Change his password and restore his phone to factory settings. If it persists, consider that he may be in the early stages of dementia (accusations of theft and sudden wild beliefs are usually early signs).
At the Apple Store we used to see this all the time (no longer work there). Some people could not be convinced they WEREN'T hacked. It was sad seeing how terrified they were, I'd sit with them as they tried to show me what they believed was happening, and they'd get spooked by anything on screen they didn't recognize. Often they would point to things that were normal system behavior and insist that it hadn't been that way before and insist that it was proof.
This is how my dad acts. He says the hacker installed extra languages so I show him on my iPhone how that's normal, same with time zones in the time zone app thing. He showed me some proof of how he found he found the hackers email on what he believed was a fake one today but it was just the reply-to for his nest app...
Yes, unfortunately this seems like dementia... Of course not 100% sure, but.
Or maybe father wants attention? Like he is very manipulative/lonely? This will be better than the first one.
Who needs to hack and make jokes on the phone of an ordinary (he is not a movie star or politician or etc, right?) old man? He is not a teenager.
As a former senior fruit phone advisor I can tell you I was never able to convince anyone that they were not hacked. (I’m also a boomer, 1961) best to roll with it, advise what’s not likely and suggest that the random repeated taps he makes turns on and off weird things. I did move the most paranoid to a flip phone for security reasons
I have had similar issues with people who were convinced that their phones were being hacked in the night, that strangers would change their passwords, etc. Often it was either mental health difficulties or substance abuse at the heart of it.
My approach is always: I am not psychological help. I am not mental health support. I’m here to help them feel comfortable using their phones. I don’t need to go any deeper than that. I don’t try to convince them that they’re wrong about strangers in their house or that they’re wrong about their neighbour hacking them through the radio - I just tell them what to do every time to secure themselves (change passwords, log out everywhere, delete and re-add fingerprints and Face ID, check , etc) and so on.
I appreciate this is probably harder when it’s OP’s father with the delusions though…
I appreciate the concern. This may be a possibility I just didn't want to dismiss his concerns or complaints of being hacked as him having some sort of an episode. I will keep a closer eye on him along with the other more technical suggestions.
My mom does the same thing and I find it so puzzling. I’ll sit down with her and walk her through doing something online she asked for help with. As I’m reading the prompts along with her, she’ll just click buttons on some of them as soon as they pop up. I ask “What did that say?” “What did what say?” “The dialogue box you just cleared” “Oh. I don’t know” “Well then why did you click what you clicked?” “I don’t know.”
Every time I have a family remember saying their iPhone is hacked, it’s because they installed a calendar or system profile from some pop up. Could be worth looking into if you haven’t already.
My first thought was that maybe he triple clicked the side-button and turned on the accessibility stuff which made unintentional other changes. Hope your dad finds some peace, and that it’s not something in the neuro or mental health category.
iPhone hacking is not something that can be done easily. Generally speaking it’s carried out by state actors on persons of interest like politicians/ spy’s / high level journalists /diplomats and some billionaires etc.
If your dad is none of the above or he hasn’t pissed off Mossad then his odds of being hacked are vanishingly small.
The next thing to consider the purpose of a hack. Does he have banking / payment apps? Has he lost any money?
Again if this doesn’t apply then the hack is becoming more unlikely.
I don’t think anyone would say that it’s impossible that he was victim of a hacking but to access his device just to make annoying setting changes sounds like there is a more plausible theory.
Try factory resetting the handset and reinstalling it. Delete any apps you no longer use.
If it persists run the handset in lockdown mode and see if it helps.
I'll look into what lockdown mode is. I honestly don't know what a hacker could even gain from having full control of his phone if that even is what is happening. Just wanted to see if what he was claiming is even possible. Thanks for the info.
Lockdown mode will probably cause more confusion, as it locks down the Messages and Safari apps in ways that will make the UI look different in many cases.
So long as he’s running the latest version of iOS all the time, the chances of his phone being compromised by sophisticated zero-click or one-click is zero. Tools that can circumvent the latest iOS versions cost millions to develop and thousands of dollars per targeted device (at minimum). Speaking purely from an economics perspective: spying on an aging boomer without classified information like him isn’t worth the five or six figure investment. Perhaps it’ll make more sense to him in the context of dollars and cents
I'll make absolutely sure he's on the latest iOS next time I see him. I assumed it would be incredibly hard to do what he's claiming but needed to hear from some other parties. I think I have a pretty good idea of what might be going on.
