Your smartphone can be used to track you in many ways, but you can keep this to a minimum if you're diligent. Here, we'll teach you how.
You probably use your phone for many business-related and personal reasons throughout the day. However, you may not realize that what you do on your phone is not necessarily private.
Here, we'll list three different ways someone can track your phone, but before that, let's look at who exactly can track your phone.
Who Is Tracking My Phone?
Phone tracking can happen in unexpected ways. Researchers have pointed out that the location-tracking features of many apps and phone operating systems could create risks for domestic abuse survivors. That's because someone only needs physical access to someone's phone to activate such capabilities. Plus, the device owner does not get alerts that another person turned on tracking.
It's also increasingly likely that your workplace tracks your phone use. That's especially true if you have a company-issued device or connect your smartphone to a corporate network.
Beyond that, you can't overlook that many apps and phone services have built-in tracking. Sometimes, those features can help, such as how Android shows users places near their current locations to help them get to know the area. However, people don't know apps track them in the background in other cases.
A 2019 investigation by The New York Times involved a team examining 250 iPhone apps to see if and how the products tracked users. The results showed nearly two-thirds of them collected data about the respective people.
Communications service providers also engage in phone tracking. That's because each phone sends personal identifiers to the cell towers owned by those companies. It's a necessary part of connectivity because phone companies must verify your location and that you are a customer. However, research is underway to provide that authentication while anonymizing your identity.
Is There a Code to Check If Your Phone Is Monitored?
Some people detect warning signs of possible phone tracking. For example, they may notice that the device slows down or pick up on other unexpected performance changes. However, tracking tools are not always so obvious.
Industry experts indicate that you can dial various codes that will give responses to show potential tracking. Dialing *#61# will reportedly tell you if incoming calls get forwarded to a different number. Similarly, using *#62# indicates if diversion software prevents calls and texts from reaching you at all.
However, getting confirmation from these codes is not always a bad thing. For example, people with active voicemail boxes will see calls getting forwarded to them after using the *#61# code.
How to Block My Phone From Being Tracked
Reducing phone tracking is a goal within your control. It's easier than you might think, provided you know the options.
1. Airplane Mode and Deactivate GPS Location Settings
When you turn on your phone's airplane mode feature, it prevents the cellular and Wi-Fi networks from achieving the connections that let tracking occur. After selecting Airplane Mode, check the status of your phone's GPS or location features. Airplane mode often automatically disables location settings after activation, but it's best to check and make sure.
Turning off these features also means you can't use your phone for calls or mobile data, though. Regardless, it's a quick way to stop tracking but not ideal for long-term use.
2. Engage With Operating System Settings
People who are highly concerned about app-based tracking can often curb it by tweaking OS-based settings. Recent versions of Apple's iOS allow people to disable tracking for all apps or individual ones.
Google also recently announced a similar feature for Android called the Privacy Sandbox. It will limit personal data transferred to third parties and not allow tracking activities to persist across apps.
3. Switch to a Privacy-Focused Browser
Most people consider Google Chrome as the leading web browser. However, they may not realize that it tracks users' online activities. You can go through various steps to disable Google's tracking aspects.
Another option is to start using a browser that tracks you less or doesn't track at all. These browsers won't give you the personalized search results that most options with trackers do. However, they may provide you with more peace of mind about privacy.
Increased Awareness Reduces Surprises
Besides going through the three suggestions above, consider becoming more aware of how and when tracking happens. For example, look over any contracts or similar documents from your workplace that may disclose whether your boss tracks your phone activity.
It's also a great practice to review the terms of service for all apps you use or may download. Search for any language that specifies what information the provider gathers and why. Then, use that information to decide whether to change your usage behavior.
You can't halt all tracking and retain your phone's basic functionality. However, these strategies will help you reduce it.
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