How to Check for Stalkerware on Your Phone Safely

• Use a safer device first if you think someone may be monitoring your phone. Checking settings, searching for help, or changing passwords can sometimes alert an abusive person.
• Review account access, location sharing, unfamiliar apps, device privileges, and security scans—but do not immediately delete suspicious software if you may need evidence or safety planning.
• If the concern is credible, work with a domestic violence advocate, stalking specialist, law enforcement agency, or trusted technician before resetting or replacing the phone.

Start with safety, not the phone

Stalkerware is software or a hidden device setup that can let another person see your location, messages, calls, photos, browsing activity, or other phone data. The signs can overlap with ordinary battery, network, or software problems, so a slow phone by itself does not prove surveillance.

The risk is different when a partner, ex-partner, family member, or stalker may be involved. Opening settings, changing passwords, removing an app, or suddenly stopping location sharing could alert that person. If you feel unsafe, do not investigate from the phone you’re worried about.

Use a friend’s phone, a library computer, a workplace device, or another device the person cannot access. If you are in immediate danger in the United States or Canada, call 911. In the U.S., the National Domestic Violence Hotline offers phone, chat, and text support. In Canada, Canada.ca lists provincial and territorial crisis services.

Before you check anything

Decide what you need most right now: immediate safety, evidence preservation, account protection, or a clean replacement phone. You may not be able to do all four at once without increasing risk.

• Do not confront the suspected person about monitoring if doing so could trigger retaliation.
• Do not reset the phone yet if you may need screenshots, messages, login alerts, or other evidence.
• Be careful with calls and searches. A monitored phone may reveal who you contacted, what you searched for, or where you went.
• Keep the phone powered and available if an advocate, investigator, or technician may need to examine it. Ask them how to preserve it safely.

A domestic violence or stalking advocate can help you create a technology safety plan and decide whether checking or changing the device is safe. Stalkerware is not the only explanation: someone may have access to your Apple or Google account, phone carrier account, location-sharing settings, or the phone itself.

Quick checks that are usually safe

Only perform these checks if you believe the action will not put you at greater risk. If the suspected person regularly handles your phone or knows your passcode, pause and use a safer device or advocate instead.

Look for a pattern, not one symptom

Possible warning signs include unusually fast battery drain, unexpected data use, overheating, unexplained restarts, or settings that changed without you doing it. More meaningful is a pattern of someone knowing your exact location, private conversations, messages, or browsing activity when they should not.

Also ask whether the person has had unsupervised physical access to your phone, knows your passcode, is listed on your phone plan, or can sign in to your Apple or Google account. These details can explain monitoring without a hidden app.

Check account access from a safer device

From a device the suspected person cannot access, review recent sign-ins and connected devices.

1. For a Google Account, open the account security area and review Your devices. Sign out of devices you do not recognize only after considering whether that change could alert someone.
2. For an Apple Account, review the devices connected to the account. Remove unfamiliar devices only when it is safe and when you have a plan for changing the account password and recovery information.
3. Check email, social media, messaging, cloud storage, and phone-carrier accounts separately. A person may be reading synced information rather than using stalkerware.

Changing passwords from a monitored phone may expose the new password. If possible, change them from a safer device, use unique passwords, and turn on multifactor authentication that the other person cannot control.

How to check an Android phone

Android menus vary by manufacturer and software version, so the exact names may differ on Samsung, Google Pixel, Motorola, and other phones. Avoid uninstalling anything suspicious until you have considered safety and evidence.

1. Run Google Play Protect

Open the Google Play Store, tap your profile picture, choose Play Protect, and run a scan. In Play Protect settings, confirm that Scan apps with Play Protect is on. Google says Play Protect checks apps from Google Play and can also check potentially harmful apps installed from other sources.

A clean scan does not prove that the phone is safe. It may not identify account sharing, location sharing, a carrier-account problem, commercial monitoring tools that evade detection, or every type of unwanted software.

2. Review unfamiliar apps and powerful permissions

Open Settings and review Apps or Apps & notifications. Look for apps you do not recognize, apps with generic names, or apps installed around the time the behavior began. Do not assume an unfamiliar app is malicious; some legitimate system or accessibility tools have technical names.

Pay special attention to apps with access to location, microphone, camera, messages, notifications, accessibility services, device administration, or a VPN. On many Android phones, permission controls are under Settings > Privacy > Permission manager, while accessibility and device-management controls may be in separate settings.

If an app has unusually broad access, document its name and settings before changing anything. Ask an advocate or qualified technician whether removing it is safe.