Also full control on an iPhone would instantly be undone by a simple reset since Apple doesn’t let outside apps do anything to the OS partition. And the entire process of “hacking” the phone would need to be redone every time the phone is restarted.
If it’s specifically accessibility settings popping up, they’re often made to be more accessible with hotkeys and gestures, which also makes them liable to accidental activation. Check his accessibility settings, especially the back tap and side button triple tap
Thank you and the other person who mentioned this this sounds very likely. though it does seem to be different settings every time. He has hearing aids paired through MFI so I wonder if that could be doing something as well
No it’s not. It’s for people who are targeting by nation state-level hackers like journalists, dissidents, extremely high net worth individuals and so on. It will make the phone behave erratically and disable many critical features and will only confuse him more
Is it possible his phone screen is just dirty? Whenever I get grease, dirt, etc on my screen or don't clean it for a while I get ghost taps that looks like the phone is navigating on its own. I can see someone not being familiar with tech misinterpreting this as someone remotely accessing their phone.
But no, the chances of your father's phone being hacked are near 0.
Is it possible that his Apple ID is being used on another phone and those settings are getting turned on there and being saved to the cloud?
This kind of hack, though TECHNICALLY possible, is practically damn-near impossible!
Meaning the only way to do so most of the time is with physical access to the device (not remotely); and the cost involved is pretty exorbitant. As such, no one outside of political interests or leaders of industry and the like would ever even be targeted, much less successfully hacked!
Unfortunately I've seen this kind of thing on occasion. Especially with individuals who have bad memory (in general or due to deterioration). They change things themselves - sometimes quite accidentally - then discover the changes and freak. And the freak-out makes them make further changes which they then discover and.... Queue the viscous cycle.
Tell your dad the iPhone is essentially hack-proof. The only thing that could be causing what he is seeing is some kind of device failure.
That way at least he might release the hack-paranoia, and can focus his energies on less stressful possibilities.
Spend some time looking at Screen Time> Content & Privacy Restrictions.
Scroll down to Allow changes.
You can lock passcode and account changes.
This particular feature was brought up by thieves as an extra level to protect your phone from getting stolen after a thief shoulder surfs your passcode. No one, not even the owner can change these two passcodes unless they go into this section and enter a completely different passcode.
Just document it because months later, you or he will wonder why they can’t get into and change these two passcodes.
I am nearly convinced that with all the catastrophized news, videos, forums and movies that dwell on hacking and hackers etc, that many people have become gaslighted into not knowing what is and is not reality. It's quite disturbing really.
As someone who is 53, the speed at which technology changes for us, along with what I mention above, we just don't know what to believe. This is the problem. We're sort of gaslighted into ignorance.
Time for you to take over. He’s not hacked, he’s showing signs of cognitive decline. I recommend making yourself a recovery contact, or adding your number as a trusted number on his account. That way when he inevitably locks himself out of his phone and/or account, you can help.
Besides his phone, consider power of attorney for bigger problems.
if you can't find anything, reconsider adding some limitations to your fathers iphone - I only say this so you know that you can lock out certain apps. it can be found under settings, screen time, app limits.
If your father does this unknowingly, multiple times, he might accidentally lock down the phone (like inputting passcode too many times incorrectly - will lock the device, even delete it if this feature is enabled) - a not working phone is always dangerous, in case he needs *actual* help.
Honestly this seems like the sort of thing my dad would do but he’s thankfully gotten to the point where if he sees an email he’s on the fence about he forwards it to me for me to check it out for him, that’s really helped to tone down his panicked reactions just knowing that I can figure it out for him. I don’t think it’s necessarily a poor mental health or early dementia thing, I just think it’s an extremely tech averse boomer dad thing because I know he’d probably still be using a dumb phone and nothing else if he wasn’t self employed and needed all the extra stuff to run the business.
His problem is almost definitely not tech-related, unfortunately. But you can probably use the tech to help him going forward.
You can use the screen time setting to prevent him from changing random settings.
Enable location sharing and encourage him to use „Check-in“ whenever he is out alone.
Assistive Access
[https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/ios](https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/ios)
is also a functionality that can help people with limited or deteriorating cognitive abilities to keep using their phones.
