In today’s connected environment, the security and privacy of personal devices is something that users cannot ignore. As smartphones provide easy access to many aspects of someone’s personal and professional lives, unauthorized access to these devices could be catastrophic as it could provide hackers with a treasure trove of personal and sensitive information. An iOS device such as an iPhone might seem to be more secure compared to others due to upgradeable security measures and policies like the Touch ID and Face ID features. But just like the others, the iPhone is still vulnerable to other kinds of hacking, mainly malware and other data intrusions made through other means.
Given the iPhone’s more than 50% market share in the United States, it is important for the public to know the potential risks and threats they may face if their devices are hacked. Attackers or hackers can gain access to the iPhone system via various exploits available in the field of iPhone forensics and get to know the evidence of these exploits. Since the first appearance of the iPhone in 2007, Apple has upgraded the touchscreen of the iPhone significantly in terms of built-in security like passcode, encryption, activation lock, and application permission.
Touch ID and Face ID are the latest tools to unlock the security system in the iPhone. Despite these additional mechanisms and features, they have not been enough to prevent unauthorized access. Given the near-global accessibility of iPhones, users need to be proactive in utilizing all possible features while worrying about the complexity of secure systems, knowing that any crime could lead people to be wary of innovations.
iPhone Security Features

The iPhone is known for its high level of security, and it has several built-in security features designed to protect your data from hacking and unauthorized access. For example, the iPhone is equipped with two different biometric security features: Face ID, which uses facial recognition software to scan and recognize your face, and Touch ID, which uses a fingerprint sensor built into the Home button. Both of these security features are very difficult to hack. In addition, the iPhone uses encryption software to protect the data stored on the device, such as your saved passwords, emails, contact information, and other personal details. Before an iPhone is even opened and turned on for the first time, it undergoes a secure boot process to ensure that significant security measures are taken to prevent hacking and unauthorized access.
The iPhone’s operating system, known as iOS, is the foundation for all of the apps and features that run on the iPhone. iOS is regularly updated to include new features and to address any security vulnerabilities that hackers could use to hack into the iPhone. This is why it is important to always update iOS to the latest version. In addition to the iOS security updates, it is important to be careful about the permissions you give to the apps you install on your iPhone. If an app requests an excessive amount of permissions, or asks for unnecessary permissions, such as access to your location data when the purpose of the app does not require it, consider not installing the app, or adjust the permissions that you give it. Some apps may ask for certain permissions in order to provide a better, more personalized user experience, such as location data when using a food delivery app. However, if you don’t feel comfortable providing that permission, you can manage the permissions of all the apps on the iPhone within the settings of the app store.
In general, Apple’s goal is to protect the security of the iPhone user and to never track their personal data without their knowledge and consent. As a result, it does not install a great deal of pre-installed or third-party apps that track your activity or collect personal information. Furthermore, if you lose your iPhone, you may be able to find it using the Find My iPhone feature. If a device is lost or stolen, Find My iPhone will display the last known location as well as the device’s current battery life. If the lost device is nearby, Find My iPhone has an option to make it play a sound so you can locate it.
Common Signs of iPhone Hacking
Unfortunately, smartphones are vulnerable to hackers, and using them responsibly requires some vigilance. While many signs of hacking are less severe models of what can happen to you in the case of a serious breach, they’re still annoying, concerning, and should be taken care of as soon as they’re noticed. Regular, recurrent pop-ups are a common sign of hacking, but these shouldn’t be confused with the pop-ups that some websites like to include. If these pop-ups are frequent, or if legitimate websites are giving you these messages, there’s definitely something wrong. If you’re plagued by continual pop-ups, there’s a good chance that malware is to blame. If you’re really unlucky, the pop-ups could be a sign of a phishing attack.
Performance issues are a telltale sign that something’s wrong. Even if nothing else happens, being unable to use your iPhone properly would be frustrating. There are a number of things that can cause performance issues on your iPhone, like a buildup of caches. Malware infections, which can happen without the user knowing, are also at risk of slowing down your phone. Signs that you have a malware issue will be jerky scrolling, the time it takes for apps to open, chunky performance, and more. If you feel like your iPhone is not performing properly, there definitely is something wrong with it. Some telltale signs that your iPhone has been hacked include difficulty accessing an account, a change in behavior or appearance, suddenly empty wallets, an unrecognized cash app account, or mysterious sightings of the mail app. If you notice any of these, it will be time to restore your device.
Unexplained Battery Drain
A complaint that regularly appears in support forums is the sudden, inexplicable drop in battery life. Accustomed to normal battery life for years, a user suddenly experiences reduced battery capacity with no new installation or global changes. This could be an indication of hacking. When a hack is occurring on a device, it can increase battery usage. Malicious software running in the background is using your device’s resources. In some hackers’ cases, they may use your camera, microphone, GPS, and other functions in the background. These activities consume more power. An experienced hacker can attempt to manipulate the output of battery statistics to show usage that might be plausible against real user data depending on what they are up to. However, as of now, no hackers have marketed products to accomplish this level of obfuscation to the public, and doing so is an incredibly complex and high-level technique.
Users are encouraged to become conversant with their own regular battery usage habits. Switching between low battery use and high battery use activities throughout a week is normal. Using the Settings app to check on the battery is a user-tested behavior for determining usage patterns and identifying when the battery loss is beyond expectation. The troubleshooting warning to restart the device is sometimes very useful, so always try doing that just to get it out of the way. Checking battery health is very easy and can point to the problem. Open Settings, tap on Battery, then Battery Health. Maximum Capacity will show how much of your phone’s battery is still in peak operation. The lower the percentage, the less effective the battery, but this won’t make a difference if the battery is healthy. Also, consider adjusting Background App Refresh controls. These can be found in Settings under General. If Background App Refresh is functioning, then apps are possibly doing things behind the scenes that are causing battery usage. If Background App Refresh is set to Wi-Fi and Cellular Data, try setting apps to use Wi-Fi only. Developers often do it this way so that short background updates used for apps don’t use cell data. While a significant drain in your battery is a concern, the majority of reasons are not related to hacking. Book an appointment with the support team.
Checking for Suspicious Activity
One of the most effective ways to check if someone is trying to hack into your iPhone is to check for evidence of hacking and unauthorized access. To do this, you need to review the recent activity and logs of the iPhone to see if there are any unauthorized communications. Checking recent calls and voicemail will be the easiest way to catch this. As part of checking for unauthorized communications, you will review the recent calls and missed calls on the iPhone, and also check the call log online if your iPhone uses Wi-Fi calling. You will also read the text messages and iMessages on the iPhone, and also check the texts and iMessages online at your cell carrier’s website if possible.
You can check for signs of hacking or other issues in many different apps on an iPhone. This is not a complete guide to checking for unauthorized activity, as it is impossible to cover all of the applications on an iPhone. You can have more than one of these issues or numbers to look at as some of these issues overlap. This list should give you a good start in trying to check the iPhone for signs of hacking. You will also want to check for signs of tampering and signs of unauthorized access in the app settings. Many times, unauthorized access will cause the settings in the apps to change. Check the default settings to see if any of them have been tampered with.
Most importantly, you should check for unauthorized charges, billing, or app installations. It is easy to miss these charges because they often get hidden among all of your other unrelated charges. Only by reviewing your credit card statement and cell phone bill for unexpected charges can you know for sure if you are being hacked. You can also review your account activity online for all of your connected accounts to ensure you are not being hacked. This will raise your awareness of any potential unauthorized access that may be occurring. To ensure that you really are aware of all activities happening, you should keep track of every email sent to you or every login to what account you have directly.
You should keep an eye out for slow or unresponsive programs running on your iPhone, as this could be a sign of hacking activity using high RAM or processor usage. Finally, you will check for hacks using monitoring services with your cell carrier or other related services to make sure you are not being hacked. If you are not outright being hacked, there should still be a way to catch hack attempts and practices in the making. It is crucial that you sign up for access to monitoring for all of your connected iPhone’s activity to also prevent hacking or prevent future hacking practices. Apple provides users with built-in tools for checking for signs of hacking and constantly monitors for signs of hacking. You should utilize the built-in tools when testing for hacking.
