How To Remove a Hacker from My Phone

What is phone hacking?

In many cases, you may not know that your phone has been hacked right away, while in the background, the software is spying on your activities or stealing sensitive information from your phone.

As is always the case with any malware or spyware, it’s incredibly important to remove it as quickly as possible. Some hacks are designed to steal account credentials and banking information, which could mean significant losses if not dealt with immediately.

Why would someone hack a phone?

There are many reasons why someone might want to hack your iPhone or Android device. In most cases, attackers are looking for information that they can take advantage of in some way. This might include:

• usernames and passwords for your bank and other online accounts
• your credit card details
• your personal information, which they can use to steal your identity.

In other cases, someone may be looking to spy on you for whatever reason—perhaps because they are an ex who wants to keep tabs on you. In this scenario, they might use hacks that track your location, listen into your conversations, steal your text messages and photos, and monitor you through your phone’s cameras.

Signs that phone is hacked

As smartphone hacks have become more sophisticated over the years, it’s not always obvious that an attacker has gained access to your device and compromised it. However, there are some key signs that you can look out for, including:

• Your device shows that your camera or location is being accessed when it shouldn’t be.
• Calls logs, messages, and emails disappear randomly.
• Photos may appear or disappear from your camera roll.
• Unrecognized apps may be installed on your device.
• Excessive battery and data usage.

As well as looking out for these signs, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with how to know if someone is tracking your phone, as well as how to tell if someone is watching you through your camera. The quicker you detect an attack, the quicker you can block hackers from your phone and minimize the amount of damage they can inflict.

How to stop hackers on your phone

Time is of the essence when your phone has been hacked. Cybercriminals can wreak havoc not only on your device itself, but also on your bank account and other online accounts. They can even go after other people in your contact list and spread their malware further. That’s why it’s crucial to be aware of the signs that someone is spying on your phone.

Without wasting another moment, let’s discover how to easily keep hackers out of your phone with five simple but effective solutions.

1. Get a hacker off your phone with spyware removal software

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more effective way to clean your phone from hackers than to use an app specifically designed just for that. Android spyware removal software promptly quarantines malicious code used to compromise your phone, then safely removes it so it can do no harm.

Here’s how to increase your protection against hackers with spyware removal software:

1. Install Clario AntiSpy on your Android device and get a subscription.
2. Under Spyware scan, tap Fix to identify any malware on your phone.
3. Wait for the scan to complete.
4. If Clario finds any malicious app, it will help you clear detected spyware and malware quickly and effectively. Tap Let’s fix it and follow the instructions.

2. Unhack your phone by deleting suspicious apps

By getting apps from outside the Play Store, you are foregoing safeguards implemented by Google. There’s no guarantee that unverified apps are actually safe and unhacked. Some might come with a secret backdoor that can be used by hackers to access your phone and view your data.

If you’ve recently sideloaded apps on Android, they might be to blame for the hack. Therefore, to unhack your phone, delete all recently-downloaded apps from it. Also, make sure you carefully examine your apps and search on Google for the ones you don’t remember installing. A suspicious app that has mysteriously appeared on your phone could be responsible for the security breach, so you’ll want to delete it as quickly as possible.

3. Keep hackers out of your online accounts

If you suspect that your Facebook, Instagram, or any other online account has been hacked, take immediate action to reclaim your ownership. To keep hackers out of your online accounts, follow these tips:

1. Check the account’s login activity to see the location and the device used to access the account and ensure it has been hacked.
2. Log out of the account and change your password.
3. Revoke access for the app to completely log out of the account.
4. Ensure that the email used to access the account is secure. Change the email, if necessary, to keep the account protected.
5. Protect your account with two-factor authentication or 2FA, preventing brute-force attacks.

4. Use a factory reset on your phone

A factory reset is a simple procedure that completely cleans your phone’s internal storage. The process deletes not only your photos, videos, messages, and other personal data but also wipes out any viruses on your phone to get rid of hackers.

Note that microSD cards are not always affected by a factory reset. To stay on the safe side, it’s recommended to format your phone’s microSD card if it has one—after backing up your data— to remove any potential threats contained within it.

Here’s how to fix a hacked Android phone by resetting it:

1. Open the Settings, scroll down, and tap on Additional settings (the instructions below show the settings of Redmi Note 11 Pro).
2. Select Factory reset.
3. Tap on Erase all data.
4. If prompted, enter your device PIN or password.
5. Review the information and confirm your decision by selecting Reset phone or Erase everything.
6. The device will now initiate the factory reset process, and it will take some time to complete.

5. Report phone hacking

The moment you realize that your phone has been hacked, raise the alarm. By reporting phone hacking to the authorities when it happens, you might not only facilitate the resolution of your problem but also help others avoid it too, especially if the cybercriminals are apprehended.

Therefore, make sure to file a complaint with IC3 and the Department of Justice. After informing the authorities, also notify your contacts about the phone hacking. They should stay alert and avoid tapping links sent from their phone that can be used to compromise their devices.

How to protect your phone from hackers

Now that you know how to delete a hacker off your phone, it’s essential to prevent similar cyberattacks in the future. To keep your phone from being hacked again, adopt the following cybersecurity habits:

1. Never visit suspicious websites, click suspicious links, or open attachments in emails from unknown senders.
2. Install a spyware scanner, such as Clario AntiSpy, on your Android device.
3. Use a VPN on public Wi-Fi networks.
4. Set up a secure password.
5. Regularly install phone OS and app updates.
6. Enable at least 2FA for your online accounts.
7. Make sure Google Assistant is unavailable before unlocking and opening the phone.
8. Disable the autofill feature.
9. Never install apps from outside the Play Store.
10. Limit app permissions as much as possible.

Conclusion

Your phone is always at your side and it’s always filled to the brim with your personal data. Today, you’ve learned how to keep hackers out of it, but you shouldn’t stop there. Keep exploring our blog to learn how to raise an impenetrable security shield around your phone and personal data. This can help stop someone from listening to your phone calls, reading your messages, and quietly stealing sensitive data, including usernames and passwords.