You send a text message, you make a phone call, you go about your day
Someone else reads that message, someone else sees who you called, someone else knows where you were. This is not a movie plot, it is what happens when spyware infects your phone.

Spyware that steals SMS messages and call logs is more common than most people realize, it is sold as "parental control" software, marketed as "employee monitoring" tools, and sometimes installed by people who should never have access to your private life.
The good news is that you can detect it. Let me show you exactly how.

What SMS and Call Log Spyware Does

Spyware that targets your messages and calls does one simple thing, it copies your private data and sends it to someone else

What these apps can steal:

Some spyware sends this data in real time, every message you send is forwarded instantly, every call you make is logged immediately

Other spyware stores the data and uploads it in batches, once a day, once a week, whenever the phone connects to Wi-Fi
Either way, your privacy is gone

Behavioral Signs Your Phone Has Spyware

Before you start digging through settings, look for these signs in how your phone behaves
Sign 1: Battery Dies Faster Than Usual
Spyware runs constantly, it monitors every incoming message, logs every call, and sends data to a remote server, all of this consumes battery
What to look for: Your phone used to last all day, now you need to charge it by 3 PM, you have not installed any new battery-draining games or apps

Sign 2: Data Usage Spikes
Spyware needs internet access to send your stolen data, if it uses mobile data, you will see the usage in your phone bill or settings
What to look for: Your data usage has doubled or tripled without any change in your habits, or you see an app you do not recognize listed as using data

Sign 3: Phone Gets Warm for No Reason
Running background processes generates heat, if your phone feels warm when you are not using it, something is running
What to look for: You pick up your phone after an hour of not touching it and it feels warm, this should not happen on a modern phone

Sign 4: Strange Text Messages Appear
Some spyware communicates with its command server via SMS, you might see short, odd-looking messages from unknown numbers
What to look for: Texts with random letters and numbers, messages that appear and then disappear, "configuration" texts that you never requested

Sign 5: Phone Slows Down
Spyware competes with your normal apps for processing power, memory, and network bandwidth
What to look for: Your phone takes longer to open apps, scrolling is choppy, typing lags behind your fingers

Sign 6: Someone Knows Things They Should Not
This is the clearest sign, a person mentions something from a private conversation you never had with them, they ask about a call you made, they show up somewhere you never told them about
What to look for: A partner knows details of your texts, an ex comments on your location, a coworker references your after-hours calls

A Critical Warning Before You Investigate

If you suspect a partner, ex-partner, or someone close to you is monitoring your phone, stopping to read this section is important
Removing spyware can alert the person who installed it, they will notice that they no longer have access to your messages, which could escalate the situation

Questions to ask yourself before taking action:
1. Do you have a safe place to go if the situation becomes confrontational?
2. Have you documented the evidence (screenshots of suspicious apps, unusual behavior)?
3. Do you have a friend, relative, or supporter that you can reach out to for assistance? For those that feel unsafe in a situation it is wise to get a new clean device and only bring the most important or necessary items on the new device. This way the current device would be left behind and is unable to be hacked.

How to Detect Spyware on Android

Because of the ability to install applications from outside of the Google Play Store, Android devices are the most frequently targeted devices for spyware.

Method 1: Search for Apps without Icons
Spyware often conceals its icon from the app drawer, making it difficult to identify depending on how you browse through your various installed applications.

Step-by-Step Process:
1. Open Device Settings.
2. Tap on Applications or Manage Applications. The actual name of this option may differ by phone and will list your full list of all applications that have been downloaded onto your phone.
3. As you scroll down through the applications listed in your downloads, make sure to read the name of each downloaded application as you scroll.

What You Should Be Looking For:
1. Generic Names of Applications (ex. System Service; Wi-Fi Helper; Battery Optimization).
3. Applications that cannot be recalled having downloaded.

Method 2: Review the Accessibility Permissions
The accessibility permissions on an application are incredibly powerful; they allow a particular application to see anything currently displayed on your screen, including any incoming or outgoing messages and call logs.

Step-by-Step Process:
1. Open Device Settings.
2. Scroll down until you come across the option labelled “Accessibility” and choose it.
3. When you are in the Accessibility menu, scroll down to Installed Services then select it, if you do not see Installed Services, select Downloaded Services. This will depend on your phone brand.

Things to Look For:
1. Any and all services that you did not specifically activate or enable.
2. Services with names that do not match the app you use
If you do not use accessibility features for vision or hearing assistance, and you see a service listed here, investigate it immediately

Method 3: Check Device Admin Permissions
Device admin permissions make an app very difficult to uninstall, spyware uses this to protect itself

Step-by-step:
1. Go to the settings
2. Click on security
3. Choose Device Admin Apps

What to look for:
1. If the phone is personal, it should not have anything listed
2. If there is something listed, determine what it is

Method 4: Identify Spyware in Overlay Permission
Spyware can use overlay permissions to create an overlay on any other application including, the text messaging application.

