[imagesource: Unsplash / Mael Balland]

In this day and age, you likely have a smartphone. And if you have a smartphone, you’re likely familiar with some of the worries that come along with having one: lost or stolen phones, data breaches by third parties like hackers and scammers, and privacy concerns. There are many ways to protect your phone from these threats, but installing antivirus software is the easiest.

Keep Your Apps Updated

The first way to prevent your phone from being hacked is by keeping all the apps on your phone up to date.

This will make it harder for hackers to find vulnerabilities in the code and exploit them.

It is also advisable to use apps as far as possible; for example, if you like playing online slots NetBet for example, instead download the app to your mobile device and enjoy better gameplay, rather than doing it through your phone’s browser.

Use a Biometric Lock

Biometric locks are more secure than passwords and easier to use. They give you a choice between a few different biometric methods such as fingerprint scanning, facial recognition and iris scanning. Using one of these security methods on your phone’s lock screen will make it almost impossible for someone else to get into your phone without your permission.

Image: Unsplash / Kenny Eliason

Do Not Store Personal Information on Your Phone

An essential step to avoiding a phone hack is ensuring you don’t store any sensitive information on your phone. This may seem obvious, but many people don’t do this. If you tend to forget things or write down important information on random scraps of paper, then that’s even more reason not to use your phone as a digital storage device.

Do Not Click on Suspicious Links

If you want to keep your phone safe from hackers, the first thing you should do is not open suspicious links. That means not opening links shorter than the minimum length and sent by unknown sources. It also means not opening shortened URLs in emails, IMs or SMSs.

Avoid Rooting or Jailbreaking

Rooting, or gaining root access to your Android device, allows you to run apps requiring more phone privileges. You give yourself elevated control over the operating system and its files. A jailbroken iPhone gives users access to software other than what Apple allows through its App Store. But there’s a catch: Rooting or jailbreaking your device can leave you vulnerable to hackers who could take over your phone by exploiting security flaws in those custom operating systems.

Use a Web Browser That Has a Privacy Mode

If you’re concerned about privacy while browsing, here are a few things to look for in a browser:

• Privacy mode. Make sure that your browser has an incognito or private mode. This will stop the browser from saving your activity history and cookies on your computer.
• An ad blocker or script blocker will prevent malicious ads from appearing on sites you visit by blocking them together instead of just putting up warning messages requesting that they be disabled. 

Takeaway

There are many ways to protect yourself from malware and other threats by keeping your phone updated with the latest security patches, using biometrics like FaceID or TouchID so no one else can access it without permission, and avoiding suspicious links or apps containing hidden malware installed without your knowledge.