Check your phone! Hidden page shows if your calls are being intercepted
You know we love a good iPhone secret. Tap or click here for 10 iPhone tricks Kim uses daily, and you will, too.
Here’s an iPhone feature that you might not know about. A built-in tool checks whether your calls or messages are being forwarded. This is great if you’re worried about privacy. Even better, it’s super easy to try.
Keep reading to learn how to unlock it and see for yourself.
Find out if someone is snooping on your phone
Most Apple users know that the keypad they use to dial phone numbers can also be used to input commands that let you do many things. These include everything from displaying your device’s IMEI number to adjusting settings for blocked calls.
Your keypad is where you’ll utilize this cool privacy trick. Open the Phone app and tap on the keypad. Plug in the code *#21#. After doing so, hit the green Call button to activate it. The results should look like the following:
A list of reports should pop up over a gray field. In it will be all the details regarding the activity of your calls, SMS messages and even faxes. If they are listed as Disabled, you’re all good. Essentially, your calls and messages are not being forwarded to another device.
Enabling any of these settings allows you to forward incoming messages and voice calls to another phone, which can be helpful if done intentionally.
How to secure your calls and texts
Suppose you haven’t enabled any of these settings and see they’re enabled. In that case, you can disable Call Forwarding on your iPhone.
Here’s how:
Secret text codes you can use with your carrier
Your smartphone is capable of more than you think, and your carrier knows how to unlock all of its secrets by pressing just a few buttons. These codes, called Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), can be used to scan networks and activate service right from your phone’s dialer.
Block your number when making calls
Before the onslaught of the pandemic, you probably didn’t use your smartphone to make phone calls very much. Now, carriers are reporting surges in calls as we seek more personal connections while following social distancing guidelines.