We frequently see people asking whether they are at risk of having their text messages read past third-parties looking to steal their information. In this article nosotros want to encompass just how much of a risk it is to you as an iPhone user and what yous can do to ensure yous're fully protected against it.

Tin someone spy on my text messages?

Yes, it's definitely possible for someone to spy on your text messages and information technology'south certainly something you should be aware of – this is a potential way for a hacker to gain a lot of private data most yous – including accessing PIN codes sent by websites used to verify your identity (such as online banking).

Here's how someone might gain access to your text messages:

  1. They tin steal or physically get concur of your iPhone and endeavor to view them.
  2. If you backup or synchronize your telephone to iCloud then anybody who has the details for that business relationship, or even has their phone connected to the same account (a family member, for case), could potentially run into your personal text letters.
  3. If someone installs spyware onto your device, then they can remotely admission whatever of the data on your iPhone – including all of your text letters.

How can I stop someone reading my messages?

Luckily, there are a few methods you can utilise to prevent people reading your text messages:

Use a stiff passcode.

This prevents anyone that steals your phone from accessing and reading your messages and makes it much harder for someone to judge your passcode. The longer your passcode, the better. Co-ordinate to this article about police hacking iPhone passcodes in the US, the all-time passcode length is between 9 and 12 characters.

Disable text message forwarding.

This is a feature that allows other devices logged into the aforementioned iCloud account to receive iMessages. This is not bad if y'all are using multiple Apple tree devices, but if yous are sharing your business relationship with another person or family member, this ways that they will receive your letters on their device.

The best style to gainsay this is to not share your business relationship with anyone. It'southward much more secure for everyone to have their own accounts.

Alternatively, you can simply disable text message forwarding by borer Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding.

Turn off lock screen message previews.

Having new message previews announced on the lock screen of your device is a potential security take chances. This makes it very simple for someone to but read your text messages without fifty-fifty having to log into your iPhone.

To disable this feature, tap Settings > Notifications > Messages > Show Previews and change to 'Never' or 'When Unlocked'.

Use an anti-intruder app.

Apps such equally iAntiTheft will permit you to use an alert to catch or deter any would be snoopers from tampering with your phone by using dissimilar triggers to find interference (east.g. when the device is moved or when the ability cable is unplugged).

Enable two-cistron authentication for iCloud.

Enabling this feature adds an extra layer of protection on top of just using a password. This characteristic requires any attackers to also take concrete access to your device as any login attempts require inputting a unique code that is displayed on the device associated with the account.

This prevents any hacking attempts fifty-fifty if the attacker knows the business relationship credentials.

Additionally, enabling this feature will too allow you to block iCloud monitoring tools such as Highster – which is a commercially available spy service ordinarily used for monitoring backed-up data from victim'south iPhones.

Utilise security software to protect your device.

Sometimes the only way to fully protect yourself is past installing some protective software that will be able to check your device to ensure that zero malicious has been installed.

Software such equally our own Certo AntiSpy is designed to protect you confronting exterior threats and scan for any installed spyware on your device, along with any other signs of hacking.

Once you lot've scanned for any spyware on your device using Certo AntiSpy, keeping your iPhone updated, using a potent passcode and also enabling 2-factor authentication volition go a long mode towards keeping your phone strongly protected in the future.

What about other information on my iPhone?

Alongside text letters, if a hacker manages to install spyware onto your device and so at that place is virtually no limit to the corporeality of information they can extract, this can include:

  • Chat messages (Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, etc)
  • Photos and videos
  • Web browser history
  • Online accounts (e-mail, online banking, social media, etc)
  • GPS location (both alive-view and a history of locations visited)
  • Phone calls (again, they tin can be accessed either alive or recorded)
  • Login details for any apps installed on the device (dating apps, social media apps, etc)
  • And then much more

As you can run across, that'south such a huge corporeality of information – plenty that someone could practice some serious damage to your life and identity. That's why here at Certo, we're so passionate about helping our customers keep their phones protected.