Is Your Smartphone Watching You?

OUR phone lights up. You check a message—just a string of numbers and random characters. Odd. Then, your battery, which was fully charged an hour ago, is suddenly at 20%. Your phone feels hot to the touch, and you haven't even been using it.

- Prevention is the best cure

You might just dismiss it as a tech glitch, but cybersecurity experts warn these could be signs of something far more sinister—spying software or spyware. In today's hyper-connected world, smartphones have become our most personal devices—storing everything from intimate chats and financial data to work emails and location history. But what if someone else was secretly looking in?

Spy in your pocket Spyware is basically malicious software designed to monitor and misuse your phone secretly—logging keystrokes, tracking your location, recording calls or even activating your microphone and camera without your knowledge.

Some spyware is professionally built and sold on the dark web or even legally marketed as parental control or employee monitoring tools. Others are planted by someone with physical access to your device. This could be a suspicious partner, an overreaching employer or a hacker exploiting a security flaw.

Red flags you shouldn't ignore How do you know if you're being watched? Experts point to a series of common warning signs: