People frequently inquire about the possibility of having their text messages read by those attempting to steal their personal information. In this post, we’ll discuss how big of a risk it poses to iPhone users like you and what you can do to make sure you’re completely secured.
Is it possible to track my SMS messages?
You should be aware that it is possible for someone to spy on your text messages since doing so might give a hacker access to a lot of your personal information, including PIN numbers given by websites required to confirm your identity (such as online banking).
The following are some ways that someone may read your SMS gateway:
- They might try to see them on your iPhone by physically grabbing it or stealing it.
- Anybody who has access to the credentials for that account or even has their phone connected to the same account (a family member, for example) might possibly read your private text messages if you backup or sync your phone to iCloud.
- Any data on your iPhone, including all of your text messages, may be accessed remotely if spyware has been installed on your device.
How do I make sure that nobody reads my messages?
Fortunately, there are a few strategies you may employ to keep others from reading your text messages:
Make your passcode strong
This makes it considerably more difficult for someone to figure out your passcode and stops anyone who takes your phone from accessing and reading your messages. The best passcode is one that is longer. The ideal password length, according to this story on US police hacking iPhone passcodes, is between 9 and 12 characters.
Stop forwarding text messages
This functionality enables iMessages to be received by additional devices signed into the same iCloud account. If you have numerous Apple devices, this is fantastic, but if you share your account with a friend or family member, they will see your messages on their device.
The greatest defence against this is to keep your account private. Having individual accounts for each person makes things considerably more secure.
By selecting Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding, you can also simply turn off text message forwarding.
Turn off message previews on the lock screen
There may be a security risk if fresh message previews show up on your device’s lock screen. With no need to log into your iPhone, someone may easily read your text messages thanks to this.
Select “Never” or “When Unlocked” under Settings > Notifications > Messages > Show Previews to turn off this function.
Utilize an anti-theft app
By employing several triggers to detect interference, apps like iAntiTheft enable you to utilize an alert to either capture or dissuade any would-be snoopers from messing with your phone (e.g. when the device is moved or when the power cable is unplugged).
Enable two-factor iCloud authentication.
In addition to employing a password, this feature’s activation offers another level of security. As all login attempts involve entering a special code that is shown on the device linked with the account, this feature necessitates that any attackers also have physical access to your device.
Even if the hacker has the account credentials, this inhibits any hacking efforts.
By turning on this option, you’ll also be able to disable iCloud monitoring programmes like Highster, a paid surveillance service frequently used to keep an eye on the iPhone backup data of victims.
To secure your device, install security software
Installing some defensive software that can scan your device to make sure nothing dangerous has been loaded may sometimes be the only option to totally safeguard yourself.
Software, which we developed, is intended to safeguard you from external threats and check for any spyware that may have been placed on your device as well as any other indications of hacking.
After using Certo AntiSpy to scan your smartphone for spyware, you may further strengthen the security of your iPhone by keeping it updated, using a strong passcode, and turning on two-factor authentication.
How about the additional data on my iPhone?
If a hacker is successful in installing spyware on your smartphone, they will be able to extract information other than just text messages, such as:
- Message boards (Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, etc)
- Videos and images
- History of your browser
- Online profiles (email, online banking, social media, etc)
- GPS coordinates (both live-view and a history of locations visited)
- Making calls (again, they can be accessed either live or recorded)
- Any app login information that is installed on the device (dating apps, social media apps, etc)
As you can see, that’s a tremendous amount of data, enough for someone to really harm your life and identity. Because of this, we at Certo are quite dedicated to assisting our clients in protecting their smartphones.
Report spam or unwanted email
You may notify Apple about spam communications received via iMessage. Additionally, you may be able to report SMS gateway and MMS spam, depending on your carrier and the nation or area.
Touch and hold the spam message in the message list, then select Report Junk. Alternatively, if the mail has already been opened, scroll to the bottom of the message, choose Report Junk, then select Delete and Report Junk.
The communication is permanently removed from your device and the sender’s information is transmitted to Apple.
The sender can still send messages even after you report them as spam or trash, but you can stop receiving them by blocking the sender’s phone number.