Worried that someone might be spying on you through your phone camera? You are not alone. Most people have read horror stories about people being watched using their webcams but now your phone camera could be a risk.
Find out how someone can see you through your phone camera.
There are plenty of safety and security risks that you need to deal with when using a modern device.
In the past, mobile phones had limited functionality: they could only be used for making and receiving calls, and for sending a few text messages.
Nowadays, however, that is not the case.
Can Someone See Through Your Phone Camera?
This is real – they can and it is easier than most people imagine.
The fact that someone could spy on you through hacking your phone camera is actually quite worrying, and this becomes worse when you realize that it has happened in the past. People have often been hacked through their laptop cameras, and their personal lives have been exposed.
On top of that, hackers often use the videos and photos that they capture to threaten the victims.
Nowadays, there are plenty of spyware products that are used by hackers to gain access to a victim’s device. In fact, you don’t even need any technical knowledge to start hacking.
These tools cost as little as $30 on a subscription basis, and some even offer a free trial. The fact that these tools are so readily available only means that you don’t need to be a technical expert to get hacking.
More importantly, anyone with a bit of money in their pocket and some devious intent could start hacking devices.
Obviously, there are some factors involved. For instance, hacking isn’t straightforward; it also depends on the kind of device or the operating system that the victim will be using.
Apple and Android both release security updates on a regular basis, patching any kind of vulnerability that comes up. So, there is always a risk that the hack will stop working at any point in time.
More importantly, there is a bit of complexity involved in running hacks that hijack certain components of your device, such as the mobile phone camera.
Obviously, with Apple devices, this is a bit more complicated; the hacker will also need to first jailbreak your device to gain access to the internal file system and then install the app.
To do this, hackers would usually require physical access to your device. They will have to physically tamper with the device to install the file system.
How Can Spyware Be Used to Control the Camera?
There are a bunch of different spyware products available in the market that can take remote control of your camera. Hackers will be able to use your mobile phone camera to take pictures and they can even sell your photos on the black market.
It’s a disturbing thought, but there are many things that hackers can do, some of them are discussed below.
Capturing Photos:
They can easily use the camera to capture photos at random points during the day or night. Most people usually stare at their cameras throughout the course of the day, and there is a risk that a hacker will steal this information directly.
They can basically use your phone camera remotely once the spy app has been installed. The worst part is that you will not know as the apps are well hidden.
See All Your Photos:
Using spy apps it is possible for the hacker to gain access to your phone gallery. This means they can see your phone pictures and even download them.
Do you realise how many places your profile photo can be? Even without using hacking apps someone can find your name from just a picture. And a lot of other information is easily found by searching your online profiles. Something to consider!
Video Recording:
Another thing that hackers can do is use spyware to remotely record videos on your device. It sounds disturbing, but it does happen. Hackers can record video on your device without you ever finding out. They can also upload these videos to an online database.
Remote Monitoring:
Hackers can use the camera to remotely monitor your behavior. They can literally watch you do things “live” while simply running commands from another place. It’s an incredibly disturbing thing and hackers can cause serious damage by simply recording you live.
Keep in mind that this spy software has many other capabilities. They don’t just hack your camera and pictures – they can reveal almost everything your phone is used for including all texts, social media accounts and even GPRS tracking.
Have a look at my reviews page to find out more about these spy apps and what they are able to monitor.
How to Check If Your Camera Is Hacked
This can be quite difficult but I have a few security guides to help. In some cases, you won’t ever be able to figure out if your camera or microphone has been hacked.
However, you should know that if your device does get hacked, it’s probably going to start using up more battery, and you will also find that the phone gets hotter much quicker.
If you notice this happening, you should check the permissions about different apps that are using the camera or microphone. This will give you a better idea about what’s using your device and what isn’t.
See my main guides on spyware detection and how to know if your phone has been hacked – these have lots of useful information to help you.
Don’t underestimate this – someone really can see through your phone camera. Now you have something else to worry about!
