How to find and Delete spy apps on Android and iPhone

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In several guides published on Teknologya, we have discovered that there are several spy applications that allow you to remotely monitor smartphones and Android and iOS in a very simple way. We decided to make this article to explain how to delete spy apps on Android and iPhone very easily by following some tips. Let’s not waste any more time and see what they are together.

Content index

Check the applications installed on the device

The first advice we give you to delete spy apps on Android and iPhone is to control the applications installed on your smartphone or tablet. Even if some software can hide well (so they are not visible in the Settings ), some categories, however (like the app for the parental control and the anti-theft ) appear in the list anyway.

Android

If you have a device with the Google mobile operating system, then you can access the list of all installed applications in a very simple way. Here are the steps to follow:

  • Open the Settings by pressing the gear icon that you find on the home screen or in the app drawer or by pressing the icon in the notification bar and choose App (the latter name may vary from smartphone to smartphone).
  • After that, look for the names of applications that you do not use or that you do not know (eg Qustodio, Mobile Fence, Cerberus, Norton Family Parental Control etc.) and proceed with the uninstallation by clicking on Uninstall.

In case you have found a software unknown to you, we advise you to perform a search on Google inserting its name to find out what kind of app it is.

iPhone

If, instead, you use an iPhone, you can access the list of applications installed in this way:

  • Locate the Settings icon on the home screen and click on it.
  • Then, tap on General and then on Free iPhone Storage to see the complete list of applications installed on the iDevice.
  • At this point, identify the application installed on the terminal, perform a search on the Google engine to find out if it is a ‘spy app and proceed with the uninstall by clicking on Delete app.

Use an antivirus

To eliminate spy app on Android and iPhone you can rely on a good antivirus/antimalware. On the green robot there is already a stock that automatically and periodically checks the applications that are downloaded and installed by the Play Store. We are talking about Google Play Protect. However, it is good to evaluate the installation of third-party software that you find in our guide to the best antivirus for Android.

On iPhone the situation is very different because the risk of incurring in a virus and/or malware is very low, so there are no applications designed to remove the malicious app.

Check the list of apps with administrative privileges

In the event that you did not find anything suspicious in the list of installed applications or if you uninstalled a software an error message appeared that did not allow you to continue, then you may have an app that has obtained administrator privileges. This category of applications has full access to the phone and allows you to get hold of strictly personal information without any hitch such as calls, messages and location.

To see if there is software that has administrator privileges on Android, do this:

  • Always open the Settings and press on Security.
  • At this point, choose Device Administrator. Please be aware that this route varies from device to device, so we advise you to perform a search using the appropriate field in the Settings.
  • If among the applications listed in the menu there are some suspects, you can proceed with deactivation by pressing the toggle and then carry out the uninstallation.

If you were in possession of an iPhone, however, in this case, the spy apps take advantage of custom profiles and VPNs. These allow the software to communicate with the outside, sending personal information to the bad guys.

To view the list of profiles installed on the iPhone, open the Settings and then press on General. Then, choose Profiles (or Profile and Device Management ) and see if something is wrong. If successful, select the profile and delete it by pressing the item that appears on the screen that opens.

To access the VPN list, instead, press on VPN in Settings > General. If you find any abnormal configuration, go to Settings > General > Reset and tap on Reset network settings to reset all network settings and delete VPN configurations. Remember that this procedure will also delete all the passwords of the stored Wi-Fi networks and the good VPNs.

Try accessing the settings of the spy apps

Such software has menus that can be viewed by typing a combination of codes in the browser or dialer. In particular, you can try to access the menu of the most famous spy apps and proceed with disabling or uninstalling by typing in the browser address bar localhost: 8888 or localhost: 4444. In the dialer, however, you can try typing * 12345. If successful, identify the name of the application in question (eg iKeyMonitor, iKeyGuard etc.) and search on Google for the method to uninstall.

Delete root and jailbreak

The root and jailbreak are operations that allow you to take full control of your Android and iOS device, respectively. In the case of the green robot, the root allows you to install special applications that require special permissions to work. In this case, we suggest you proceed with the uninstallation by opening the SuperSU application and then from the Settings choose Complete Unroot.

On an iPhone with jailbreak you can first try to check the applications installed in the alternative Cydia store and remove them if necessary via the settings. If not, remove the jailbreak by doing a simple Google search.

Check the battery consumption

Since spy applications remain open in the background continuously to do their job well, they automatically tend to consume a lot of battery. So, you could rely on the settings to find and eliminate spy apps on Android and iPhone.

On the green robot you can monitor the energy consumption of the installed software by going to Settings > Battery (or in any case the menu containing this option). From the screen that appears, you can see the applications that consume more among the first results. Alternatively, you can take advantage of an application created entirely free of charge that allows you to know in depth what are the applications that require more energy. We are talking about Wakelock Detector.

On iOS, you can check the list of applications that require more power to work by first going to Settings and then to Battery.

Reset your smartphone to the initial conditions

In extreme cases we suggest to reset to factory settings to remain 100% safe. Naturally, before carrying out this operation it is necessary to make a backup of the most important data. In this case, we advise you to read our guides dedicated to Android backup and How to make iPhone backups.

On Android, you can proceed with the restore by opening the Settings, tapping on Backup and Restore, choose Factory data reset and first press on Reset device and then on Delete all.

If you have an iPhone, however, go to Settings, on General, then click Restore. From here choose Erase all content and settings and then start the operation by pressing on Reset now. Again, we recommend that you take a look at our dedicated guides.

Eliminate spy apps on Android and iPhone: other useful tips

After examining the most used solutions to escape the spy applications, we suggest you to follow other useful tips that you can find below.

  • Set up a secure unlock/lock system with PIN, password, pattern, fingerprint, face scan and iris scan.
  • Do not install applications from unknown sources, then outside the Google Play Store and the App Store.
  • Check often for software updates.
  • Try not to buy used smartphones from unimportant people.
  • Do not root and jailbreak.
  • Do not lend your personal device to unknown people.

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