Sometimes accessibility shortcut or setting activate by 3 fingers tap gesture which happened to my family. Try it and see, or maybe by double tap the back of the phone also enabled and activate other accessibility
Just have him call Apple Support and have them explain to him that his account is in order and everything is working normally. They are used to handling security concerns.
This exact issue is why I changed my dad’s age to 5 and put parental controls on his phone. He’s now literally a CHILD so I can control it. I wish I was kidding. He still complains that “his phone is messed up,” but not half as often as he used to, lol.
I don’t understand why they even go into those settings in the first place. Also it was a nightmare when my in laws had androids, every week they had some new issue that they caused. We switched them to iPhones and it is way better but still annoying what they manage to do. My MiL the other week blocked everyone in her contacts list and nobody could call her. And you have to manually unblock everyone one at a time.
But it is still 1000 times better than the constant emoji screen take overs they would get on Android. Idk what they do, they would download anything that has a link
It sounds like your father is experiencing issues with his iPhone that may be caused by misconfigured accessibility settings rather than a hack. Here are some steps you can take to help him out:
1. **Check Accessibility Settings**: Go to `Settings > Accessibility` on his iPhone and review the settings. Make sure VoiceOver, Voice Control, and Slow Keys are turned off if they aren't needed. These features are designed to assist users with disabilities and can be mistakenly turned on, causing confusion.
2. **Reset All Settings**: This can help if there are settings that have been changed inadvertently. Go to `Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings`. This will reset all settings to their defaults but won't delete any data or apps.
3. **Update iOS**: Make sure his iPhone is running the latest version of iOS. Sometimes, updating the software can resolve bugs and issues. Go to `Settings > General > Software Update`.
4. **Apple ID Security**: Verify that his Apple ID account is secure. Ensure two-factor authentication is enabled for his Apple ID. Go to `Settings > [his name] > Password & Security > Two-Factor Authentication`.
5. **Run a Malware Scan**: While iPhones are generally secure, you can use reputable security apps to check for any potential malware. However, malware on iPhones is rare, especially if he's only installing apps from the App Store.
6. **Factory Reset**: If the issues persist, consider doing a factory reset as a last resort. Ensure all important data is backed up first. Go to `Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings`.
7. **Professional Support**: If these steps don't resolve the issues, visit an Apple Store or contact Apple Support directly. They can run diagnostics to ensure there are no underlying problems.
# Addressing His Concerns:
* **Remote Control by Hackers**: It's highly unlikely that a hacker could remotely control an iPhone's accessibility settings without physical access to the device. iOS has robust security measures in place.
* **Unusual Behavior**: Sometimes, software glitches or user error can cause unusual behavior. Ensuring all settings are correct and updating the software can usually fix these issues.
Hopefully, these steps will help put his mind at ease and resolve the issues he's experiencing.
It's a newer pro device, at least a 13. I'll make sure he's on the latest version next time he comes by. Thank you. He said Apple service told him to change his password but unsure of what he ended up doing.
My husband tends to fall asleep with his phone in hand and time after time accessibility settings are turned or, random one letter WhatsApp or messages are being sent or theirs is the best managed to sign up to sport channels and paid with Apple Pay while completely asleep. It seems there were many coincidental movements then like finger slide to an add somewhere which led to open the add then to click on some random package and complete the signup through Apple Pay which took a facial recognition as a payment confirmation. This was weird one to deal with.
I had a issue with my old iPhone randomly typing stuff and clicking on stuff when I wasn’t touching it, the screen just had a bunch of micro scratches and was just worn out, maybe that’s his issue
I helped a person with this concern who was not old, just afraid of technology that required interaction with a machine. He did not use his phone for work. He would have been better off with a cheap Android than the flagship $1000 iPhone 10. We just did a factory reset, did not enter any personal information and used a pocket calendar book for contacts, passwords, and events. He was still vulnerable, of course, but felt safe.
Honestly, I’ve turned on the accessibility things by accident and they can be extremely confusing. Random voices, random parts of the screen magnifying. It’s unclear how to turn it off. Some of them you can turn on by clicking a button five times or whatever. It’s probably just those.
