Is There Spyware on Your Android? Here’s How to Kill It!

The idea of spyware on a phone sounds foreign to some — but when you consider that your smartphone is essentially a very compact computer, it begins to make more sense. Not only is your phone a mobile computer, it also holds your most important usernames, passwords and data!

This pocket-sized computer is vulnerable to the same viruses and spyware as your PC or laptop. In fact, it may even have spyware on it right now!

How to Detect Spyware on your Phone

Luckily, it is possible to detect—and remove! (we’ll tell you about that later)–spyware from your phone. Here’s a few tips to get you started:

1. Be on the Lookout for Odd Behavior

Odd behavior, like randomly shutting down, suddenly running slow and peculiar noises are giant red flags when it comes to spyware.

2. Battery Use

Another big red flag is if your phone suddenly starts consuming its battery charge significantly faster than normal. While phone batteries degrade over time naturally, this process is usually gradual. If you experience a sudden drop in battery performance, you may have spyware or tracking software running in the background.

3. Unexplained Data Usage

If your phone is suddenly using more data than normal (without you having used more data-consuming apps than usual), then spyware may be sending data back to another source.

4. It Takes a Long Time to Shut Down

Spyware programs can cause delays in shutting down your phone. If your Android device doesn’t shut down quickly (which they normally do if they’re updated on their software) it may be a sign that the spyware is fighting the shutdown.

5. Strange Apps

If there’s an app (or apps) on your phone that you don’t recognize and don’t remember downloading—they could be spyware. Don’t open them though; remove them with the right software (see below).

6. Slow and Hot

Should your phone suddenly run slower or hotter (especially when it gets warm while not in use), this could be a sign of spyware too.

How to Kill the Spyware—Safely!

Luckily, there is software you can install on your phone that will detect and remove the spyware…in a safe manner—because if you aren’t sure how to remove it, you could trigger a malware attack. Try our Antivirus app to find and kill any and all spyware in your phone!