My iPhone 13 was hacked

Kiddanno wrote:

I deleted the app December 6th after that screen shot was taken

I would suggest you restore your device to factory settings to undo whatever damage may have been done.

Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

I would further suggest you do it using a computer. That will install a fresh copy of iOS.

None of what you describe is due to any third party "hacking" your phone.

It may be due to more than one user sharing the same apple ID.

It may be due to inexperienced handling.

If I were you I would move or sync all your photos and data into iCloud and wipe the phones and start again.

If more than one person is using these phones, set them up up with their own apple ID.

Apple have plenty of solutions.

Learn more about how use the Find My App\

Find My - Official Apple Support

Then look at this Apple article and my additional advice below it:

If your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch is lost or stolen – Apple Support (UK)

Tracking lost or stolen phones

The 'Find My' tracking is to help you discover if you left your phone in the office or the restaurant. Lost or Stolen phones are rarely ever seen again.

Risk mitigation

Get your provider to

Cancel your SIM.

Send you a replacement SIM on same number.

You can then put the SIM in another iPhone to get the codes you will need.

Phishing warning

Its possible for a thief to obtain your phone number particularly if you did not have a PIN set on the SIM. So do not respond to texts to sign into your account! They are NOT from Apple.

Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support

Resign to the fact that if you had a passcode set and you do not provide your Apple ID via phishing texts then your data is safe but you may never see the phone again.

LD150 wrote:

Whatever Zenkey is, get rid of it.

Then move your data and media somewhere safe, wipe all your devices, and start again.

Excellent suggestion.

Revianmac wrote:

There is a Zenkey app for each of the carriers in the US. Sounds to me like the carriers teamed up and hired a third-party company or something. Zenkey also says it uses your device for your login to websites, that sounds akin to putting all your eggs in one basket. Definitely smells fishy.

@Kiddanno your phone wasn’t hacked, Zenkey screwed something up.

Or, Zenkey created an app for every carrier to make people think it has been approved by the carriers.

ETA: The carriers do seem to be offering it. Lots of handwaving about security.

As the Red Queen said; “I can believe 6 impossible things before breakfast”. Belief does not make something true. The FACT (not belief) is that the probability of an iPhone being hacked is vanishingly small, as long as you keep it updated to the latest version of iOS and don’t jailbreak it. The only successful iPhone incident reported over the past year was NSO Group’s Pegasus exploit. That requires a product from NSO group that costs $5 Million and up, and is only sold to government agencies. And even that was blocked by Apple last year.

Occasionally potential vulnerabilities are found by security researchers; when reported to Apple, the finder gets a bounty payment. This year already Apple paid one such researcher $120,000 for a report that resulted in 15.3.1 being released. With incentives like that there is a cottage industry of people working full time probing for vulnerabilities (not so cottage, actually; the researcher who got the bounty works for Google), so the chance of a random “black hat” hacker finding one are very small.

if you don’t know what you’re talking about don’t comment!

Prophetic words. You should stop talking.

Whoever this is, and if they truly have access to your data, they didn't hack the phone itself. They hacked into your account. This by knowing, or guessing both your Apple ID and password. Once a person knows that, they can log into your account as you and see all of the same information you do. Photos, contacts, emails, etc.

and there is no SIM card installed at the moment.

Then you have a very magical phone. Since there is no way for the phone to connect to any cell service, just how do you think anyone can remotely control it?

And what codes are you talking about?

Whatever Zenkey is, get rid of it.

Then move your data and media somewhere safe, wipe all your devices, and start again.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.

iPhone cannot be compromised. However, if you are concerned about security, see: Apple Platform Security - Apple Support and Personal Safety User Guide - Apple Support.

Jack

To repeat: Your phone has not been hacked unless you jailbroke it, and even then it is unlikely. So if you try to fix it under the assumption it has been hacked you will never resolve the real problem. If you truly believe it has been hacked, after being told several times it can’t be, then get rid of the phone, and don’t get any smartphone, because iPhones are the most immune to malware of any smartphone. Get a basic flip phone and replace it every few weeks.

There is a Zenkey app for each of the carriers in the US. Sounds to me like the carriers teamed up and hired a third-party company or something. Zenkey also says it uses your device for your login to websites, that sounds akin to putting all your eggs in one basket. Definitely smells fishy.

@Kiddanno your phone wasn’t hacked, Zenkey screwed something up.

It sounds to me like an SSO (single sign-on) set up, the Zenkey app is client-side and their server-side is causing problems. I still think another poster here was right in suggesting back up to a safe place, wipe devices and start over.. minus the Zenkey junk of course.