How Do I Know if My Husband or Wife Is Spying on My Phone?

If you suspect your husband or wife is monitoring your phone, you’re not alone — and there are concrete steps you can take to find out for sure.

According to our Digital Breakup Survey, 42% of people had their accounts accessed by an ex following a breakup, and in 2025 alone, almost 7% of Certo device scans uncovered medium or high-severity threats — with spousal surveillance among the most common causes.

Spyware can cost as little as $30, requires almost no technical knowledge, and can quietly collect texts, calls, browsing history, and passwords without leaving any obvious trace.

And with technology increasingly being used in domestic abuse and stalking cases, knowing the warning signs has never been more important.

This guide covers what to look for, the most common methods spouses use to spy, and exactly how to check for and remove each one.

How Your Spouse Could Be Spying on Your Phone (With Fixes)

2. Google Chrome

Your spouse changes the logged-in account from yours to their own. This allows them to collect all the data from your browser such as websites visited, account passwords, card details and much more.

💡 How to check if someone has changed your Chrome account and fix it

To check if you’re affected, just follow these steps:

1. Open the Chrome app.
2. Tap the 3 dots.
3. Tap Settings.
4. The logged-in account is shown at the top of the settings page.

Make sure that the correct account is being used (check it’s not an account created to look similar, for example: “[email protected]” instead of “[email protected]”).

If you do see a fake account there, then you should sign out of Google Chrome and change your password as soon as possible.

Fig 6. Checking the logged-in account in Google Chrome.

3. iCloud/Google account data

If your spouse knows your login details, they can easily access the data that you’re backing up to the cloud. They may even be able to use this data to create a clone of your device and gain access to a huge amount of your private information.

💡 How to protect your account

It’s harder to know if you’re affected by this method of hacking, however the best way to protect yourself is to enable the two-factor authentication (2FA) feature on your account.

This means that even if your spouse knows your login information, they can’t gain access to your account without a special access code sent to you in a text message or an authenticator app.

Setting up 2FA for your iCloud Account:

1. On an iPhone, tap Settings.
2. Tap your name.
3. Choose Sign-In & Security.
4. Tap Two-Factor Authentication.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions to turn it on.

Fig 7. Enabling 2FA for iCloud on iPhone.

Setting up 2FA for your Google Account:

1. Go to your Google Account.
2. Select the Security tab.
3. Tap 2-Step Verification.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to turn it on.

Fig 8. Enabling 2FA for Google on Android.

4. WhatsApp Linked devices

If your spouse gains access to your phone, they can link your WhatsApp to their own device, allowing them to read your messages remotely. They can even send messages as you or delete ones you’ve received without your knowledge.

Our recent research highlights how this feature is being misused for secret surveillance. If you’re concerned, it’s important to check for unauthorized linked devices and remove any suspicious ones.

💡 How to check for and remove suspicious linked devices

Here’s how to check if your WhatsApp is linked with a suspicious device and then disconnect it:

1. Open WhatsApp.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Select Linked Devices.
4. Check the list for devices that you don’t recognize.
5. Tap the unrecognized device and select Log Out.

Fig 9. Checking Linked Devices in WhatsApp.

5. Microsoft Phone Link (iPhone only)

In 2024 our researchers discovered that Microsoft’s Phone Link app for Windows 11 can be exploited by an abusive partner to silently access your iMessages, call history, and notifications — all from their own PC.

What makes this particularly concerning is that there’s no obvious indication on your iPhone that any of this is happening. All it takes is brief physical access to your phone.

The stalker simply opens the Phone Link app on their Windows PC, which displays a QR code. They then scan that code using your iPhone to establish a Bluetooth connection.Once paired, they can enable a few settings and immediately begin monitoring your messages and calls remotely.

Even more alarming, Phone Link will display the full contents of your iPhone notifications — including WhatsApp messages and banking alerts — even if your iPhone is set to hide notification previews when locked.

