Although laws vary from place to place, they are mostly designed to protect personal privacy. Laws are always subject to change.
Going through someone’s phone is illegal if you do not have their permission to do so. It is illegal to use someone’s mobile phone without asking them if you can do so first.
Therefore, if you are thinking about going through someone’s phone, installing a tracking application to follow their location, or taking someone’s phone away, you should verify that your actions are not punishable by law in your location.
In some countries and places, going through someone’s phone may be illegal. Here is more information about what can happen if you go through someone’s phone.
Is Going Through Someone’s Phone Illegal?
This is a tricky question! We’ve all been tempted to snoop on someone’s phone before, whether it was a girlfriend you suspected of cheating or just a phone left laying around on a table.
It’s difficult to know if our natural curiosity is just bad manners or illegal and punishable by law.
Should you snoop through someone’s phone -no! That’s an invasion of privacy and a deal-breaker for many relationships. It’s simply not worth the risk.
Is it illegal to go through someone’s phone? In some places, yes. This question comes down to where you live. In some cases, it is illegal to go through someone’s phone.
We’ll discuss the reasons for this later on in this article. If you intend on going through someone’s phone, verify that it’s not a crime by contacting local law enforcement or researching your country, state, town, region, or province’s laws.
What about hacking and spying with surveillance software, spy apps, and spyware? Yes, it is illegal. Before you go through someone’s phone, you may want to reconsider.
Is Going Through Someone’s Phone an Invasion of privacy?
Yes, going through another’s phone is an invasion of privacy. What is an invasion of privacy? An invasion of privacy is any action that intrudes on someone’s sense of privacy without consent.
A common belief is that if there is nothing to hide, you should not mind showing someone. It’s not about hiding. It’s the principle of the matter.
Some things are private and not for the eyes of everyone. We all have the most mundane of things that we want to keep private, at all costs.
My ex once had a photo of him in an ugly Christmas sweater hidden on his phone. If I found it on his phone on my own, I wouldn’t have thought twice about the picture. In his mind, however, it was the most embarrassing thing ever.
There may not be anything of interest or anything worth hiding on the device, but many people would prefer to keep the contents of their phone private.
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who will willingly show all the contents of their phone to strangers on a street.
Regardless of if the phone belongs to a loved one or a stranger, you should always ask for permission before going through their private devices.
It’s worth pointing out that even if someone has willingly given you their passcode or has shown you contents on their phone before, it does not mean you can see those contents again or browse the device at will.
It’s better for you and your relationships if you ask first then browse.
Is it Illegal to Go Through Your Spouse’s Phone?
It is illegal to hack or install spy software on your spouse’s phone in many cases.
It does not matter if you are married to the person or not unless you have permission to go through their phone, it is not advisable to do so. You may end up in legal trouble.
Just looking at a photo or two without permission might not land you in legal trouble, but it might damage your relationship.
Can You Press Charges for Someone Going Through Your Phone?
No, you can not. Only law enforcement may press charges against someone. You may file a complaint against someone for going through your phone, but it is uncertain if anything will come of it.
It depends on your local laws and what they did once they went through your phone. If they stole credit card information from your phone and you can prove it, you may have a strong case.
However, if they just opened your phone, looked at a photo, and then left it alone, the police may not be able to do anything to help you.
Looking at Someone’s Phone Without Permission
It is inadvisable to look at someone’s phone without permission. Everyone is entitled to a certain level of privacy.
Not only this but snooping through someone’s phone may ruin the relationship. Unless you have a good reason, don’t do it.
Is it illegal to Take Someone’s Phone Away?
Yes! It is absolutely a crime to take someone’s phone away. Taking a phone away can mean several things – stealing it, breaking it, making it unable, temporarily removing the phone from another’s possession.
We will discuss each of these scenarios separately. Let’s start with stealing.
You can take someone’s phone away by stealing it or placing it in a location that is unknown to them.
Stealing of any sort is absolutely a crime, and you may end up paying fines, or worse spending some time in jail depending on if you’ve committed a crime in the past or the country in which the phone was stolen. At any rate, do not steal anyone’s phone.
We’ve all been there – you and your significant other get in an argument in the heat of the moment you accidentally or intentionally break their phone.
The phone is unusable, and you’ve technically taken the phone away from that phone. Is that a crime? Yes. The intentional destruction of property in most countries is illegal.
What about temporarily removing the phone from someone’s possession? For instance, your spouse has been neglecting household duties because they are always scrolling on Facebook, so you take it upon yourself to solve the problem by hiding the phone.
Is that illegal? In most cases, your spouse probably isn’t going to file a report against you.
However, they are well within their rights to report the item as stolen (you did technically take it), and whether or not you intended to return the item or not it will not matter. It may qualify as stealing either way.
