Choosing a secure messenger is only part of protecting your conversations. If your phone is infected, messages can become exposed on the device itself, even when encryption protects them in transit. One possible cause is spyware on your phone, which can collect information through permissions granted on your device.
What 'hacking all messengers' really means
Claims about 'hacking all messengers' are misleading: no universal tool can read every conversation. Spyware on your phone may, however, collect information that its permissions make available.
Two different risks to understand:
-
hacking a messenger — an attack on the application's own security;
-
access to your account — entry through a session linked to your account.
An infected phone presents a separate problem. Depending on its permissions, spyware may access notifications, screen content or location without taking control of your account. Checking your phone and reviewing linked devices in each messenger address different parts of the risk.
How phone spyware works
What a spy app can collect depends on your operating system, its safeguards and the permissions granted. Excessive permissions may let an app gather information and track activity on your own phone, including notification content or access to your location.
On Android, review unfamiliar apps with notification access, accessibility permissions or device administration privileges. Legitimate apps use these features too, so a permission alone does not prove infection. Check which app has it, why it needs it and whether you recognize installing it.
On iPhone, review unfamiliar apps, sensitive permissions, configuration profiles and device management settings. Check devices connected to your Apple Account separately: an unfamiliar account login and an infected phone call for different responses.
Spyware does not always cause obvious problems. Equally, a hot phone or a draining battery cannot, by itself, reliably identify a spyware infection on your device. Look for a combination of clues: unfamiliar apps, unexpected permissions, increased background data use and login alerts.
Why secure messengers still need a secure phone
End-to-end encryption protects messages between the devices in a conversation, but your phone displays them in readable form. An app with access to notifications or screen content may expose some information there. Your recovery email, cloud backups and sessions left open on other devices also need protection.
Review these four areas of protection:
-
Login codes and notification privacy.
Never give anyone your login codes, including anyone claiming to be support. Hide sensitive notification content on your lock screen. Where your messenger offers an additional login password, PIN or two-step verification, enable it. -
Cloud account and backup security. Review devices connected to your cloud account and check its recovery options. Use a unique password and two-factor authentication. If encrypted backups are available, keep their password or recovery key somewhere safe.
Your phone number and recovery email. Make sure you control your recovery email and can receive messages on your number. Review backup contacts in your account settings. If mobile service disappears unexpectedly, ask your carrier to check your SIM.
Everyday safeguards. Use different passwords and install system and app updates. Treat requests for notification access or phone administration as decisions to review. Check what a feature does and where the app came from before granting it sensitive permissions.
These checks reduce the risk of account hacking and information leaking from your phone. If you use remote access software on your own device, review its settings and disable connections you no longer need. Even a legitimate support app needs limits that you understand and control.
How to find and remove spyware from your phone
Before investigating a suspected infection, prepare a trusted device and make sure you can access your own email and phone number. Avoid entering new passwords on the suspect phone until you have checked it. If you see clear suspicious activity, consider disconnecting it from the network temporarily, remembering that this interrupts calls, messaging and synchronization.
Work through the checks that apply to your phone:
-
1. Review your Android apps.
Inspect installed apps and their permissions, especially notification access, accessibility and device administration. Revoke unnecessary privileges from suspicious apps, then uninstall them. Run the built-in security scan or a reputable antivirus. -
2. Check iPhone permissions and profiles. Remove unfamiliar apps and review microphone, camera and location permissions. Check configuration profiles and device management in settings. On a work phone, ask your administrator what an unfamiliar profile does before removing it.
3. Update your phone; consider a reset. Install available updates. If suspicious changes return or you cannot assess the phone reliably, consider a reset using the manufacturer's instructions. Save essential files and account recovery details first: a factory reset erases local device content.
After cleaning your phone, reinstall only the apps you need from trusted sources. Review what you restore from backups, because restoring your previous setup may bring a suspicious app back. A phone reset does not necessarily close messenger sessions or change account passwords. Review those separately from a trusted device.
Keep login alerts and the names of suspicious apps if you need to contact support. A cooler phone alone does not establish that the problem is resolved. Check that unfamiliar apps, excessive permissions and unknown account sessions are gone.
Check your messenger devices and sessions
Open the linked devices or active sessions section in each messenger you use, such as Viber, Telegram or WhatsApp. Labels vary between services. Compare the entries with your own phones, computers and browsers, including devices you have stopped using.
Session details help with tracking unfamiliar logins, but they need context. Background activity can update a session's timestamp, and a mobile network or VPN can affect its approximate location. Compare several clues.
Check these details in your session list:
-
Names of connected devices, matching each entry to your own phone, browser or computer.
-
Login times and recent activity, looking for events you do not recognize and cannot explain.
The reported connection location, allowing for approximate location data and the effects of a VPN or mobile network.
Old or unused sessions, ending connections on your own lost, sold or retired devices.
Close unknown sessions, then change relevant passwords from a clean device and enable additional login protection. Review your email and cloud accounts as well. If you cannot sign in, follow the service's official recovery process. Enter verification codes only in that service's official app or website; never send them to someone offering recovery help.
How to prevent spyware from returning to your phone
After removing spyware, reduce the chance of reinstallation. Secure your lock screen, then review your remaining permissions for apps with sensitive phone access and decide whether each is necessary. Microphone, notification and location access should match an app's purpose. Revoke permissions you cannot explain.
Choose trusted sources for your apps and check the developer and purpose before installing. Avoid app files or configuration profiles linked in unexpected messages. If an installation asks you to disable phone protection, stop and verify the source through a separate, trusted channel.
Enable updates and stronger login protection, keeping recovery codes somewhere safe outside your phone if the service provides them. Regularly review your devices and sessions, especially after repairs, losing your phone or receiving an alert about a login you do not recognize.
If you have lost access, recovery depends on the service's rules and your ability to prove ownership. Specialist help cannot replace that check or guarantee deleted chats. Regain control of your number and email first, then recover connected accounts.
Recovering after spyware means checking your phone, closing unfamiliar sessions and securing your own accounts. For help with your account security checks and official access recovery, contact HackMachine. We help owners work through the available steps and required checks. Ownership is confirmed using a code or access received by you through the relevant service. Whether messages can be restored depends on surviving data and your backups; permanently deleted content cannot be recovered. Once you regain access, review linked devices, sessions and security settings again.