With the latest technological innovations, it’s now easy to monitor our loved ones 24/7 just by using our phones. Many parental control apps are available for parents to keep tabs on their children, but they can easily be used for other purposes. Someone might be reading your text messages using these apps or forwarding your text messages to themselves. Also, WhatsApp-linked devices are another option someone could use to spy on your text messages.
Why you should be worried that someone might be reading your text messages
When someone gains access to your messages, they will get hold of your sensitive information. This can lead to financial loss, identity theft, and privacy violations.
- Personal data: Someone can get details like name, phone number, date of birth, and password through your text messages. This can be used to steal your identity and other malicious things.
- Financial loss: hackers often target your messages, as they contain valuable things they need. Most times, find out the banks you have accounts with and your login details. They can make purchases or buy things online.
- Account Hack: You might be surprised to see your account hacked even when using strong passwords. The attacker might have gained access by spying on your text messages to find information about your logins. That way, they can access your account, social media, and emails.
- Location tracking: Your location data can be easily revealed in text messages. Someone can track your movement and stalk you, which can put you at risk.
- Relationship: There are secrets spouses can’t just disclose or confidential information. This can be leaked, causing damage to your relationship if someone gains access to your messages.
- Malware and viruses: The truth is when someone controls your text messages, there are only a few things they can do to have full access. They can send malware or viruses to reveal more data by compromising your device.
How to know if someone is reading my text messages
There are a few ways someone can spy on your messages. This can be using message forwarding on iPhones, Linked Devices on WhatsApp, or spy apps. We will go through the three and you can see how to ensure no one is monitoring your texts. Also, you can turn it off in case someone is spying on you.
Message Forwarding on iPhone
Because the iPhone has a great ecosystem and a functional cloud, you can sync information across all your devices. The idea is for convenience, but someone can take advantage of it to spy on you. It’s important to check your iPhone and see if message forwarding is enabled and the phones connected.
- Head to Settings>>Messages>>Text Message Forwarding
- If you can’t see Messages Forwarding, Go back to Settings>>Messages. Turn off iMessage, then back on.
- Tap Send & Receive>>Use your Apple ID for iMessage.
- If there is any device you cannot recognize on the list, it might be that someone is intercepting your messages.
One other thing you can try is dialling*#21#. It will bring up details of your calls, SMS messages, and faxes. It should be listed as Disabled, meaning no one is spying on you.
Linked Devices on WhatsApp
One thing about WhatsApp-linked devices is that you won’t know. You are not sent any reminder that someone has access to your WhatsApp. Hence, we recommend checking if any device is linked to your WhatsApp and logging them out.
- Open the WhatsApp App.
- Tap the three dots at the top right.
- Click on Linked Devices.
- If you see any linked devices, and they are not yours, someone has access to your WhatsApp. Check the phone and the last time it was online. You might probably get an idea of who the person is.
- However, if the page is like the one below, then you are clear.
Spy apps
With the Spy app, someone can access your text messages. While anyone can pull it off, it’s mostly people who are close to you that will use this method. It requires physical access to the device or iCloud details. We recommend checking your apps to ensure strange ones are not installed and watching your device behavior.
Signs a spy app might be running on your device
There are a few signs that a spy app targeting your messages might be running. We recommend paying attention to detect this one time.
- Battery Drain: Spy apps work in the background. Even when your device is idle, it keeps working, which causes the battery to drain faster.
- Overheating: These apps require additional resources, and that makes the phone overheat even when not in use.
- Data Usage: If you start using more data, it might be these apps sending your information somewhere.
- Read messages: If you notice a message has been opened, but you didn’t, then someone using a spy app did that.
You can check here for more signs to detect a spy app.
Meanwhile, check installed apps on your device to ensure no one is strange. If you are using an Android, make sure Play Protect is enabled.
How to ensure no one is reading your text messages
Having seen the risks of someone having access to your text messages, we can agree it’s something you should protect. Below are some tips to ensure no one is spying on you.
- Check installed Apps: Check the apps installed on your device regularly. Uninstall anyone that is strange or you didn’t remember installing.
- Ensure Play Protect is enabled: Android owners should ensure Play Protect is enabled in the Play Store. It’s there to detect and uninstall malicious apps.
- Two-factor authentication: We recommend enabling two-factor authentication for your messaging apps.
- Regular Updates: Both iOS and Android send updates regularly to patch security vulnerabilities. Hackers can exploit some of these security flaws to gain access to your text messages when you don’t install updates.
- Don’t click on suspicious links: If someone sends you a suspicious link, do not click on it as it might be malware.
- Install Apps from App Store or Play Store: Only download apps from the official sources; App Store for iPhones and Play Store for Android.
Protect your information by ensuring no one is reading your text messages
Your personal information should be for your consumption or people you want to let in. Do not allow a stranger access to these data due to carelessness. Always check your device for strange apps, your apps if they are connected to another device, or if your messages are being forwarded. Also, if a spy app is installed on your device.
