How do I know if an application is using the phone's microphone?

Security researcher Natalie Silvanovich said the vulnerability is part of the data management system, and if not patched, hackers can take advantage of the microphone on the phone to eavesdrop without users knowing. .

According to the Silvanovich report, exploiting the vulnerability only takes a few seconds. She reported the issue to Facebook in October, and the company quietly patched the bug in, users don't need to update the app to get the fix.

After receiving the reward from Facebook, Silvanovich said that she would use the $ 60,000 money to donate to charities.

How to Detect an application using the microphone

Starting with iOS 14, Apple has focused on improving privacy issues, letting users know when the phone's camera or microphone is being used (via the orange dots. or green in the right corner of the screen).

However, Android devices do not have this feature available, so you will need to install the Access Dots app. When finished, the app will display a green or orange circle (you can change the color as you want) in the upper right corner of the screen whenever someone uses the microphone or camera.

How can I prevent apps from using microphone on Android?

To get back access to the microphone of an app, go to Settings - Apps - App Permissions - Micro, then select the apps to be recalled. access. For example, image editing applications, games, libraries . do not necessarily use microphones.

If you want to revoke the right to use the camera, you just need to do the same. Note that the names and locations of the options may vary depending on the device you are using.

Jessica Tanner

Update 23 November 2020