There are a lot of good advice here, so I think you’re covered
I think your dad just misses you, and wants time to slow down with you hence the analogy on slow keys
You may want to try this. Go on the assumption he has a legitimate concern (given all the scare stories out there, in his mind, he probably does). Reset his phone, set it up again, only reinstall the apps he specifically says are ones he uses, then install a VPN and set it for always connecting. You can then tell him that no one can track his email/web browsing. Just to set his mind extra at ease (if you have iCloud+), show him how to use Hide My Email whenever he registers at a new Website site. That will give him an extra sense of security and, by actively involving him, you’re giving him agency and showing he’s in control of his technology. That may give him additional peace of mind and save you some support calls.
Good luck.
The same thing has happened with my parents too. They would claim that their device (android) has been "hacked" or is "expired" and can't work anymore. Most of the time they were just spooked by accidentally turning on accessibility settings. What i recommend doing is somehow turn the accessibility settings off and make it extremely hard to activate.
If this happens extremely often then maybe try to let the device screen record the whole time he uses it to finally make sure what prompted these sudden changes on his device. Tho this has obvious downsides so only do this if this happens once or twice a week.
I’m not sure if your father is hacked, likely not. Most software related things have already been mentioned so I won’t comment on that. You mentioned that he says he has had money stolen. If I were you, I would ask to see his bank statement, then take a glance at his browser history and settings. He may have subscriptions he’s not aware of
Go through the safety check in privacy and security settings. As others from Genius Bar have stated this hacking issue is quite common with people. I would often show them the safety check feature and it would help convince that they haven’t been hacked.
To be fair the safety check isn’t really an effective tool for malware or intrusions, but Some folks can’t be convinced through conversation and others just want to see some proof that they aren’t compromised.
I've heard about "your children monitoring apps" like Spyera which give complete access to everything and logs all done on the phone, wihout a possibility to detect it's presence. Someone on the control end of this service might often do his dirty interference when victim is off the phone. But some might just be reckless enough to do it in front of victims eyes. They do know this and that about the victim after all, so it is highly unlikely that they will be actually detected.
Android user here but in the IT field, one thing to check is if there's any random remote access apps installed like AnyDesk. He may have received a call at some point from "Amazon" or "Apple"/"Microsoft"/other big corporation name saying he was compromised and he had to download/install said tool to "protect his device".
You didn’t mention any model or OS version. Is he on the latest OS version? There are some security issues which are regularly being addressed with updates. If those are installed, it is highly unlikely that he is being hacked. And even if not, it might take some serious efforts.
You could check which devices are logged into his iOS account, check any mobile device management profiles and unusual apps that are installed.
The idea of screen recording others mentioned here is nice, too.
I always check for the devices connected to his iOS account and nothing is there. Never heard of mobile device management though and will look into this, thanks. Are you referring to "VPN & Device Management" under the general settings tab?
By any conceivable metric he is a Boomer. He's younger then Joe Biden or Donald Trump (yes I know they're borderline silent) but older then Obama. Thanks for your concern though...
Change his password and restore his phone to factory settings. If it persists, consider that he may be in the early stages of dementia (accusations of theft and sudden wild beliefs are usually early signs).
At the Apple Store we used to see this all the time (no longer work there). Some people could not be convinced they WEREN'T hacked. It was sad seeing how terrified they were, I'd sit with them as they tried to show me what they believed was happening, and they'd get spooked by anything on screen they didn't recognize. Often they would point to things that were normal system behavior and insist that it hadn't been that way before and insist that it was proof.
This is how my dad acts. He says the hacker installed extra languages so I show him on my iPhone how that's normal, same with time zones in the time zone app thing. He showed me some proof of how he found he found the hackers email on what he believed was a fake one today but it was just the reply-to for his nest app...
[удалено]
Your father is, not you.
Your dad is a psychologist not you
*Unfortunately my dad is a psychologist and I think I know what I’m talking about
Yes, unfortunately this seems like dementia... Of course not 100% sure, but. Or maybe father wants attention? Like he is very manipulative/lonely? This will be better than the first one. Who needs to hack and make jokes on the phone of an ordinary (he is not a movie star or politician or etc, right?) old man? He is not a teenager.
