Question If I had a virus on old phone...

[MissLou]

If I had a virus / spyware on my old phone will I be OK to get a new phone and install all my apps from scratch?

I know not to transfer from one phone to the other. Will my apps been infected anyway? Like, if I have backed-up photos to Google - will that spyware have made it's way into my Google account? If I have edited photos on Insta - will my Instagram account be infected?

Or do I need to start with new accounts from scratch? Do I need a new number?

Thanks

 

[B. Diddy]

Your Google account and Instagram account should be fine. Legitimate apps from the Play Store should be fine as well, but the question is where this malware or spyware came from. Some apps that are from shady developers might do shady things, so if you were to reinstall those apps, the same problems might surface.

It might help to know more details about the virus/spyware you're referring to. Do you have definitive evidence, or is it something you only suspected but could never find proof of?