Conduct a 5-minute phone privacy audit to prevent spying.

Here are some easy measures you can implement to secure your phone.

Our phones contain a wealth of personal information, including messages to loved ones, financial data, login credentials, and family photos.

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Ensure your privacy is protected by conducting a privacy audit in just five minutes.

Check your permissions

Apps often request various permissions to access different phone features, such as location, camera, microphone, contacts, and text messages. While some permissions are necessary for the app to function properly, such as a navigation app needing access to location, others are completely unnecessary.

Be cautious of apps that request access to your phone's location, camera, and microphone. Only trust apps that have a legitimate reason for needing these permissions.

It's better to be cautious when granting unnecessary permissions to apps, as it increases your privacy exposure. For example, a shopping app doesn't need access to your contacts, and a photo editing app doesn't need to know your current location.

Person using iPhone — Make sure you're keeping tabs on what you're giving different apps access to on your phone. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

To check what permissions each app have:

To access the settings for the iPhone's location services, camera, or microphone, navigate to Settings > Privacy & Security and select the desired option.
To access the Permission Manager on Google Pixel, go to Settings > Security and privacy > Privacy controls > Permission manager.
Samsung Galaxy: Head to Settings > Security and privacy > Permission manager.

Check for forgotten app permissions on your computer.

Lock down everything

Your phone's lock screen is the initial line of defense against unauthorized access. You can employ a PIN, pattern, fingerprint, or facial recognition to secure it. Regardless of the method you select, it's far more secure than leaving your phone unguarded.

Avoid using easily guessable PINs like your birthdate, address, or phone number's last digits.

Apple iPhone: Set this up via Face ID & Passcode.
Google Pixel: Head to Settings > Security and privacy > Device lock.
Samsung Galaxy: Under Settings, look for Lock screen and AOD.

teen girl hides phone screen from mom — Make sure you're setting your phone to lock itself as soon as possible. It's an easy, foolproof way to keep prying eyes away from your sensitive info. (iStock)

I prefer my phone to lock automatically after 30 seconds of inactivity to balance security and inconvenience.

Apple iPhone: Under Settings, choose Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock.
Google Pixel: Head to Settings > Display and touch > Screen timeout.
Samsung Galaxy: From your settings, tap Display > Screen timeout.

Keep out strangers

The short-range transfer technology in iOS and Android is incredibly useful for sharing with friends and family, but you don't want strangers sending you unwanted media files.

At the airport, I experienced a prank by teenagers using silly pictures, but it could have resulted in a much worse outcome.

You can restrict AirDrop transfers to contacts only or turn it off completely by going to Settings > General > AirDrop.
The transfer tool on Android devices is called Quick Share (formerly Nearby Share). On a Pixel, you can find the sharing preferences under Settings > Connected devices > Connection preferences > Quick Share. On a Galaxy, it is located under Settings > Connected devices > Quick Share.

Browse the web

Instant tracking will be enabled on your phone's browser unless you take action to prevent it.

Google apps — Web browsing apps are rife with instant tracking mechanisms. Fortunately, you can disable them. (Chesnot/Getty Images)

To limit cross-site tracking on your iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Safari, then scroll to Privacy & Security and toggle on the option for Prevent Cross-Site Tracking.
To enable blocking of third-party cookies on Chrome for Android, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Third-party cookies and toggle it on.

Pass along the information so that your loved ones, including teenagers, can stay safe.

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