Read more about how cyberstalkers exploit this Windows 11 feature →

💡 How to check for suspicious Phone Link connections

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2. Tap Bluetooth.
3. Under My Devices, look for any devices you don’t recognize — particularly computers or Windows PCs.
4. Tap the 🛈 icon next to any suspicious device.
5. Check whether Show Notifications or Share System Notifications is enabled — this is a red flag.
6. Tap Forget This Device to unpair it.

Is It Illegal for Your Spouse to Spy on Your Phone?

In most cases, yes. Installing spyware on someone’s phone without their consent — even a spouse’s — is illegal in the United States under federal law (the Electronic Communications Privacy Act) and under individual state cyberstalking and wiretapping statutes.

The fact that you’re married does not give your partner the legal right to covertly monitor your private communications.

The legality can get complicated depending on your state, the specific method used, and whether devices or accounts are shared.

For a full breakdown of cyberstalking laws by state, including penalties and legal definitions, see our U.S. Cyberstalking Laws Guide.

If you believe you are being surveilled by a partner and feel unsafe, help is available. Visit Certo’s Resources page for organizations offering support across the US and internationally.

How to Keep Your Phone Safe From Spying

Once you have taken steps to address any current threats to your privacy, it’s important to continue taking precautions to protect your private data and device security going forward. Here are a few best practices to ensure that you stay protected:

• Always keep your phone updated. Phone manufacturers regularly release updates to ensure that users are protected against new hacking methods. It’s always recommended to update as soon as convenient so that your device is fully protected.
• Don’t use the same accounts as your spouse. It’s not unusual for spouses to share accounts, but if you’re worried that this trust is being abused then we recommend using separate accounts so that your important data isn’t shared and easily accessed by the other.
• Use a strong passcode for your device. The best way to protect your phone is to use a passcode that isn’t easily guessed and that only you know. This will reduce a lot of opportunities for spouse hacking, especially with those who are less technically minded. Don’t just use 4-digits either, use as many as possible for your device.
• Use two-factor authentication (2FA). This means that anyone who wants to enter your accounts must have access to a verified device to do so.
• Reboot your device regularly. As simple as this seems, lots of hacking software relies on the phone being left switched on for long periods of time. This is easily done if you regularly charge your phone or if it rarely runs down over the course of your day. Simply restarting your phone regularly can make a difference.
• Delete any apps you don’t recognize. Any apps you don’t recognize might be spying on you. If you can, delete all of the apps that you didn’t install yourself. Be aware however, most phones will have apps that are pre-installed by the manufacturer and these, in most cases, cannot be removed. If you’re not sure, try Googling the app name.
• Use a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN helps protect your online activity by encrypting your internet connection and masking your IP address. If your spouse is trying to monitor you using network-based spying techniques—such as tracking websites you visit or intercepting data on shared Wi-Fi—a VPN can help prevent this.

What to Do Next If You’ve Found Evidence of Spying

Finding out your spouse has been monitoring your phone is a lot to process. But once you have evidence, taking the right steps — in the right order — matters. Here’s what to do:

1. Secure your device. Run a spyware scan with Certo AntiSpy, remove any apps you don’t recognize, and change your device passcode to something only you know.
2. Don’t confront your spouse right away. It may be tempting to act immediately, but document what you’ve found first. Take screenshots, note dates, and keep a record before making any changes that could alert them.
3. Change your passwords and turn on 2FA. Update the passwords for your key accounts — iCloud, Google, email, and any messaging apps. Then enable two-factor authentication on each one so that even if your credentials have been compromised, your accounts stay locked down.
4. Think about your safety. Phone surveillance is sometimes part of a wider pattern of controlling behavior. If that resonates with you, you don’t have to deal with this alone. Visit Certo’s Resources page for a list of organizations across the US and internationally that can offer support.
5. Know your legal rights. Covert phone monitoring — even by a spouse — is illegal in most US states. Understanding where you stand legally can be an important next step. See Certo’s US Cyberstalking Laws Guide for a full breakdown by state, including penalties and how to report it.