Am I being watched? Check your phone and home for spyware yourself

That uneasy feeling

It usually starts small. Your ex suddenly knows where you’ve been. A colleague repeats something you only discussed at home. Your phone feels warm in your pocket, or the battery is already flat by mid-afternoon. Nothing is provable — but it nags at you.

That feeling deserves to be taken seriously, not out of fear but as a precaution. In most cases there turns out to be an innocent explanation. And that is exactly why it is so worthwhile to work through it calmly yourself: either you remove the worry, or you find a signal that helps you take the next step.

Below you’ll work through your digital and physical surroundings in four steps. Everything you can check yourself is also in our free checklist — tick it off on screen or print it out.

Download: Privacy & surveillance check — free checklist (print or PDF)

Step 1 — Start at the front door: your router

Your router is literally the gateway to everything connected at home. Yet almost no one ever looks at it. Check whether the default password has been changed (not the code on the sticker), whether the firmware is up to date, and review the list of connected devices. Do you recognise them all? Disable “remote management” and any unknown port forwarding, and make sure your network uses WPA2 or WPA3 encryption.

The Dutch government initiative Veilig internetten offers clear, reliable steps for this.

Step 2 — Your phone

Spyware hides itself, so don’t hunt for one suspicious app — watch behaviour instead. Go through your installed apps and check app permissions: which apps may use the microphone, camera and location? Keep your operating system fully updated — updates close the very gaps spyware exploits.

Watch for signs such as fast battery drain, overheating while idle and unexplained high data usage. On iPhone, check under Settings ▸ General ▸ VPN & Device Management for unknown profiles, and use the built-in Safety Check (under Privacy & Security) to revoke all shared access in one go. If an unknown AirTag or tracker is travelling with you, you’ll now usually get an alert.

If you genuinely suspect something but want certainty, a professional malware and spyware scan is the next step — it reads the device forensically without wiping evidence.

Step 3 — Your accounts (often the real way in)

In practice, someone rarely reads along via your phone — far more often it’s via your account. So enable two-factor authentication (2FA) on your email, social media and banking, and use unique passwords through a password manager.

Review active sessions and signed-in devices, and sign out unknown ones. Pay particular attention to two things that give silent readers away: unknown forwarding rules in your email and a changed recovery email or phone number. If you find either, you know enough.

We often see this pattern in digital stalking: not high-tech spyware, but simply access that was never revoked.

Step 4 — Am I being watched or listened to?

So far this has been about the digital. But sometimes it’s in the space itself — a hidden camera, a listening device or a GPS tracker. This is the domain of TSCM (Technical Surveillance Counter-Measures), and it is exactly what SAJ Recherche specialises in.

Ask yourself:

• Does the other person repeatedly know things discussed only at home or in the car?
• Are there new objects — a smoke detector, USB charger, clock or power strip — you didn’t place yourself?
• Do you see tiny lenses or pinholes in unusual spots, aimed at a bed, desk or seating area?
• In a divorce or conflict, has someone had access to your home or vehicle?
• Is there an unexplained box in a wheel arch, under the bumper or inside your car?

If several points ring true, the most important rule is: don’t touch anything and don’t remove anything. Acting too soon may erase the only evidence and alert the other person. Document with photos (date and time) and seek advice.

A suspicion is not yet proof

This is the level-headed point it all comes down to. Checking things yourself often removes the worry, and that is exactly the intention. But if you really do find something — a tracker, a hidden camera, a device that has been read out — only evidence that holds up legally counts. And gathering that evidence is precise work: one wrong move and it’s worthless, or even unlawful.

Mind the boundary too: you may check your own phone, accounts and home. Reading out or eavesdropping on another person’s devices or spaces without consent is a criminal offence. If you’re unsure what is permitted, engage a licensed agency.

Help and advice is available from Victim Support Netherlands, the Police and, where the threat comes from within your own circle, from Veilig Thuis (0800-2000).

How SAJ Recherche helps

If you can’t resolve it yourself, or you want certainty instead of a suspicion, we carry out professional spyware scans and TSCM sweeps — hidden cameras, listening devices and GPS trackers in a home, car, office or hotel room — and, in cases of stalking or threats, a full stalking and threats investigation. Always discreet, GDPR-compliant and under licence POB 8779, with a report that holds up in court.

Unsure whether you’re being watched or listened to? Get in touch for a confidential conversation.

Peace of mind. — John, SAJ Recherche