How to check an iPhone

Most invasive iPhone stalkerware requires the device to be jailbroken or relies on access to an Apple Account, shared location, synced computer, or another service. An iPhone that behaves normally is not proof that nobody can access your information.

1. Use Safety Check on iOS 16 or later

On an iPhone running iOS 16 or later, open Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check. You can choose Manage Sharing & Access to review people, apps, connected devices, and account-security details, or use Emergency Reset to stop sharing quickly.

Safety Check may not cover non-Apple accounts, social-media sharing, or every device signed in elsewhere. Review the results carefully, and remember that stopping sharing may be visible to the other person or may affect shared housing, transportation, caregiving, or emergency arrangements.

2. Review Find My and other location sharing

Open the Find My app and review the People tab. Also check location sharing inside Messages, Maps, social apps, family-safety apps, and any shared Apple family or home setup. A person with access to your Apple Account may be able to see more than someone listed as a Find My contact.

Do not turn off every location feature automatically if that could make you less safe or remove a tool you rely on. An advocate can help you choose targeted changes instead.

If the problem continues

Use the result of each check to narrow the possibilities:

Do not rely on a single “spyware detector” app or online test as a definitive answer. Commercial stalkerware is designed to hide, and many phone problems have ordinary causes.

When to reset or replace the phone

A full factory reset can remove unwanted apps, but it erases data and may destroy evidence. It also does not fix a compromised Apple, Google, email, or carrier account. If you reset the phone, change important account passwords from a safer device first when possible, install system updates, and set it up as new rather than restoring every app from an old backup.

A new phone with a new account or a phone account the suspected person cannot access may be safer in some situations. An advocate can help you plan the change without losing access to transportation, work, health care, banking, or emergency contacts.

When to contact support or seek professional help

Get help before making major changes if the person has threatened you, has a history of violence, knows private details that should be inaccessible, has access to your accounts, or may retaliate when access disappears. Preserve relevant screenshots, login alerts, messages, dates, and names somewhere the suspected person cannot reach—but do not create a record if doing so increases danger.

For technical help, use the phone manufacturer’s official support service or a reputable technician who understands domestic-violence technology safety. Tell them you are concerned about surveillance and ask how they will protect evidence and privacy. If you are in immediate danger, prioritize emergency help over diagnosing the phone.

Helpful Links

• Federal Trade Commission: Stalkerware: What To Know – Learn about warning signs, safety concerns, evidence preservation, resets, and account protection.
• National Domestic Violence Hotline – Find confidential U.S. support by phone, chat, or text and discuss a technology safety plan.
• Safety Net Project: Spyware and Stalkerware – Review survivor-centered guidance about phone surveillance, account access, and safer next steps.
• Apple Personal Safety User Guide – Use Apple’s official guidance for Safety Check, location sharing, account access, and device safety.
• Google Play Protect Help – Run Play Protect and review Google’s guidance for potentially harmful Android apps.
• Canada.ca: Get Help Now – Find Canadian provincial and territorial crisis lines, shelters, and gender-based violence resources.
• See devices with account access – Official page referenced in the article.
• Safety Check for an iPhone with iOS 16 or later – Official page referenced in the article.
• Checklist 1: Limit device and account access – Official page referenced in the article.
• Take a Security Checkup – Official page referenced in the article.
• Change app permissions on your Android phone – Official page referenced in the article.
• Find My – Official page referenced in the article.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can a phone battery draining quickly prove that stalkerware is installed?

A. No. Battery drain, overheating, unusual data use, and restarts can have many ordinary causes. They become more concerning when combined with unexplained knowledge of your location or private activity, physical access to the phone, or unfamiliar account and app changes.

Q. Will deleting a suspicious app remove all monitoring?

A. Not necessarily. Monitoring may come from an Apple or Google account, location-sharing feature, carrier account, synced computer, another device, or a hidden configuration. Deleting an app can also alert the person and destroy evidence, so consider speaking with an advocate first.

Q. Is an iPhone automatically safe from stalkerware?

A. No. iPhone security can limit some forms of invasive software, but account access, shared location, synced devices, physical access, and jailbreaking can still create privacy risks. Safety Check on iOS 16 or later can help review several sharing and access settings.

Q. Should I factory-reset my phone immediately?

A. Usually not if you may need evidence or if the suspected person could react to the change. A reset may remove unwanted apps but will not automatically secure compromised online accounts. Plan the reset or replacement with an advocate or qualified technician when possible.

Q. What should I do if checking the phone could make me less safe?

A. Stop using that phone for research or support calls and use a safer device if available. Contact a domestic violence or stalking advocate, explain that technology monitoring may be involved, and ask for a safety plan before changing settings or accounts.