How to tell if your phone is being tracked
Signs your phone may be monitored include someone knowing things they could only learn from your messages or location, unknown apps or device management profiles, settings changed without you, or a partner who had your phone and passcode. Removing monitoring software can alert the person who installed it, so plan before you remove anything and talk to a domestic violence hotline first.
Why it matters: Knowing the warning signs matters, and so does planning before you act.
Steps
- Contact a domestic violence hotline first; advocates can help with technology safety planning before you change anything.
- Use a device the other person has never had access to, such as a friend's phone or a library computer, for sensitive searches and calls.
- Write down what makes you suspicious, with dates: things they knew, settings that changed, apps you do not recognize.
- Ask the advocate before checking signed-in devices, and change nothing yet.
- Plan with the advocate when and how to change passwords, check the phone, or replace it.
- Keep using the monitored phone normally for ordinary things while you plan, if that keeps you safer.
Stop and call a professional if
- you believe someone is monitoring your phone: call a domestic violence hotline from a safe device, in the US 1-800-799-7233
- you are in immediate danger: call your local emergency number, 911 in the US
Common mistakes
- Deleting suspicious apps immediately, which can escalate danger.
- Researching help on the device you think is monitored.
- Confronting the person before a safety plan is in place.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: How to tell if your phone is being tracked
What to say
Signs your phone may be monitored include someone knowing things they could only learn from your messages or location, unknown apps or device management profiles, settings changed without you, or a partner who had your phone and passcode. Removing monitoring software can alert the person who installed it, so plan before you remove anything and talk to a domestic violence hotline first.
What to show
- Contact a domestic violence hotline first; advocates can help with technology safety planning before you change anything.
- Use a device the other person has never had access to, such as a friend's phone or a library computer, for sensitive searches and calls.
- Write down what makes you suspicious, with dates: things they knew, settings that changed, apps you do not recognize.
- Ask the advocate before checking signed-in devices, and change nothing yet.
- Plan with the advocate when and how to change passwords, check the phone, or replace it.
- Keep using the monitored phone normally for ordinary things while you plan, if that keeps you safer.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if you believe someone is monitoring your phone: call a domestic violence hotline from a safe device, in the US 1-800-799-7233.
Check question
Why plan before removing monitoring software?
Answer: Removing it can alert the person who installed it. A sudden change can tip someone off and increase risk.
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Quick quiz
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Related skills
Sources
- US national domestic violence hotline technology safety guidance, 2026. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .