Can Hackers Look Through Your Phone’s Camera?

Phones have become a man’s best friend, and we are sure it is no different from you. If you notice carefully, you do not leave your phone anywhere for even a second. There can be several reasons for the same, like work, social media, chatting with friends, etc. If you do not agree with the fact that you spend way too much time on the phone, you can go to the settings of your phone and check your daily usage. The stats will show you how long you use your phone each day. And that is just the usage, as it does not include the point that your phone is with you for the whole day. Now imagine if someone gain’s access to your phone’s camera. Looking at how surrounded you are with your phone simply means that anyone can access your life through your phone’s camera.

Hacking has become a common practice in the last few years. And no matter how safe you think you are, hackers will always find a way to access your network or systems. To keep your confidential information secure, you can encrypt or protect your data using passwords. But what if the hackers reach your device’s camera? That brings us to the primary question of this whole discussion. Can hackers look through your phone’s camera?

The answer to that question is, YES! Anyone with proper hacking skills and computer knowledge can gain access to your computer or phone’s camera. This is called confecting, where some person accesses your webcam without your permission. The problem here is that you won’t even know when these people will be spying on you. So they are capable of recording videos or clicking pictures of you without your consent. Let’s dig a little deeper into this matter and see who can spy you and how can you save yourself from these hackers.

Why Would Someone Spy You?

You might be thinking, why would someone spy a regular person like you? But gone are the days when people took information from only government or official authorities. Now a person out of nowhere can spy on you for no particular reason. Even though this spying comes under criminal offense, most cyber police fail to track these hackers. That makes them even more confident about accessing some else’s life without their consent.

Also, the hacker might be someone you already know, like a work colleague, or a classmate, or someone from your friends’ group, etc. They might do the hacking exercise just for fun or to gain access to your life through your devices.

These all points solely concludes to one fact, that no matter who you are, you are still prone to a camfecting activity.

How To Know If Your Phone’s Camera Is Hacked?

As mentioned above, you cannot easily know if your phone’s camera is under camfecting or not. Here are a few changes that you can notice on your phone and check if the camera is hacked.

• Excess Data Usage: We all have turned on internet services on our phone. While it can be one of the primary sources of hacking, it can also help in checking if the phone has been hacked or not. You can check your internet bill at the end of the month, and if you notice any excessive data usage that you are not aware of using, then your phone might be hacked.
• Low Battery Life: Your phone’s battery is supposed to get weaker with time. But if you notice a random drop in the battery, you should consider getting your phone checked.
• Random Activities: These can include irrelevant or random pop-ups, crashing of apps, phone freezing, and unknown calls or messages being sent. These activities might indicate a hacking operation.
• Threats: This is the direct indication of a hacked phone camera. Someone might send you pictures of you that you never clicked. If they were taken at some public place, then they might be stalking you. However, if they are taken in the areas where you were alone, then it can be a result of your phone’s hacked camera.

How To Secure Your Phone’s Camera From Getting Hacked?

Everyone should take precautions to secure their devices or webcams. But the security becomes even crucial if you are suspecting some hacking activity on your phone. Here are two ways in which you can keep yourself secure from camfecting.

• Keeping camera Covered: Hackers cannot access your phone’s camera when it switched off. But that generally never happens. You need to keep your phone’s camera covered so that even if they open the camera, they cannot see anything through it. You can buy a camera protector online, which is used as a sticker and slides whenever you want to use the camera.
• Securing Network And Devices: You might have already installed high-end security softwares on your PC. However, if you have left your phone and network insecure, then hackers can access any of your devices. So you have to secure your phone as well as the network that you use.

Along with your phone’s camera, its microphone is equally prone to get hacked. So you also need to mask it if you do not want anyone to listen to everything that you say.

Precautions To Take

These were security measures that you can take for securing your phone’s camera. But along with them, you also need to take some precautions which will avoid any kind of malicious activity on your phone.

• Download Trusted Software: Many software or apps interest you with significant offers. But if the app is not trusted, you should avoid downloading it.
• Do Not Open Random Links: Hackers might send you links from which they can access your devices. So you should avoid opening any random links you receive in email or a pop-up.

Conclusion

In today’s internet era, it is crucial to keep your devices safe. You can bear information loss for once, but if someone accesses your personal lives without your consent, that might be something severe. That is why securing your phone’s camera and microphone is necessary than anything else. If you experience some malicious activity on your phone, you get it checked by a professional or simply reset your phone to its factory settings. It will help you in avoiding any inconvenience.