Smartphone security: How to protect privacy and detect spyware

Smartphone users can improve their digital security and detect potential spying by monitoring device behavior and adjusting specific settings. Key preventative measures include using complex screen locks rather than simple PINs, enabling biometric authentication, and ensuring automatic software updates are active to patch security vulnerabilities.

Users should also audit app permissions, specifically limiting location access to only necessary applications. To identify if a device has already been compromised by spyware, individuals should look for subtle signs such as unexpected device warmth, rapid battery depletion, sluggish performance, or sudden, unexplained spikes in mobile data usage, as spyware requires data to transmit collected information to external parties.