden cameras or listening devices are likely hiding.
3. When you think you’ve spent enough time checking all potential hiding places, stop the recording.
4. Playback the recording, listening carefully for buzzing, clicking, or static sounds that could indicate a hidden electronic device.

5. Use a thermal imaging camera

Like most electronics, spy cameras and listening devices tend to get warm when they’re in use, which means they’ll show up on thermal imaging cameras. If you happen to have one of these handy, look through it while slowly walking around the room to identify any suspicious hotspots.

Bear in mind that hidden listening devices in light fittings or concealed within other electronics will be very difficult to detect while these things are powered on, since they generate heat as well. If possible, turn off all lights and electronics and give them plenty of time to cool down first.

6. Listen to interference through the call

If you hear strange noises or interference during a call, it’s an indicator that someone is using a wiretap (if it’s a landline) or smartphone spyware to listen in on your conversations. While on the phone, ask the person you’re speaking with to be quiet for a short period and listen out for telltale signs of a third party.

You may hear odd buzzing or static if a device is being used to record the conversation, or even breathing and other sounds if someone is actively listening to the call on another line. It can be harder to detect spyware, which is why it’s important to use Clario Anti Spy, as we detailed earlier.

7. Use a radio frequency detector

Many listening devices use radio signals to transmit the sounds they’re capturing in real-time. This allows them to be found with a radio frequency (RF) detector—a small device that picks up on radio waves. Simply use the RF detector to look for any radio signals that are detectable nearby.

Note that lots of innocent devices rely on radio communications, too. If devices like cordless phones, smart meters, microwaves, and similar are close by, they will all trigger your RF meter.

8. Look for weird Wi-Fi signals

More modern surveillance devices use Wi-Fi to transmit data, and in many cases, they’ll be visible to other devices with Wi-Fi connectivity. Here’s how to find them:

1. Go to the Wi-Fi menu inside Settings on iPhone.
2. Check the list of Networks and look for anything suspicious. It’s unlikely that surveillance equipment will have “camera” or “microphone” in their name, so beware of anything you don’t recognize and don’t usually see in your Networks list.

It’s important to remember that it’s possible for spies to hack innocent Wi-Fi devices and use them for surveillance. People often ask us, can someone listen to you through Alexa speakers and other smart devices, and the answer is yes if they have access to the right hacking tools.

9. Detection of magnetic fields

Microphones have magnets inside them, just like speakers, which means you can sometimes find them using a device that detects magnetic fields. Don’t worry—there’s no need to purchase an expensive magnetometer—your iPhone has built-in sensors that can detect and measure magnetic fields.

Download one of the free magnetometer apps available in the App Store, such as Metal Detector and Spy Camera or Gauges, and look for magnetic fields nearby. Bear in mind that small spy microphones will use very small magnetic parts, which will make them difficult to find, but it’s worth a try.

What to do if you find a hidden listening device

If you identify a hidden listening device nearby, you might choose to destroy it, which will prevent eavesdropping right away. However, this will also notify the spy that their device has been found, and it may make it harder for authorities to establish where the device came from.

With that in mind, we recommend notifying the police immediately if you find a hidden camera or microphone. If it’s in a public place, such as a hotel room, you should notify the relevant staff as well. Avoid having conversations or sharing sensitive information within the vicinity of the device.

Conclusion

If you’re worried someone is spying on you, it’s possible to use your iPhone and some simple tricks to detect hidden listening devices and concealed cameras. Be on the lookout for strange noises or infrared light emitted by surveillance devices, and seek support from the police right away if you find one.

An app like Clario Anti Spy is the best way to find and block spyware on your smartphone and other devices. It has the ability to uncover hidden surveillance software, and put a stop to other unwanted apps, such as trackers. It can even help you mask your real location.