How can I tell if my iPhone was hacked?

Your phone cannot be hacked unless you or someone else who had access to your Apple passcode, Apple ID and Password installed "jailbreak" software on your phone.

Otherwise, if you see a message or email that "claims" that your phone has been compromised, it is a scam that is trying to trick you into buying useless software.....or worse.....trying to steal your identity.

If you are really stressed about this, run Safety Check on your iPhone. It is a long and boring process though.

Safety Check for an iPhone with iOS 16 or later - Apple Support

Many scams rely on the false claim that your phone or computer was hacked. I'm not saying that it is impossible for computers and computerized gadgets to have security flaws – but these days, criminals are more likely to attack the weak point behind the screen or keyboard (i.e., you) than to attack your device.

They figure that if they can panic you into taking action without thinking, you will "voluntarily" hand them everything they need to scam you. They will send "phishing" scam messages to millions of people – in the hopes that just a few victims ("phish") will bite. And what better to frighten you with than the idea that your phone or computer has been "hacked"?

Here are examples of scam messages targeting Macs running Safari.

Stop unwanted Notifications - Apple Community

Any platform that supports "Web notifications" is vulnerable to the same thing. I have seen Windows machines that were being made virtually unusable by constant streams of these scam messages.

Another scammer favorite is pop-up windows that hijack your Web browsing session.

U.S. Federal Trade Commission – Spotting and Avoiding Tech Support Scams

"Tech support scammers may try to trick you with a pop-up window that appears on your computer screen. It might look like an error message from your operating system or antivirus software, and it might use logos from trusted companies or websites. The message in the window warns you about a security issue on your computer and tells you to call a phone number to get help.

If you get this kind of pop-up window on your computer, don’t call the number. Real security warnings and messages will never ask you to call a phone number."

I’m no expert, but these are at least the steps I would take.

First I would follow the guide apple has on securing your account. It involves things like changing your password on a different device and putting your device in lockdown mode, which could be good prevention measures if you suspect a hack has occurred.

If you want to investigate, I would check the sign in and activity information of every account that’s been linked to your device. Google and Microsoft both have fairly okay-ish sign in tracking.

I would also immediately note the time you first noticed any strange activity and the request your privacy data from apple. Tons of interesting info in there.

[Edited by Moderator]

That’s easy. Your phone was not hacked unless you handed it to someone and told them the passcode, then left them for about a half hour. It is not possible to hack an iPhone remotely. The exception might be if you are a VIP on the world stage, such as a politician, a journalist, a revolutionary, a drug kingpin, the sort of people that it would be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to hack. And even that route is periodically blocked by Apple.

Your previous post......in which you replied to yourself......was removed for a reason.

So True Lawrence ……