Back in the days of mechanical telephones, a wiretap required someone—usually a government agency—to literally change the circuitry of your phone lines to listen in. Today, smartphones make wiretapping much easier. With very little knowledge, someone can install software that remotely monitors where you are and what you’re doing on your phone.
9 Signs Your Phone Is Tapped & What To Do
Apple has built a reputation for protecting its devices from outside hackers, but there’s a major security flaw in every smartphone: Anyone with physical access to your phone, even for a few minutes, can install potentially harmful apps. Unlike malware distributed by hackers, installing basic location-tracking stalkerware requires no technical knowledge beyond knowing how the App Store works, and it’s not particularly difficult to jailbreak an iPhone and install apps that can listen to your calls, read your text messages, and access your microphone and camera.
There are legitimate uses for apps that monitor someone else’s phone. They can be used by employees to keep tabs on their employees, by parents to keep tabs on their children, or as a security device if your phone gets stolen. But they can also be (and are) used by stalkers, sometimes with deadly consequences.
The App Store does its best to keep overtly malicious apps off your phone and has guidelines for what aspects of your phone can be spied on, but there are apps within Apple's rules that are being abused as tools to stalk people. Something like Spy Phone is advertised as a way for parents to keep an eye on their children, but judging by the top comments in the App Store, many people are using it to keep tabs on their partners, who are presumably unaware that their every move is being tracked. Even built-in iOS features like "Find My" can be used to stalk someone.