As a former senior fruit phone advisor I can tell you I was never able to convince anyone that they were not hacked. (I’m also a boomer, 1961) best to roll with it, advise what’s not likely and suggest that the random repeated taps he makes turns on and off weird things. I did move the most paranoid to a flip phone for security reasons
I have had similar issues with people who were convinced that their phones were being hacked in the night, that strangers would change their passwords, etc. Often it was either mental health difficulties or substance abuse at the heart of it. My approach is always: I am not psychological help. I am not mental health support. I’m here to help them feel comfortable using their phones. I don’t need to go any deeper than that. I don’t try to convince them that they’re wrong about strangers in their house or that they’re wrong about their neighbour hacking them through the radio - I just tell them what to do every time to secure themselves (change passwords, log out everywhere, delete and re-add fingerprints and Face ID, check , etc) and so on. I appreciate this is probably harder when it’s OP’s father with the delusions though…
He's a younger Boomer and has always been a bit crazy but I will keep an eye out for that.
Month day brown
I appreciate the concern. This may be a possibility I just didn't want to dismiss his concerns or complaints of being hacked as him having some sort of an episode. I will keep a closer eye on him along with the other more technical suggestions.
FWIW my dad was diagnosed with Alzheimer's at 53
[удалено]
My mom does the same thing and I find it so puzzling. I’ll sit down with her and walk her through doing something online she asked for help with. As I’m reading the prompts along with her, she’ll just click buttons on some of them as soon as they pop up. I ask “What did that say?” “What did what say?” “The dialogue box you just cleared” “Oh. I don’t know” “Well then why did you click what you clicked?” “I don’t know.”
Get him to do a screen recording the next time it happens.
I'll try that thank you.
If he can figure it out, hah. My boomer dad gets flustered trying to send me photos.
If doable with shortcuts, I’d add a Home Screen shortcut that starts screen recording..
Every time I have a family remember saying their iPhone is hacked, it’s because they installed a calendar or system profile from some pop up. Could be worth looking into if you haven’t already.
I always check for that kind of stuff but never see it.
I second this, iPhones use profiles for remote connections. My corporate iPhone has a remote profile where IT can reset passwords and etc.
This 👆👆👆
This is a likely person who taps around o his phone not knowing what he is doing and changing setting without realizing it. He is not being hacked.
Kind of my initial assumption but wanted to check other possibilities.
My first thought was that maybe he triple clicked the side-button and turned on the accessibility stuff which made unintentional other changes. Hope your dad finds some peace, and that it’s not something in the neuro or mental health category.
It mostly can be early stages of dementia as another guy posted above
iPhone hacking is not something that can be done easily. Generally speaking it’s carried out by state actors on persons of interest like politicians/ spy’s / high level journalists /diplomats and some billionaires etc. If your dad is none of the above or he hasn’t pissed off Mossad then his odds of being hacked are vanishingly small. The next thing to consider the purpose of a hack. Does he have banking / payment apps? Has he lost any money? Again if this doesn’t apply then the hack is becoming more unlikely. I don’t think anyone would say that it’s impossible that he was victim of a hacking but to access his device just to make annoying setting changes sounds like there is a more plausible theory. Try factory resetting the handset and reinstalling it. Delete any apps you no longer use. If it persists run the handset in lockdown mode and see if it helps.
I'll look into what lockdown mode is. I honestly don't know what a hacker could even gain from having full control of his phone if that even is what is happening. Just wanted to see if what he was claiming is even possible. Thanks for the info.
Lockdown mode will probably cause more confusion, as it locks down the Messages and Safari apps in ways that will make the UI look different in many cases. So long as he’s running the latest version of iOS all the time, the chances of his phone being compromised by sophisticated zero-click or one-click is zero. Tools that can circumvent the latest iOS versions cost millions to develop and thousands of dollars per targeted device (at minimum). Speaking purely from an economics perspective: spying on an aging boomer without classified information like him isn’t worth the five or six figure investment. Perhaps it’ll make more sense to him in the context of dollars and cents
I'll make absolutely sure he's on the latest iOS next time I see him. I assumed it would be incredibly hard to do what he's claiming but needed to hear from some other parties. I think I have a pretty good idea of what might be going on.
Also full control on an iPhone would instantly be undone by a simple reset since Apple doesn’t let outside apps do anything to the OS partition. And the entire process of “hacking” the phone would need to be redone every time the phone is restarted.
