Hacking reports have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. From small to big corporations and individuals are not safe from cybercriminals. Whatever devices you are using, hackers are capable of stealing your personal information. 
Someone Could be Secretly Using Your iPhone or Android's Mic and Cam; Here's the New Trick You need to Know

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA - SEPTEMBER 29: An attendee inspects the new Nexus 5X phone during a Google media event on September 29, 2015 in San Francisco, California. Google unveiled its 2015 smartphone lineup, the Nexus 5x and Nexus 6P, the new Chromecast and new Android 6.0 Marshmallow software features.

Kim Komando, a Fox News reporter, shared her experience with targeted ads. She said that when she mentioned that she would like to go hiking in Patagonia, her phone started receiving ads about hiking adventures in her desired place after an hour during their dinner.

Although there's no concrete evidence that your phone's camera is always listening to you, many residents in the United States believe that apps and other sites collect their voice data for marketing purposes. Even your smart TV could be gathering sensitive data while you use it. 

iPhone and Android smartphones are no exception, although Apple's iOS 14 is updated with useful new privacy options. Here's a new trick you can use to identify if someone secretly using your device's mic or camera. 

Look for your iPhone's orange dot

iPhone's latest system update includes an orange dot that appears in the screen's upper-right hand corner. This serves as an indicator when your mic is in use. On the other hand, if a small green dot appears, that means your camera is in use or was recently recording. 

If you're not sure which app is using your mic or camera, here's what you need to do; 

1) Navigate to the device's Settings, then scroll down and choose the "Privacy option." 

2) You can tap either the "Camera" or "Microphone" option. Each of these will show you a list of apps. 

3) Choose the apps you want to turn off.  

How to identify if your Android's camera or mic is in use  

Right now, Android devices don't have the feature to notify you if the camera or mic is working. However, you can use the Access Dots app, which will show an icon just like in iOS. 

Someone Could be Secretly Using Your iPhone or Android's Mic and Cam; Here's the New Trick You need to Know
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BERLIN, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 20: A customer tries out the new Apple iPhone 5C smartphone at the Berlin Apple Store on the first day of sales on September 20, 2013 in Berlin, Germany. The new iPhone 5S and 5C phones went on sale all over the world today and hundreds of customers waited outside the Berlin store in the rain to be among the first to buy the new phones starting at 8am.

You can also adjust the indicator icon's color to your liking. If you see the indicator and want to turn off your camera or mic, you can just swipe from the bottom up to the middle of your screen. After that, you need to swipe from left to right, then tap the "Clear all" option to close all the apps at once. 

You can also check your device's permissions. Here's what you need to do; 

1) Go to Settings and scroll down, then click the "Personal" option.
2) Choose the "Privacy and Safety" option, then go to App Permissions. 
3) You can either choose the Camera or Microphone, then choose the app you want to turn off by toggling the slider to the "off" position.  

For more news updates about Android or iPhone smartphones, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.  

Also Read: This Samsung Phone Lets Users Control it With Just Waving in the Air

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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.

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