Yes, someone can track your text messages through spyware, exploiting app permissions, using carrier features like forwarding, or even via sophisticated government tools, though it usually requires physical access (Android) or account access (iPhone) for common methods, while advanced threats can use zero-click exploits. Standard SMS texts are less secure than encrypted apps (WhatsApp, Signal), which offer better protection against snooping, but even encrypted messages can be read if the device itself is compromised.
Check App Permissions
Regularly review app permissions to ensure that no unfamiliar applications have access to your SMS, contacts, camera, or mic. On iOS users, check Settings > Privacy & Security. Android users should visit Settings > Apps > [app name] > Permissions. Look for suspicious access requests.
You cannot trace text messages back to a sender as an end user. Carriers can follow an SMS through their Short Message Service Centers and law enforcement can request those records with a warrant.
Unfortunately, your wife can access your text messages—perhaps through automatic backups, iCloud, or even spyware. Alternatively, she might just be picking up your phone. You can probably tell if she's reading them. Perhaps messages are read when you haven't opened them.
Modern phones keep lengthy records of our messaging history, making it easier for a prying spouse to read all your conversations once they have access to your phone data. They can obtain this using a number of methods, such as through shared cloud accounts, or by using spyware.
On Android
If you want to know if your Android phone is being tracked, check for unusual performance issues, like rapid battery drain, by going to Settings > Battery > View details / Battery Usage > Battery activity and reviewing each app's battery usage.
Check access permissions in settings
Spyware and monitoring apps need elevated permissions to access your SMS messages. You can check whether any apps have permission to see your SMS messages by going to the Permission manager in your Android settings.
Hackers (or any creep with physical access to your phone) can install spyware or tracking apps that run in the background, monitoring your calls, messages, location, and online activity. These apps are often disguised as harmless programs, making them difficult to detect.
SMS is inherently unencrypted, unlike modern messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Signal, or iMessage, which use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) to secure conversations. This means that messages sent via SMS can be viewed, stored, and even intercepted at multiple points along their journey from sender to recipient.
You can tell if someone read your text through read receipts in apps like iMessage, Google Messages (RCS), or WhatsApp, which show "Read" with a timestamp when the recipient opens it, if both you and the other person have the feature enabled in your settings. For regular SMS, you'll only see "Delivered," but some apps offer delivery confirmations or you can infer from a quick reply.
Unusual sounds during calls
If you hear clicking sounds, static, or mumbling, distant, and faint voices coming through your phone during conversations, it could be a sign that someone is eavesdropping. Hearing weird sounds every so often could just indicate you have a poor signal.
How to Hide Text Notifications on Android
How to stop your phone from being tracked
Press *#*#4636#*#* or *#*#197328640#*#* to see if anyone is watching your movements. These are Utility Net Monitor Codes. Dialing these codes can tell you if you're being tracked or monitored through your mobile phone.
3. Review connected devices in Google Account (Android)
This Vertical Service Code, *82, enables calling line identification regardless of subscriber preference, dialed to unblock withheld numbers (private callers) in the U.S. on a per-call basis.
Google Maps or Apple Find My
Your spouse gets hold of your device and turns on the location sharing option within either of these apps. Once activated, they can then track your location remotely, using their own device. To check if you're affected, simply open the app and check if location sharing is turned on.
Tracking apps, including parental control apps, are among the most common methods people use to spy on their spouses. These apps can log your activities, track your GPS location, and even pry into your personal conversations, recording both messaging apps and phone calls.
The "3-day rule" in texting and dating generally suggests waiting three days to contact someone after getting their number or a first date to avoid seeming too eager or desperate, but many modern daters find it outdated, preferring to text when genuinely interested to show confidence and avoid "playing games". While some still use it as a way to gauge interest or create space, others see waiting too long as a sign of disinterest, with opinions varying on whether it's helpful or an old-fashioned tactic.
Obtaining a spouse's text messages can ordinarily be done in two ways. One way might be to send a letter to the cell phone carrier, through an attorney, explaining the need to preserve text messages for a divorce case.
If you notice several of these signs, your phone might be tracked:
Dialing *#21# on your phone uses a USSD code to check the status of your unconditional call forwarding, revealing if all your calls, data, or texts are being redirected to another number without your knowledge, which can happen if someone accesses your settings. It's not a definitive hack detector, but it quickly shows if a carrier-level setting is diverting your communications, potentially to intercept sensitive information like 2FA codes, and can be disabled with ##21#.
What is the 3-digit number to see if your phone is tapped? If your phone is on a CDMA network like Verizon or US Cellular, dialing the code *72 will tell you whether any of your calls or data are being forwarded to another number. Dial *#002# to uncover this kind of phone tapping on GSM networks.