Your provider or "carrier" keeps records of your cellphone use, including calls and text messages, and even pictures sent from your phone. Almost all cellphone carriers give detailed information about a phone's use in billing statements sent to the owner.
Also, carriers do not give direct access to deleted text messages. Instead, they give you access to their backup software to get deleted SMS. In most cases, you must get a court order before you can get the text message.
With SMS, messages you send are not end-to-end encrypted. Your cellular provider can see the contents of messages you send and receive. Those messages are stored on your cellular provider's systems—so, instead of a tech company like Facebook seeing your messages, your cellular provider can see your messages.
Anyone, not just hackers, can use spyware
One popular app, mSpy, monitors text messages, calls, and social media interactions. The app can be installed remotely on an iPhone if you have the proper iCloud credentials.
Messages you send through Wi-Fi using messengers and other chat apps won't be readable by the Wi-Fi owner. Most messengers and chat apps use end-to-end encryption to secure text messages. End-to-end encryption encrypts your texts on your phone before they are sent over the internet.
Yes, it's definitely possible for someone to spy on your text messages and it's certainly something you should be aware of – this is a potential way for a hacker to gain a lot of private information about you – including accessing PIN codes sent by websites used to verify your identity (such as online banking).
If they want to access your work phone text messages, they may need to go to the phone company to do so, but it's an option. Even your communications on a personal device may be accessible. If you are logged onto the employer's Wi-Fi, IT can use programs to monitor the websites and domains you visit.
Federal law prevents companies from producing these documents without a court order or subpoena. Text message records must be obtained from a party's cell phone provider. An attorney can obtain a court order or subpoena to get the records directly from the service provider.
Formal discovery requires a party to disclose anything asked by the other party which is relevant and within the control of the party. This includes text messages (unless they were deleted). Failure to answer discovery may result in the finding of contempt against the spouse.
Go to Settings – Applications – Manage Applications or Running Services, and you may be able to spot suspicious looking files. Good spy programs usually disguise the file names so that they don't stand out but sometimes they may contain terms like spy, monitor, stealth, and so on.
Spyware can be used by anyone, not just hackers
The app can be installed remotely on an iPhone if you have the proper iCloud credentials. For Android phones, someone will need to install it on the phone directly. Once that's done, your messages and more can be intercepted.
With watchOS, iOS, and iPadOS, your messages are encrypted on your device so they can't be accessed without your passcode. iMessage and FaceTime are designed so that there's no way for Apple to read your messages when they're in transit between devices.
If you only want to hide the content of text messages, open your Messaging app, and go to its Settings > Notifications > In-app Notification Settings. Look for the option Preview New Messages and toggle it off. There's another option that's even more secure.
The cell tower information is generally included. Most cell carriers retain content data between 3-7 days. The exceptions are: AT&T, Boost and T-Mobile which have zero days retention.
Delete a conversation
To permanently remove a message, tap Edit (or Filters) in the top-left corner, tap Show Recently Deleted (or Recently Deleted), select the messages or conversations you want to remove, tap Delete, then follow the onscreen instructions.
How far back can police retrieve text messages? This answer depends on the phone, its memory, whether the message was deleted, and the phone owner's service provider. If the messages are still on the phone, the police may be able to access them no matter how long ago they were sent.
Using iCloud to Spy on Spouse
Your spouse could spy on you through a shared iCloud account. Sharing an iCloud account with your spouse surrenders access to about everything on your iPhone. Your location, photographs, contacts, text messages, everything.
That's because the texts are being sent to an ID that is listed as an iMessage receive ID on both devices. See Settings > Messages > Send & Receive > You can be reached by iMessage at: Correct this so each device has a unique ID.
Is it legal for my spouse to spy on my iPhone? No they cannot – it is illegal under Federal and State law to intercept or access private electronic information kept in electronic storage. It is also illegal to hack your spouse's cell phone for text messages, Facebook, or email account(s).
Some phone companies also keep records of sent text messages. They sit on the company's server for anywhere from three days to three months, depending on the company's policy.
On an iPhone
When you text someone with Read Receipts turned on, you'll notice the word "Read" beneath your message, and the time it was opened. To turn on your Read Receipts in the iMessage app, click Settings, scroll down and tap Messages. Enable Send Read Receipts.
Yes, police can trace phone numbers from anonymous texting apps like TextFree, and TextNow, back to an individual through a court order. Through a valid court order, they are compelled to hand over user information, which helps police to trace a number back to an individual.
Can my employer spy on my personal phone? A: NO, your employer cannot spy on your personal phone. Your employer must obtain access to your personal phone to be able to monitor it. Also, your employer is not allowed to monitor your personal phone without your consent.
You can find out if your iPhone or iPad is supervised by looking at the settings for your device. The Supervision message is found at the top of the main Settings page. Your organization also has the option to display a custom ownership message on the Lock Screen using the Shared Device Configuration profile payload.