I’ve heard from many people who have been cyberstalked over the years. Sadly, today’s tech makes it all too easy.

Take Apple AirTags, for example. They’re cheap, small, and easy to hide – and can tell the owner exactly where you are located.

Then there are the people convinced someone is listening in on their calls or reading their texts. Sometimes, I believe something is going on. Other times, paranoia has set in. It’s not always easy to tell if your phone has been compromised. Here are some tips for diagnosing a hacked phone:

How does this happen in the first place?

A person doesn’t necessarily have to be a hacker to get into your phone. Someone can hold your phone to your face when you’re sleeping and unlock it. This one act lets them snoop through your device without your knowledge.

Then there’s software that does the job. Stalkerware is designed to track you using GPS, call logs, messages, images, browser history, and more. This software can be hidden behind another app that seems harmless. T

There are harmful files and malicious links that can infect your phone without your knowledge. Something as innocuous as a PDF file can carry some poisonous data. That’s why it’s so important to be careful what you click.

What about apps? Sketchy downloads can imitate well-known apps or try their luck to trick you into downloading and running them. Once you do so, your phone is infected with malware.