Can You Track Someone Else’s Phone Without Them Knowing?
Yes, but only if you don’t mind criminal charges that could be filed later on. It is not acceptable to track someone’s phone without them knowing, and in many cases, it is illegal.
Tracking someone’s phone gives up access to their exact location at any moment of the day or night.
You may be tracking your spouse who you suspect of cheating or following a stranger. In either case, it could be illegal. There is no justifiable reason to track someone’s phone without consent.
Tracking someone’s phone without their knowledge and consent is illegal in many places.
Whenever law enforcement wants to track a potential suspect, they need a reason to do so. They will receive a warrant to track someone’s phone and their physical location.
If law enforcement needs the warrant to track the phone of someone who they suspect is a criminal, murderer, or worst, you should think twice about installing tracking software on someone’s phone.
Software companies release countless tracking applications. In many cases these apps are undetectable.
The person you are tracking will have no clue that they are being secretly followed. However, having access to these apps does not justify their use.
There are applications to do just about anything these days; nevertheless, you may be committing a crime in your area if you install a tracking app and then utilize it to follow someone.
There is one exception – children. Most law enforcement agencies do not require parents to obtain permission from their children to track their cell phones. They are minors; therefore, their consent is not required.
What to Look For When Snooping Through a Phone?
We do not recommend snooping through a phone. It may be a criminal offense in your location.
However, if you check with your local law enforcement and find that there is a loophole or it is legal, then proceed to snoop through someone’s phone.
What is your motivation for looking through someone’s phone? Your motive for snooping will determine what you should look for.
Do you suspect a spouse of cheating? Does someone have an embarrassing or illicit photo of you, and you want to find and delete it?
If you decide to snoop through a phone, look through the gallery. If it’s a photo you’ll be looking for, you’ll be sure to find it. Consider whether or not there could be a private or secret album on the phone?
There are plenty of ways to hide things we don’t want others to find easily on their mobiles. Many apps offer hidden file capabilities that allow the user to hide photos.
Check the email inbox. If the person is an iPhone user, he or she may have more than one inbox. Any of their inboxes may be used to hide something. It’s also a good idea to check the deleted files. There may be something of interest there.
Check specific applications. If you suspect your spouse is cheating on you because of a Facebook comment, it is probably best to have a look at their Messenger.
There are plenty of ways to hide things on Messenger, so do not forget to check the spam and achieved messages.
Check all social media apps. You’ll need a lot of time for this. If you are looking for a shared photo, video, or file, your best chances are finding it in their inbox on social media.
What social media applications does the person use the most? Start there, and finish by checking every social media app you can find on your phone.
Check their browser history. We often forget to delete our cache and browser history on laptops, so they’ve likely forgotten to close out all of their tabs, log out of a website, or delete their browsing history on their cellphones.
Many users have more than one web browser on their phones. For example, iPhone comes preloaded with Safari, but some users prefer to use Google Chrome.
You might not find anything of interest on Safari, but maybe there’s something on their Firefox or Google Chrome browsing history.
Look for dating apps. This especially applies to spouses or partners who think their significant other may be cheating.
There are numerous dating apps on the market – Tinder, Bumble, Plenty of Fish, etc. Tinder is extremely popular, but they may be using a lesser-known dating app, so carefully look at the apps on the user’s phone.
Check the notification screen. Numerous people forget to clear out their notifications, or perhaps a new one came in while the phone was in your procession.
A user could be receiving notifications for several apps on their phone. If you don’t find anything of interest in the notifications, then at least you will have an idea of what apps they are using the most.
Conclusion
Before you snoop, check the law! It may be illegal or restricted to go through someone’s phone in your location.
Laws change frequently. If you researched and it wasn’t illegal five years ago, it does not mean that it is not illegal now.
Look for the most up-to-date information that you can find, or contact law enforcement through their non-emergency line and verify what laws do and don’t apply.
If you choose to snoop, have a plan. You should not blindly look through the contents of someone’s phone. Have a specific goal in mind.
Are you looking for photos, videos, messages, documents, etc.? Once you settle on your goals, then select apps that may contain those specific files.
Regardless of if it is illegal or not, it is probably not a good idea to look through an adult’s phone without their permission. Many relationships are tainted once trust is lost.
Think and consider all your options before you snoop. These options include just asking for permission. In many cases, a loved one will agree to you seeing their phone.
If you are a parent and want to look through your child’s phone, in most cases it is legal. Minors do not receive the same privacy protections that adults receive.
Your child may consider it an invasion of privacy, so it is advisable to ask before snooping (even if illegally you don’t have to). Whether you decide to snoop or not, wait for your options carefully and make a plan.
