Ex installed hidden spyware in mobile device (LG Aristo 4+)

[Android Central Question]

How do I find hidden apps, figure out which apps don't belong (are actually apart of the phone's system), and delete these things?

 

[mustang7757]

How do you know your Ex installed Spyware?
What's the phone doing?

I'll leave a Link to register so you can communicate here as a guest account you can only post questions but can't reply

https://forums.androidcentral.com/showthread.php?t=409154

 

[joeldf]

Must not be all that well hidden if you know about it.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Remember that it can be very easy for other people to know where you are, what you're doing, and who you're doing it with if you overshare your life on social media -- "spyware" and "hacking" are often not needed (and unless your ex is a tech whiz kid, it's unlikely that they did some kind of Mr. Robot job on your phone).

 

[Dawn_dr]

It's a growing problem, how about helping out with some ideas instead of assuming something else. I don't use social media and I'm positive my phone has been tampered with. I don't even know where to begin, maybe some parental monitoring going on, for me I can't get into my device admin to see what that's set at. I had a few voice mails that had been recordings of everything that was going on in the room I was in wth few of my friends. I never answered my phone, i only heard the notification that i missed a call, i checked my voice mail and heard only the conversation that my friends and I said. So somehow my phone turned on the microphone when it went to voice mail. I don't know. But this stuff happens and continues

 

[Kizzy Catwoman]

It is really very difficult to hack a phone. Some apps can activate the microphone, if they are unrepeatable. I don't know what apps you have on your phone. Bluejacking like what happens in Person of Interest is not something that can work, as a user has to accept any Bluetooth requests made to their phone. And military standard software is not readily available. If your ex is not tech savvy or in the military, it is unlikely he has hacked your phone. What version of android is on it? Have you done all security updates on your phone? Have you installed so-called cleaners or spyware cleaning apps, because these often cause the problems they pretend to solve and are next to useless.

If you are really concerned about your ex the only thing we can tell you is to notify the police and ask them to investigate. They have software that can check your phone for you.

Good luck

 

[B. Diddy]

It's a growing problem, how about helping out with some ideas instead of assuming something else.

I'm sorry that this is happening to you, but you also need to understand that regardless of your situation, it is still very uncommon to get "hacked" in the way it's depicted on TV and in the movies. So when people post extremely vague and generalized pleas for help on this forum without providing any kinds of details, we have to make assumptions based on what's most common and most likely. The vast majority of these questions are never followed up, so we're left without any of those details. Fortunately, you've registered and responded, so maybe we can make some headway.

You mention parental monitoring -- are you a minor, or are you just wondering if somebody might be trying to control your device with parental monitoring software? They'd have to have physical possession of your phone to do that. Is the phone ever not in your possession?

You say you can't get into your device admin -- do you mean the Settings>Security>Device Administrators menu? What happens when you try -- is it all greyed out?

Regarding those voicemails -- what phone number were they from? Were they actually from your own phone number, or someone else?

One of the first troubleshooting steps would be to boot into Safe Mode, to see if these problems go away: https://www.hardreset.info/devices/lg/lg-aristo-4-plus/safe-mode/

 

[joeldf]

The last resort would be to do a factory reset. That clears out everything and puts the phone back in the condition it was in when first purchased. Then you can be sure of what's on it when you set everything back up.

 

[B. Diddy]

The last resort would be to do a factory reset. That clears out everything and puts the phone back in the condition it was in when first purchased. Then you can be sure of what's on it when you set everything back up.

I would also add that after the reset, do NOT restore from a backup. Set it up as if it were a brand new phone.

 

[Chuck Finley69]

It's a growing problem, how about helping out with some ideas instead of assuming something else. I don't use social media and I'm positive my phone has been tampered with. I don't even know where to begin, maybe some parental monitoring going on, for me I can't get into my device admin to see what that's set at. I had a few voice mails that had been recordings of everything that was going on in the room I was in wth few of my friends. I never answered my phone, i only heard the notification that i missed a call, i checked my voice mail and heard only the conversation that my friends and I said. So somehow my phone turned on the microphone when it went to voice mail. I don't know. But this stuff happens and continues

Welcome to Android Central !!!! Post early and post often....