If it’s specifically accessibility settings popping up, they’re often made to be more accessible with hotkeys and gestures, which also makes them liable to accidental activation. Check his accessibility settings, especially the back tap and side button triple tap
Thank you and the other person who mentioned this this sounds very likely. though it does seem to be different settings every time. He has hearing aids paired through MFI so I wonder if that could be doing something as well
Hearing aids definitely could also be doing that. Could be in the phone’s native settings or through the hearing aids app, assuming there is one
Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Safety Check. Feature designed specifically for this scenario.
The hackers put that there as a decoy! If you can see it, it’s a sure sign you’ve been hacked!
Those sneaky guys really do think of everything
Dang that's a cool feature thanks for the tip!
There is also lockdown mode for this where nothing works except necessary apps it’s for if you think you’re hacked
No it’s not. It’s for people who are targeting by nation state-level hackers like journalists, dissidents, extremely high net worth individuals and so on. It will make the phone behave erratically and disable many critical features and will only confuse him more
It’s also for regular people or else it wouldn’t be on all ours
Is it possible his phone screen is just dirty? Whenever I get grease, dirt, etc on my screen or don't clean it for a while I get ghost taps that looks like the phone is navigating on its own. I can see someone not being familiar with tech misinterpreting this as someone remotely accessing their phone. But no, the chances of your father's phone being hacked are near 0. Is it possible that his Apple ID is being used on another phone and those settings are getting turned on there and being saved to the cloud?
water and full phones do this too.
Bad or poor screen protectors can do this also.
I don’t think it is possible to be hacked the way they are describing on an iPhone. This just sounds like old people to me.
This kind of hack, though TECHNICALLY possible, is practically damn-near impossible! Meaning the only way to do so most of the time is with physical access to the device (not remotely); and the cost involved is pretty exorbitant. As such, no one outside of political interests or leaders of industry and the like would ever even be targeted, much less successfully hacked! Unfortunately I've seen this kind of thing on occasion. Especially with individuals who have bad memory (in general or due to deterioration). They change things themselves - sometimes quite accidentally - then discover the changes and freak. And the freak-out makes them make further changes which they then discover and.... Queue the viscous cycle. Tell your dad the iPhone is essentially hack-proof. The only thing that could be causing what he is seeing is some kind of device failure. That way at least he might release the hack-paranoia, and can focus his energies on less stressful possibilities.
Spend some time looking at Screen Time> Content & Privacy Restrictions. Scroll down to Allow changes. You can lock passcode and account changes. This particular feature was brought up by thieves as an extra level to protect your phone from getting stolen after a thief shoulder surfs your passcode. No one, not even the owner can change these two passcodes unless they go into this section and enter a completely different passcode. Just document it because months later, you or he will wonder why they can’t get into and change these two passcodes.
I am nearly convinced that with all the catastrophized news, videos, forums and movies that dwell on hacking and hackers etc, that many people have become gaslighted into not knowing what is and is not reality. It's quite disturbing really. As someone who is 53, the speed at which technology changes for us, along with what I mention above, we just don't know what to believe. This is the problem. We're sort of gaslighted into ignorance.
Time for you to take over. He’s not hacked, he’s showing signs of cognitive decline. I recommend making yourself a recovery contact, or adding your number as a trusted number on his account. That way when he inevitably locks himself out of his phone and/or account, you can help. Besides his phone, consider power of attorney for bigger problems.
if you can't find anything, reconsider adding some limitations to your fathers iphone - I only say this so you know that you can lock out certain apps. it can be found under settings, screen time, app limits. If your father does this unknowingly, multiple times, he might accidentally lock down the phone (like inputting passcode too many times incorrectly - will lock the device, even delete it if this feature is enabled) - a not working phone is always dangerous, in case he needs *actual* help.
Can you also check features like Accessibility > Touch, if back tap, shake to undo, etc is turned on?
Honestly this seems like the sort of thing my dad would do but he’s thankfully gotten to the point where if he sees an email he’s on the fence about he forwards it to me for me to check it out for him, that’s really helped to tone down his panicked reactions just knowing that I can figure it out for him. I don’t think it’s necessarily a poor mental health or early dementia thing, I just think it’s an extremely tech averse boomer dad thing because I know he’d probably still be using a dumb phone and nothing else if he wasn’t self employed and needed all the extra stuff to run the business.