Step-by-step:
1. Go to the settings
2. Click on Applications
3. Click the three dots and choose Configure Applications or Special Access
4. Select Display over other applications.

What to look for:
1. Apps that have this permission that should not need it
2. A simple calculator app should not draw over your screen, a flashlight app should not either

Method 5: Check for Unknown "Install unknown apps" Permission
Some spyware installs other spyware, this permission allows an app to download and install other apps without asking you

Step-by-step:
1. Go to "Settings"
2. Tap on "Apps"
3. Tap on "Special app access"
4. Select "Install unknown apps" from the list of options

What to look for:
1. Any apps with this permission that you did not specifically approve of
2. Browsers shouldn't need this; file managers shouldn't need this either

Method 6: Boot the phone into Safe Mode
When you boot the phone into Safe Mode it disables all third-party apps therefore if the suspicious act of using your device stops while in Safe Mode then an app that is installed is causing the issues.

Step-by-step:
1. Press and hold the power button
2. Long Press Power Off or Restart (Most devices will give you the option to boot into Safe Mode)
3. Tap Safe Mode
4. After the device reboots it will show Safe Mode in the bottom left corner of the device.

What to look for:
1. If the battery drain and or strange behavior is stopped when in Safe Mode it is most likely an app that is causing it.
2. Once you have booted back out of Safe Mode find any suspicious apps (one by one) and uninstall until the strange behavior returns, you will have found the source of the spyware.

How to Detect Spyware on iPhone

While iPhones typically have better security than Android devices, they also may be compromised by spyware.

Method 1: Check for Configuration Profiles You Did Not Install
Configuration profiles can not only redirect incoming messages from an original sender to another device, but can also change the way that your device's settings work. 

To check whether an iPhone has any Configuration-Profiles loaded: 
1. Access the Settings App 
2. Select General
3. Select VPN and Device Management

Look for these configuration profiles:  
1. Any configuration profile that you did not install.
2. Most likely you will not have any configuration profiles on your iPhone unless your device is connected to a company's mobile device management (MDM) or you have installed a beta version of iOS. 
3. To delete any configuration profiles that you have not installed, tap the configuration profile you want to delete, and tap Remove Profile.

Method 2: Check App Permissions
Spyware needs app permissions to monitor all messages, contacts, and mic, and requires permission to have access to those functions.

To check app permissions follow these instructions:
1. Launch the Settings app.
2. Tap Privacy and Security
3. View each category individually

Pay particular attention to:
1. Microphone - There will be apps that should not have microphone access. 
Examples could include Facebook (unless you use it as a phone app), Twitter, etc. 
2. Contacts - Any app that cannot text or call you will be able to see your contacts. 
An example could be your GPS/Waze app or URL shorteners.
3. Location - Any app that is always on will not be able to access your location unless you are currently using that app. 

Method 3: Verify Your Message Forwarding Settings
If you have somebody who has access to your apple id, then they may also be receiving Text Messages from you on another device.

To Check This: 
1. Open Settings
2. Touch Messages
3. Scroll to the bottom section - "Text Message Forwarding"
 
What to Look For: 
1. Is there any device that is not yours?
2. If you see a device that doesn't belong to you, touch the device you want to remove and remove it.

Method 4: Verify Location Based Sharing With Family
If you are in a Family Sharing Group, then members of your Family Sharing group may be able to see your location.

To Check This: 
1. Open Settings
2. Touch Your Name at the top
3. Touch Family Sharing
4. Touch Location Sharing

What to Look For: 
1. Is there anybody in your Family Sharing group that should NOT be in the group?
2. Is there anybody in your Family Sharing Group that should NOT have access to Your Location?
If you want to leave Family Sharing, touch your name and Touch "Stop Using Family Sharing" 

Method 5: Searching for Cloned Apps
Due to the fact that some spyware can disguise itself as a system application, we need to be looking for cloned applications. 

To locate cloned apps on your device:
1. Search your home screens for any unknown applications;
2. Look through your App Library by swiping left past each home screen; 
3. Count your application icons to ensure that there is only one of each system application. 

If you have two settings or messages application icons, you will be able to tell which one is the legitimate one.

How to Remove Spyware Once Detected

Removal Steps for Android

Step 1: Disable device administrator access (if applicable)
Spyware with administrator access cannot be uninstalled unless administrator privileges are revoked.
1. Settings > Security > Device Admin Applications; 
2. Uncheck any suspect applications; 
3. Make sure you have removed admin rights for the application.

