[Repost from Lifehacker.com] Find & Remove 'STALKERWARE' From Your Phone

 

[Repost EN TOTO from Lifehacker.com 08.03.2025 - from Emily Long].  Find & Remove 'STALKERWARE' From Your Phone. While your mobile device has a lot of built-in features to keep your data secure and protect your privacy, it may still be vulnerable to snooping if someone you know has access to your accounts or manages to install hidden apps—known as stalkerware—that track your every move

These malicious programs may exploit built-in features and permissions on your iPhone or Android to spy on you. Here's how to identify and remove stalkerware from your device. WHAT IS STALKERWARE?  Stalkerware is a form of spyware used to surveil and monitor activity on your device, such as messages, photos, and real-time location, without your consent. Stalkerware is most often found in the form of an app downloaded directly onto your device and may be hidden from your home screen or disguised as something innocent so you're less likely to notice anything suspicious

Some possible signs of stalkerware (and other malicious apps) include large amounts of data usage on your device, your phone running warmer or slower than usual, your battery draining more quickly, or increases in screen time as well as strange notifications. However, stalkerware can be present even without any of these issues.

Before attempting to remove stalkerware from your device or changing shared access to your accounts and apps, it is essential that you have a safety plan in place. Deleting monitoring apps or updating permissions can alert the person who installed them, which may increase the risk of abuse or harassment. SO HOW?  You can view apps installed on your device in your settings even if there's no icon on the home screen. On both iOS and Android, this is in the settings app under a menu titled Apps or App management. (On iOS, you can see hidden apps by scrolling all the way down to the bottom of the list.) Look for anything you don't recognize.  SO HOW?  Review app permissions & settings.  You can see permissions, such as location, camera, microphone, and keyboard access, in your settings on an app-by-app basis

If you have iOS 16 or later, you can use Apple's Safety Check feature (Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check) to manage permissions and sharing with individuals and apps. You can check who you are sharing information with, change devices connected to your Apple account, reset system privacy permissions, and update your passcode, among other settings. There's an Emergency Reset option, which will immediately stop sharing all information from your device, and a Quick Exit button if you need to close out with one tap