How jealous exes, dodgy apps and even total strangers can spy on YOUR photos – and settings you must change to stop it
EVERY photo you’ve ever saved to your iPhone could be exposed to prying eyes.
It might be happening right under your nose too, leaving your most private pics and videos wide open to a jealous ex, sinister cyber-criminals, or a stalker you’ve never met.
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This huge breach of privacy can cause havoc in your personal life.
If you have saved screenshots with important info like passwords, personal or financial details, access to those could leave you vulnerable to fraudsters who could raid your bank account.
The Sun can reveal some of the ways people might be spying on your pics, and exactly how to stop it.
Table of Contents
Spying danger #1 – Shared Albums
Your first port of call should always be Shared Albums.
These are special photo albums set up on your device that other people can see.
It’s a handy way to collect and show off holiday snaps, or family pics.
But there are a couple of ways this could cause trouble for you.
The first is that you may have set up a Shared Album with an ex-partner or pal that you’re no longer on good terms with.
The second is that someone with access to your device is dropping pics into a Shared Album without you noticing.
Third is that you might have set up an album, forgotten it was shared, and you’re still saving pics to it without realising other people can see it too.
And fourth, someone might be using a Shared Album to put pictures you don’t want to see on your device.
Either way, you can find them by going to the Photos app, then tapping on the Albums tab.
Now click on Shared at the top to see a list of your Shared Albums.
Make sure you scroll all the way down to check every single Shared Album you have.
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You can then tap on each one to see who else has access and revoke it.
And if you’re a member of a Shared Album and don’t want to be anymore, you can simply leave.
Spying danger #2 – iCloud Shared Library
A similar feature is the iCloud Shared Library.
You can only have one of these, and it’ll let other people view your pics with your permission which means this could be abused by someone close to you.
Just go to Settings > Apps > Photos > iCloud Shared Photo Library to check. Then simply shut it off if you’re not happy.
Spying danger #3 – Photo-spying apps
Next up, you’ll want to watch out for dodgy apps potentially scooping up your photos.
There are several ways this could end up happening to you.
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The first is that you’ve accidentally downloaded a dangerous app that you thought was safe – maybe it was posing as something legit like a photo-editing tool – but it’s actually harvesting your snaps.
Second is that someone close to you has installed a photo-stealing app on your device while you weren’t looking, and is using it to spy on you.
Whatever the reason, it’s simple enough to check exactly which apps can view your photos – and then limit or revoke access.
Just go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Photos.
You can then see all of the apps with some level of access to your photos.
This might be Full Access, giving the app total freedom to see any image. That includes associated photo data like the location and any capture audio.
Then there’s Limited Access, which means you’ve chosen a selection of snaps that the app can see.
You’ve also got Add Photos Only, which means you can only add photos to the app while you’re using it.
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And finally, there’s the None option, which totally revokes all access to photos.
Check each app and ask: Does this really need to see my photos?
Even if it’s an app you recognise, consider whether it genuinely needs picture access. What if it were hacked and your photos were leaked? Only give permission to apps that strictly need it – and consider using Limited Access rather than Full Access.
The worst scenario is that you see an app with Full Access that you don’t recognise. This might mean someone has installed a rogue app on your device – and is using it to spy on you.
It could be someone close to you who installed it when you weren’t looking, or a total stranger who compromised your device after you clicked a dodgy link in a text or email.
Either way, you’ll want to not only revoke picture access but also delete the app right away. It’s not worth the risk – especially if you don’t even know what the app is or does.
Spying danger #4 – Secret back-ups
Normally, your iPhone’s photos would back up to iCloud, which is an Apple service.
Those pics will be backed up to the same Apple ID account that your iPhone is logged in to.
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But someone could also be using another app that backs up your photos to spy on your pics.
The obvious choice here would be Google Photos, which backs up pics via Google Drive cloud storage.
This means pics being saved to your iPhone are also stored on a Google account, which is visible remotely over the internet to whoever owns that log-in.
So you should check to see if you have Google Photos installed on your iPhone.
DON’T WAIT – DO A SAFETY CHECK NOW
There’s an Apple feature you’ll want to try out right away…
Anyone with an iPhone needs to run Safety Check.
It’s a special feature on iOS 16 or later (go to Settings > General > Software Update to check) and lets you make sure you’re not exposing any private files, pics, info, or even your exact location.
You can “review, update and stop” sharing in seconds.
Just go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Safety Check.
It’ll guide you through all the ways you might be accidentally revealing too much, and let you shut it off.
There’s also a handy Quick Exit button in the top-right that saves your changes and boots you out if you need to make a quick escape.
Picture Credit: Apple / The Sun
Then go into the account settings and make sure you recognise the account. Is it yours? Or is it someone else’s?
If you don’t recognise the account as your own, someone may be using Google Photos to spy on your pics and videos.
You can sign out of the account and revoke pic access, then delete the app entirely.
But make sure to remove your photos from the back-up first.
Spying danger #5 – Apple ID
One of the most serious breaches of your privacy would be if someone else was logged into your Apple ID.
If that’s the case, your stolen pics might be the least of your worries. The person might be able to see your exact location in real-time, log into almost any account, and even pose as you online.
But Apple ID would also grant access to your iCloud Photos back-ups, letting a person potentially see all of your images.
This could happen in a few ways.
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It might be that someone you trust and knows your password is signed in. This is a big problem if you were with someone that is now an ex and might be spying on you.
Alternatively, you might have been phished – effectively tricked into handing over your details to a fake log-in page or Apple support person – and unwittingly given over your password.
Either way, you’ll want to check on this as soon as possible. It’s one of the most serious account breaches out there.
You can go to Settings > [Your Name] and then scroll down to see every device that is logged into your Apple ID.
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And you should also go to the Apple Account website, log in, and click on Devices to see where you’ve been logged in too.
If you’re worried that someone else has access, change your password immediately and make sure you have a safe verification method that the other person can’t access.
Spying danger #6 – Someone close to you
The other risk is that someone close to you – a person who may know or have seen your passcode – is unlocking your mobile when you’re not looking.
If that’s the case, there are some clever ways to see if they’re sneaking a peek at your Photos app.
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One option is Settings > General > iPhone Storage.
Scroll down to where your apps are listed, and change the filter at the top of the list to Last Used Data.
This orders apps by when they were mostly recently used. So if an app has been opened (like Photos) and you know you haven’t used it recently, someone else is responsible.
Second, go to Settings > Screen Time and make sure that it’s turned on.
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This feature normally helps you track (and limit) how much you’re using your iPhone.
But it can show key details about your iPhone usage.
For instance, check out Settings > Screen Time > See All App & Website Activity, then scroll down to Pickups.
You’ll be able to see a note called First Pickup, which shows the first time your iPhone was picked up and opened that day.
So you can see if someone unlocked your iPhone before you’ve woken up.
You can also scroll back through previous days to see if it’s happened before.
Lastly, head into Settings > Screen Time > See All App & Website Activity once more.
Now look at Most Used on the Today panel.
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Next, tap on Photos and you’ll be able to see how much time has been spent on the app – as well as the exact hour slots when it was opened.
So if you see that Photos was being accessed when you know you weren’t using it – for instance, if you were in the loo and your phone was downstairs, or maybe it was 3am and you were asleep – then you’ve got a snooper close to you.
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