Step 2: Remove that application from your phone.
1. Open up your settings app → other apps
2. Find the questionable application.
3. Uninstall it from the options available.
 
Step 3: Boot into ‘Safe’ mode if you cannot uninstall it.
1. Restart in safe mode
2. Go back into your checked application and delete it
3. Restart to ‘normal mode’

Step 4: Factory reset if you cannot locate the app that has the spyware
If you feel that your phone is compromised but cannot locate the individual app;
1. Back up only the important files (photos, and documents and contacts)
2. Do not back up apps or settings with the current phone.
3. Start a factory reset by pressing (Settings > System > Reset > Factory Data Reset).
4. After the Factory Reset is complete, setup the phone again, do not setup from a previous backup.

Removal Steps for iPhone

Step 1: Uninstall any suspicious or unknown profiles on your iPhone.
1. Open the settings of your iPhone, Navigate to General and then to VPN & Device Management (the name may vary depending on which OS you have).
2. Check the list of profiles and find any that don't belong and tap on them (anyone can add a profile from an unknown source).
3. Delete the profile by selecting 'Delete Profile'.

Step 2: Uninstall any applications from your iPhone that you didn't download.
1. To uninstall an application from your iPhone press and hold the app icon until all the icons start to "wiggle".
2. Tap the icon to uninstall the app and then when prompted to confirm do so by selecting 'Yes.'

Step 3: Check for any permissions that you have granted to any apps that you do not know about. 
To find out whether you have given any permissions to any unknown third party apps: Open the settings on your iPhone, then open privacy, and look at all categories of permissions (contact, camera, etc), then revoke any suspicious looking permission.

Step 4: Turn Off Information Sharing Settings via Safety Check
1. On your iPhone, open the device settings.
2. Select Privacy > Security > Safety Check and tap Emergency Reset to turn off all information sharing.

Step 5: Factory Reset If Needed.
1. Open Settings, select General, and select Transfer or Reset iPhone.
2. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
3. Set up as New Phone and Don't Restore From a Backup.

Protecting Yourself Going Forward

Once your phone is clean, take these steps to keep it that way

For Android

To disable unknown sources:
Settings > Security > Disable "Install from unknown apps" for all apps

For iPhone

To enable Stolen Device Protection:
Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Stolen Device Protection > On

When to Seek Help

If you find spyware on your phone, or if you are in a situation where someone is monitoring you, you do not have to handle it alone.

Document everything before you remove the spyware, screenshots of the app list, dates and times of suspicious behavior, records of the person knowing things they should not.
Evidence matters if you decide to take legal action.

The Bottom Line

You have the right to private conversations, no one should read your texts without your permission, no one should monitor your calls without your knowledge.

Spyware that steals SMS messages and call logs is real, it is out there, and it could be on your phone right now
But you can find it.

Check your battery, check your data usage, check your installed apps, review your permissions, boot into Safe Mode
And if something feels wrong, trust that feeling.
Your private life belongs to you, keep it that way.

FAQ Section

Can someone read my text messages without ever touching my phone?

Yes, some spyware can be installed remotely if you click a malicious link or if your phone has an unpatched vulnerability, however, most consumer spyware (the kind sold as "parental control" apps) requires physical access to install

Will a factory reset remove all spyware from my phone?

Yes, a factory reset removes everything from your phone including spyware, but if you restore from a full backup that contains the spyware, it will come back, back up only essential files (photos, contacts) and set up as a new device

Can antivirus apps detect SMS spyware on iPhone?

Antivirus apps on iPhone are limited because of iOS security restrictions, they cannot scan other apps or system files, manual inspection of configuration profiles, app permissions, and Text Message Forwarding is more effective

What is the most common way spyware gets installed on phones?

Physical access is the most common method, someone takes your phone while you are sleeping, in the shower, or not looking, they unlock it (if they know your passcode), install the spyware, and hide the icon, then return the phone before you notice

How do I know if my partner installed spyware without accusing them falsely?

Look for technical evidence first, check installed apps, accessibility permissions, and device admin settings, if you find nothing, consider the behavioral signs, does your partner know things they should not, do they show up at places you never told them about, evidence is stronger than suspicion

Can spyware record my phone calls?

Yes, some spyware can record both sides of a phone call, it activates the microphone during the call, records the audio, and uploads the file to the attacker, this consumes significant data and battery, making it easier to detect

What should I do if I find spyware on my phone?

Do not panic, document everything with screenshots, change all your important passwords (email, banking, social media) from a different clean device, remove the spyware, and consider whether you need to involve law enforcement or seek support services