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What happens when your phone is spying on you

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Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#31

Something happened to me the other day, I started drafting a text using the regular text messaging app on my android phone, I was sending it to a friend, but I got distracted by a call and never sent the text. Later I went to finish it and send it but he had gone in and put some smart-alec comment in the text of the message I was drafting. I was shocked. He refuses to tell me how he did it. I went through all the set…

Do you mean your friend edited your draft sms? Did he had physical access to your phone? Are you using stock android app or anything special? What make model is your phone? By definition he should not see "your" draft on "his" phone.

I have a Galaxy S21 5G with Android 13

Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#32

Something happened to me the other day, I started drafting a text using the regular text messaging app on my android phone, I was sending it to a friend, but I got distracted by a call and never sent the text. Later I went to finish it and send it but he had gone in and put some smart-alec comment in the text of the message I was drafting. I was shocked. He refuses to tell me how he did it. I went through all the set…

Hate to say it, but he doesn’t sound like much of a friend if he’s owned your phone and refuses to elaborate on how.

Sounds like a good joke to be of either side on to me. No harm done.

Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hate to say it, but he doesn’t sound like much of a friend if he’s owned your phone and refuses to elaborate on how.

Sounds like a good joke to be of either side on to me. No harm done.

to me this is an unacceptable boundary to cross. I would never be able to trust someone that does that.

Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#34
post #24

Something happened to me the other day, I started drafting a text using the regular text messaging app on my android phone, I was sending it to a friend, but I got distracted by a call and never sent the text. Later I went to finish it and send it but he had gone in and put some smart-alec comment in the text of the message I was drafting. I was shocked. He refuses to tell me how he did it. I went through all the set…

Option 1: Sounds to me like physical access is most likely. Your friend, or someone who knows them saw the message on your phone because you left it unlocked somewhere, and added it that way. Option 2: Autocomplete randomly added some weird stuff to your message without you noticing it, and your friend took credit for it, because that's the kind of friend they are. Option 3: Your draft got synced to some other phone…

I have a Galaxy S21 5G with Android 13

I also changed my pin because I suspect he saw me entering it, but when this occurred he was at the other end of town so it would have had to have been some sort of remote access. I am thinking maybe phone link, which I had been using with my laptop, I disabled that.

It was definitely not autocomplete because he said something that only he would have know regarding the message I was typing.

He is being kind of a dick about it but I think will probably tell me if I push it but I guess part of it is I don't want to appear as stupid as I guess I am and want to at least get an idea of what it was.

I also turned on face recognition so that people will not see me putting in my pin.

I do not think he went through my laptop because it was turned off at the time.

It has been making me crazy. I will probably have to buy him a bottle of wine or something to get him to confess :)

UI Verion 5.1 Android Version 13 Kernel 5.4.219 Android Security patch level March 1, 2023

The app is called Messages, it's the default app and it's version 14.1.30.19

It was a half typed message, something like this:

I put in: "Hey Dan, are you going to the comedy club Friday " but was going to put night and is anyone else going. but took a call. then he somehow put in the text area where i was typing "yeah, Jan and Steve are going too but you are buying me drinks if you want to know how I did this."

So I knew it was him, I never hit send. So, he was in my phone I think.

Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like a good joke to be of either side on to me. No harm done.

to me this is an unacceptable boundary to cross. I would never be able to trust someone that does that.

Yeah, I sort of feel that way too but maybe also is a good lesson learned.

Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#36
post #22

Something happened to me the other day, I started drafting a text using the regular text messaging app on my android phone, I was sending it to a friend, but I got distracted by a call and never sent the text. Later I went to finish it and send it but he had gone in and put some smart-alec comment in the text of the message I was drafting. I was shocked. He refuses to tell me how he did it. I went through all the set…

Were the two of you ever in physical proximity?

Yeah, I replied in the thread earlier, I suspect he saw me put my pin in. But at the time it happened he was on the other side of town.

Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#37

Something happened to me the other day, I started drafting a text using the regular text messaging app on my android phone, I was sending it to a friend, but I got distracted by a call and never sent the text. Later I went to finish it and send it but he had gone in and put some smart-alec comment in the text of the message I was drafting. I was shocked. He refuses to tell me how he did it. I went through all the set…

He might've paired a bluetooth keyboard to your phone at some point.

hmmm, could be, but at the time it happened he was on the other end of town but I wonder if will we were in close proximity he could have connected a BT device somehow and planted something.

Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#38
Some of these employee/child “monitoring” apps rival Remote Access Trojans (RATs) that used to wreak havoc in the early days of Windows, before Windows Defender and detailed permissions level access prompts were brought to the attention of the user (Windows UAC (User Account Control prompts).

I feel like mobile operating systems have been stuck in the early Windows “undetectable RAT era” for far too long, only recently getting basic UI prompts for oversight/control of OS-level permissions settings per app.

I believe it was Apple that forced this privacy angle on the smartphone space and Android was forced to comply, since Android and Google’s business model is to track, profile and harvest user generated data for targeted advertising. AdTech is too profitable and has pervase incentives to keep spying on users.

With all that said, I really respect the approach the EU takes to safeguard privacy and enforce compliance from big corps.

Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#39

Something happened to me the other day, I started drafting a text using the regular text messaging app on my android phone, I was sending it to a friend, but I got distracted by a call and never sent the text. Later I went to finish it and send it but he had gone in and put some smart-alec comment in the text of the message I was drafting. I was shocked. He refuses to tell me how he did it. I went through all the set…

Hate to say it, but he doesn’t sound like much of a friend if he’s owned your phone and refuses to elaborate on how.

I think he will fess up eventually, but is sort of being a dick about it for sure.

I was hoping HN could give me ideas, but now he will probably read this on HN and then really give me a hard time about it.

Re: What happens when your phone is spying on you

#40

Something happened to me the other day, I started drafting a text using the regular text messaging app on my android phone, I was sending it to a friend, but I got distracted by a call and never sent the text. Later I went to finish it and send it but he had gone in and put some smart-alec comment in the text of the message I was drafting. I was shocked. He refuses to tell me how he did it. I went through all the set…

Type the message you sent again into a random text message window and see if it changes to the smart alec comment again.

My guess is that at an earlier time he had access to your phone unlocked (when you stepped away perhaps) and changed the autocorrect for a common word or phrase to be something else as a prank.

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