Apple has included the settings that a user needs to activate to monitor their device for signs of hacking. Since getting hacked without knowing it can easily occur with iPhones, which rely on regular backups, you should regularly utilize the tools available to check your iPhone and to keep it from getting hacked. Only by regularly checking for hacking and updating the apps can an iPhone remain secure.
Reviewing Recent Calls and Messages
It is prudent to occasionally review your recent calls and messages to check for signs of hacking. If a call or text message does not look familiar, then it is important to investigate. You can always telephone someone you know and ask if they tried to contact you. If you are convinced that any calls or texts were totally unfamiliar, then that is a starting point for further research. Recently, I received a text message from someone claiming to be a transportation department, which was an obvious phishing attempt. The problem was, I did not have that particular department’s facility manager in my contact list. Thus, it was a no-brainer.
Today’s camera phone technology virtually guarantees that any phone has a contact list app, making it easier for us to know who is on the cold end of a text or message. As such, updating our contact list would at least serve to help us filter out outright strangers trying to scam us. Cold calling is so pervasive for many of us that if we are somehow compelled to answer an unsolicited, random call that we did not expect, we should be particularly careful about excessive reveals of personal information.

Unsolicited text or message invitations to follow links to collect information and/or purchase items should be deleted immediately. Understand that unsolicited texts or messages are almost always an attempt to build a relationship for the purposes of acquiring personal information against your best interests. Only if you immediately recognize an incoming call or text as being from an unknown source have you accomplished the ability to manage and protect your personal information.
Only if you actually recognize that first unsolicited call or text message have you given yourself the power to deny it. And only if you regularly review your recent calls and messages are you best protected.
Protecting Your iPhone from Hacking
Apple works hard to address known security issues and release updates that keep your iPhone defense as strong as possible. Foremost among them is the critical importance of updating your device’s software. Being slow to install updates gives hackers more opportunity and information to undermine your iPhone. Malware can sometimes slip past Apple’s protection, so be careful about the apps you download and install.
Only use the official App Store. While rogue App Store apps can slip past Apple’s App Review team, malicious and fraudulent intent is their immediate focus. The App Store’s app approval process keeps almost all bad stuff out of circulation. The wisest app downloading advice is to read the user reviews, check out what ratings those users have given other apps, and manually look over the consents that it’s asking for.
Your Apple ID is the key to your iPhone. It’s what gives you access with iCloud. Your Apple ID logs into various Apple services. This is why you must protect your Apple ID; the prospect of somebody else gaining access to it can be rather severe. Always create a unique Apple ID password, one that you don’t use anywhere else, especially across various Apple services. When it gets hard, consider using a password manager to generate and recall secure, unique passwords. Other security best practices will go far. Be wary of unsolicited links.
Cybercriminals always try to get you to do something that you wouldn’t otherwise do, and clicking links within an unsolicited call, text, or email is the most popular phishing attack. If it’s believed to be spam, Apple will never ask you for personal information such as your Social Security number or account information. When a link appears to be from your bank or any other personal network, the best course of action is to visit the organization’s website directly or by calling them using a phone number you know. With a little education and decision-making, you can boost your iPhone’s security significantly.
Enabling Two-Factor Authentication
Two-factor authentication (2FA) can be an extra layer of protection for an iPhone. What it requires to access an account is something you know (such as a password) and something you have (such as a verification code). For example, when you log in to your Apple ID on a new device or browser, it could require this feature to be enabled. This setup usually comes at the policy of a service or provider.

For iPhone users, it may take a couple of minutes to review all the services and apps that are linked to the iPhone and enable 2FA. However, generally, it is worth pursuing for a more secure device. A variety of services that may be linked to an iPhone have 2FA, including various social media platforms and banks. Many banks also have this feature for mobile apps and accounts, and cryptocurrency accounts have two-factor authentication.
2FA prevents an unauthorized party from accessing your account even if they know your username or password. We have also seen 2FA prevent some hacking attempts. If the hacker doesn’t have access to your mobile phone or other verification options and does not know your passwords, he or she is likely to be unable to access your account again. It’s also a good idea to forget old accounts. If you’re unsure whether an account has been linked to an iPhone, it’s best to check. This security setting can minimize hacker attempts on iPhones.