Your phone contains a wealth of information about you, which is valuable in this data-driven economy. It collects data like your browsing history, location, contacts, photos, and conversations. Whether you use a budget phone or a flagship device, there’s no doubt that it can track you via GPS, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. If you suspect your Android device is spying on you and sharing your data with hackers, scammers, or advertisers, we have a few tips to make your phone hard to track.

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How your phone spies on you

Spyware can track your online activity without your knowledge and gather sensitive information about you. It can collect your banking info, credit card details, login credentials, chats, and browsing history. You may get spyware on your phone if you download a suspicious app from the Play Store. Phishing scams can also trick you into downloading malware and exposing sensitive information.

How to prevent your phone from tracking you

Spyware is notoriously difficult to detect, but you may notice a few red flags that indicate your phone is infected. Your phone may have spyware if you see random pop-ups, unsolicited advertisements, and odd messages or emails. You may notice unusual behavior where the performance appears sluggish, apps freeze, or the phone reboots randomly. You can check for spyware or suspicious files by looking at app permissions and files in the downloads folder. If nothing fixes the issue, try performing a factory reset.

Here are a few ways to avoid spyware and stop your phone from spying on you.

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Review your phone’s app permissions

Some applications may request access to your contacts, location, microphone, and camera even when it isn’t necessary. You can revoke permissions to prevent apps from collecting sensitive data.

Here’s how to check app permissions on your phone:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap Privacy.
  3. Select Permission Manager.
  4. Choose a permission type.
  5. Check which apps have access.
  6. Tap Don’t allow to remove unnecessary permissions.

Turn off Google’s voice recording

When you speak to Google services like Assistant, Search, and Maps, they may record your voice interactions. You can turn off voice and audio activity if you don’t want Google to save your recordings.

Here’s how to switch off Google’s voice recording:

  1. Go to the Google activity page.
  2. Select Web & App Activity.
  3. Uncheck the Include voice and audio activity option.

Switch off location tracking

Some applications may track your location in the background even after you close them. Here’s how to stop unnecessary location tracking:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Select Location.
  3. Choose an app.
  4. Tap Permissions.
  5. Choose Location.
  6. Select Allow only while using the app or Don’t allow if the app doesn’t require access to your location.

Turn off Google’s personalized ads

It’s no secret that Google tracks everything you do online. It uses this data to serve ads that are relevant to you. If personalized advertisements feel too intrusive, you can turn it off and limit ad tracking.

Here’s how to turn off ad personalization:

  1. Open your Google Account page in a browser.
  2. Go to the Data & privacy tab.
  3. Tap My Ad Center under the Personalized ads section.
  4. Turn off the toggle beside Personalized ads.

Review Google’s privacy settings

You can review how Google uses your data on its Privacy Checkup page. It lets you delete your timeline data, change how your profile appears to others, and remove access to third-party services.

Here’s how to perform a Google privacy checkup:

  1. Visit the Google Account page.
  2. Tap Take Privacy Checkup under the Privacy Checkup section.
  3. Review your Timeline settings, profile info, third-party connections, YouTube subscription details, and other preferences.
  4. Tap Done.

Turn off “Hey Google” detection

Your phone may be listening for the wake word Hey Google even when you’re not using Assistant. You can turn off “Hey Google” detection if you don’t want to invoke Google Assistant accidentally. It’s worth noting that you can still access Assistant from the Assistant app or by holding the home button.

Here’s how to prevent Google Assistant from always listening to your conversations:

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Google.
  3. Go to the All services tab.
  4. Tap Search, Assistant & Voice.
  5. Select Google Assistant.
  6. Tap Voice Match.
  7. Toggle off Hey Google.

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Safeguard your phone from critical threats

Protecting your phone from scammers, hackers, and other malicious actors is crucial since it contains sensitive information about you. With the tips in this guide, you can safeguard your data by making your phone hard to track. Stay safe online by protecting your device against malware, viruses, and phishing scams.