How to check if your Android phone has been hacked

Currently, the cell phone is an essential device in our lives, so it is important to keep it safe and free of viruses.  Also, if you have noticed that your Android phone is behaving strangely, it is likely that someone from outside has broken into it.

If your phone is slow, popping up, or freezing, it is best to check for any malware, rogue apps, or other issues that are causing this on your smartphone, even if you do not see any sign of suspicious activity.

To give you a hand with this process, here we tell you how to check if your Android phone has been hacked.

1. Poor battery life

One of the best ways to find out if your Android phone has been hacked, is to check your battery usage. 

If it gets hot for no reason, even when not charging, something might be running in the background while the screen is off.

However, some of the more sophisticated malware can still leave traces on your phone or tablet, so start by checking the battery usage menu.

If your battery is constantly low, you can look for an unknown app or something unusual in Settings-Battery-Battery use.

This does not happen too often, as Google has a full Google Play Protect System built into Android, but it is still a good idea to check.

In that scenario, you probably have a “keylogger”, a program that steals passwords, or a virus that hides its name to avoid being found.

But as a general rule, you should only look for something unusually strenuous.

In this case, you can restart your phone, force close the suspicious software and, if possible, uninstall the application.

• Unusually high data usage

Most people have unlimited data plans, so you do not often go to the “Data usage” menu in “Settings”.

But if your Android phone crashes and you want to check if it has been hacked, that is another easy way to find out if there is a problem.

If you have a virus, you could be sending your private data to a third party through an app that is constantly running and communicating with the bad guys.

To check what it is really going on, go to Settings-Connections-Data usage.

YouTube, Spotify and other streaming services regularly use a lot of data. But if another app is using too much, something is wrong. 

None should use 5GB in a given month, for example, so find any that are out of place and uninstall it, after making sure it is not essential to your device.

• Presence of strange pop ups and ads

When you are surfing on the Net with your Android phone, pay attention to strange pop ups or funny looking ads, and never click on them. 

Google has made several changes in recent years to prevent this kind of situation, especially in Google Chrome on Android, but something evil may still appear from time to time.

Usually this ads will make your phone vibrate as pop-ups appear again and again and even your screen may flicker.

When you deal with them, do not touch the “delete” button. Instead, close the whole browser and restart your smartphone.

On the other hand, never enter personal information in an input field that you are not familiar with, especially credit card details or passwords.

• Tips to keep your phone safe

• Install an antivirus tool app on your Android phone. You can find many apps of this kind in Google Play Store;
• When you choose your antivirus, only look for well-known brands, like Avast or BitDefender;
• Consider to perform a factory data reset. Back up photos, text messages, videos and anything else you want to keep before you wipe your Android. To do this, go to Settings-Backup&reset-Reset-Factory data reset;
• To keep your phone safe, do not forget to install the latest software updates, download apps from trusted sources, disable the Install from unknown sources option in Settings and use a fingerprint, eyescan, password, or PIN for phone security;