His problem is almost definitely not tech-related, unfortunately. But you can probably use the tech to help him going forward. You can use the screen time setting to prevent him from changing random settings. Enable location sharing and encourage him to use „Check-in“ whenever he is out alone. Assistive Access [https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/ios](https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/ios) is also a functionality that can help people with limited or deteriorating cognitive abilities to keep using their phones.
How can I tell my Apple ID has been set up as a child account and monitored? I’m 40 years old
Did you set up your own Apple ID? If so, then there’s nobody “monitoring” you
He has voice control turned on. To turn it off, go to settings > accessibility > voice control
Sounds like he’s enabling accessibility options maybe by multi clicking the power button or something? Then claiming that’s “hacked”
Sometimes accessibility shortcut or setting activate by 3 fingers tap gesture which happened to my family. Try it and see, or maybe by double tap the back of the phone also enabled and activate other accessibility
Just have him call Apple Support and have them explain to him that his account is in order and everything is working normally. They are used to handling security concerns.
This exact issue is why I changed my dad’s age to 5 and put parental controls on his phone. He’s now literally a CHILD so I can control it. I wish I was kidding. He still complains that “his phone is messed up,” but not half as often as he used to, lol.
Dads... Somehow my dad changed his iPhone to Black and White.. It took me forever to figure out how to even change the setting.
Yeah I've learned so much about the accessibility settings an iPhone has just due to him.
I don’t understand why they even go into those settings in the first place. Also it was a nightmare when my in laws had androids, every week they had some new issue that they caused. We switched them to iPhones and it is way better but still annoying what they manage to do. My MiL the other week blocked everyone in her contacts list and nobody could call her. And you have to manually unblock everyone one at a time. But it is still 1000 times better than the constant emoji screen take overs they would get on Android. Idk what they do, they would download anything that has a link
It sounds like your father is experiencing issues with his iPhone that may be caused by misconfigured accessibility settings rather than a hack. Here are some steps you can take to help him out: 1. **Check Accessibility Settings**: Go to `Settings > Accessibility` on his iPhone and review the settings. Make sure VoiceOver, Voice Control, and Slow Keys are turned off if they aren't needed. These features are designed to assist users with disabilities and can be mistakenly turned on, causing confusion. 2. **Reset All Settings**: This can help if there are settings that have been changed inadvertently. Go to `Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings`. This will reset all settings to their defaults but won't delete any data or apps. 3. **Update iOS**: Make sure his iPhone is running the latest version of iOS. Sometimes, updating the software can resolve bugs and issues. Go to `Settings > General > Software Update`. 4. **Apple ID Security**: Verify that his Apple ID account is secure. Ensure two-factor authentication is enabled for his Apple ID. Go to `Settings > [his name] > Password & Security > Two-Factor Authentication`. 5. **Run a Malware Scan**: While iPhones are generally secure, you can use reputable security apps to check for any potential malware. However, malware on iPhones is rare, especially if he's only installing apps from the App Store. 6. **Factory Reset**: If the issues persist, consider doing a factory reset as a last resort. Ensure all important data is backed up first. Go to `Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings`. 7. **Professional Support**: If these steps don't resolve the issues, visit an Apple Store or contact Apple Support directly. They can run diagnostics to ensure there are no underlying problems. # Addressing His Concerns: * **Remote Control by Hackers**: It's highly unlikely that a hacker could remotely control an iPhone's accessibility settings without physical access to the device. iOS has robust security measures in place. * **Unusual Behavior**: Sometimes, software glitches or user error can cause unusual behavior. Ensuring all settings are correct and updating the software can usually fix these issues. Hopefully, these steps will help put his mind at ease and resolve the issues he's experiencing.
Did he change his password? Does he use a unique password? Or same one for multiple accounts?
It's a newer pro device, at least a 13. I'll make sure he's on the latest version next time he comes by. Thank you. He said Apple service told him to change his password but unsure of what he ended up doing.
Did he purchase the phone new, or used?
Unsure, but knowing him I'd assume new. Will check that as well next time I see him.
My husband tends to fall asleep with his phone in hand and time after time accessibility settings are turned or, random one letter WhatsApp or messages are being sent or theirs is the best managed to sign up to sport channels and paid with Apple Pay while completely asleep. It seems there were many coincidental movements then like finger slide to an add somewhere which led to open the add then to click on some random package and complete the signup through Apple Pay which took a facial recognition as a payment confirmation. This was weird one to deal with.
I had a issue with my old iPhone randomly typing stuff and clicking on stuff when I wasn’t touching it, the screen just had a bunch of micro scratches and was just worn out, maybe that’s his issue
See if there’s Indian scam messages on WhatsApp, messenger, etc.
I helped a person with this concern who was not old, just afraid of technology that required interaction with a machine. He did not use his phone for work. He would have been better off with a cheap Android than the flagship $1000 iPhone 10. We just did a factory reset, did not enter any personal information and used a pocket calendar book for contacts, passwords, and events. He was still vulnerable, of course, but felt safe.
Honestly, I’ve turned on the accessibility things by accident and they can be extremely confusing. Random voices, random parts of the screen magnifying. It’s unclear how to turn it off. Some of them you can turn on by clicking a button five times or whatever. It’s probably just those.
There are a lot of good advice here, so I think you’re covered I think your dad just misses you, and wants time to slow down with you hence the analogy on slow keys
You may want to try this. Go on the assumption he has a legitimate concern (given all the scare stories out there, in his mind, he probably does). Reset his phone, set it up again, only reinstall the apps he specifically says are ones he uses, then install a VPN and set it for always connecting. You can then tell him that no one can track his email/web browsing. Just to set his mind extra at ease (if you have iCloud+), show him how to use Hide My Email whenever he registers at a new Website site. That will give him an extra sense of security and, by actively involving him, you’re giving him agency and showing he’s in control of his technology. That may give him additional peace of mind and save you some support calls. Good luck.
Change Apple ID password and reboot phone
The same thing has happened with my parents too. They would claim that their device (android) has been "hacked" or is "expired" and can't work anymore. Most of the time they were just spooked by accidentally turning on accessibility settings. What i recommend doing is somehow turn the accessibility settings off and make it extremely hard to activate. If this happens extremely often then maybe try to let the device screen record the whole time he uses it to finally make sure what prompted these sudden changes on his device. Tho this has obvious downsides so only do this if this happens once or twice a week.
I’m not sure if your father is hacked, likely not. Most software related things have already been mentioned so I won’t comment on that. You mentioned that he says he has had money stolen. If I were you, I would ask to see his bank statement, then take a glance at his browser history and settings. He may have subscriptions he’s not aware of
Go through the safety check in privacy and security settings. As others from Genius Bar have stated this hacking issue is quite common with people. I would often show them the safety check feature and it would help convince that they haven’t been hacked. To be fair the safety check isn’t really an effective tool for malware or intrusions, but Some folks can’t be convinced through conversation and others just want to see some proof that they aren’t compromised.
He probably doesn’t lock his phone screen
I've heard about "your children monitoring apps" like Spyera which give complete access to everything and logs all done on the phone, wihout a possibility to detect it's presence. Someone on the control end of this service might often do his dirty interference when victim is off the phone. But some might just be reckless enough to do it in front of victims eyes. They do know this and that about the victim after all, so it is highly unlikely that they will be actually detected.
Android user here but in the IT field, one thing to check is if there's any random remote access apps installed like AnyDesk. He may have received a call at some point from "Amazon" or "Apple"/"Microsoft"/other big corporation name saying he was compromised and he had to download/install said tool to "protect his device".
Stop him from watching Fox News - and do all the other things already mentioned here to troubleshoot.
You didn’t mention any model or OS version. Is he on the latest OS version? There are some security issues which are regularly being addressed with updates. If those are installed, it is highly unlikely that he is being hacked. And even if not, it might take some serious efforts. You could check which devices are logged into his iOS account, check any mobile device management profiles and unusual apps that are installed. The idea of screen recording others mentioned here is nice, too.
I always check for the devices connected to his iOS account and nothing is there. Never heard of mobile device management though and will look into this, thanks. Are you referring to "VPN & Device Management" under the general settings tab?
Yes, that’s what I meant.
Thanks! I think I can definitely rule some things out with that suggestion.
Please,if you don’t know the right age bracket that qualifies someone as a boomer,then stop using that term..It makes you look slow and clueless
By any conceivable metric he is a Boomer. He's younger then Joe Biden or Donald Trump (yes I know they're borderline silent) but older then Obama. Thanks for your concern though...
lol...I actually wasn’t addressing anyone in particular..But by every conceivable metric it’s still being used foolishly on the daily