Sneaky phone trick to catch a cheater

When Jana Hocking thought her man was a dirty cheater she did this one thing – and he was exposed. Now she’s sharing her ways.

Confession: I’ve snooped through someone’s phone. In fact, I’ve done it a couple of times.

There was the time I broke up with a guy and I knew he had some nudie rudie pics on his phone so I literally broke into his house while he was asleep and deleted them. Thankfully this was pre-icloud and once they were gone, they were gone. (Yes, I remembered to delete them from the deleted folder as well. I’m no rookie!)

Then there was the time a guy I was casually sleeping with left his phone on his bedside table (unlocked, huzzah!) while he ran to the front door to collect our Uber Eats order.

Oh wasn’t that fun finding out how many girls he was talking to besides me. Spoiler alert: a lot!

Kicking off a fight with a guy you’re not even technically in a relationship with is never going to end well. He’s mad at me because I “broke his trust” and went through his phone. I’m mad at him because he “broke my trust” and attempted to chat up half of Sydney.

Jana Hocking has checked a phone or two in her time. Picture: Instagram

I didn’t say snooping was a good idea, but it’s mighty tempting.

There’s nothing like that heart starting adrenaline rush you get as you realise you’ve cracked the code and you are in. Your ears become like radars, anxiously listening out for any approaching footsteps. You forget to breath as you scroll like a possessed demon through the messages. Then the Instagram DMs, and heck even his phone call log.

If you’ve got some extra time, you might venture onto the ancient app known as Facebook. I’ve even got one friend who checks out where her partner has been via their Uber app.

And let’s face it, you’re going to find out something that’s not good. Whether it’s a heart emoji on his ex’s Insta story, or a message to his female boss that ends with a kiss. Things can be misinterpreted, and they often are.

You’re scrolling with no context, and if you dare ask him about what you find, you’re going to be outed as the sneaky sneak you are.

It’s a miserable game, but one we play nonetheless.

Now, in this modern world, it can be harder to hack into your partner’s phone, but we women are crafty creatures. So, when I asked friends how they did it the answers were WILD!

And before you judge let’s all stop pretending we’re holy then thou. I’m telling you, even the biggest saint you know would take a sneak peek at their partners phone given half a chance. So enough with the tut-tutting.

Pour yourself a glass of wine and settle in because these methods are crazy …

There was one friend who filmed her boyfriend every time he picked up his phone and entered his password. (This was pre Face ID). After seriously studying the videos she finally figured out what letters he was pressing and hacked her way in.

Then there was another friend who simply typed in her partners ex girlfriends name and hey presto, she was in. No surprise he eventually left her to return to his ex. Oooft.

Oh, and the friend who moved in with her boyfriend who made an epic boo boo. When he set up their Apple TV it asked him to put in his Apple ID, which he did, but then accidentally ticked the box that allowed the TV full access to all his photos. Like every single photo on his iCloud.

She spent one entire afternoon going through all his pictures, including the screenshots of saucy pics from his co-worker he was sleeping with.

Another friend revealed her (now) ex once left his Apple watch at home one day and she heard it ping with a text. It was the women he was cheating on her with telling him exactly what he could expect the next time they see each other. In her words, “It was the dirtiest text I’ve ever read.”

Ouch.

Another friend simply typed in his birthday numbers and boom she was in. That was the day she discovered his porn preferences included spanking and anime. Yep.

But if you really want to get crafty when it comes to hacking your partner’s phone, let’s turn to the queen bee of all slightly toxic advice, Call her Daddy podcast host Alex Cooper. On a recent episode she revealed a hack that is equal measures evil and genius.

You see, it seems most people use the same one password for all their accounts, so if you want to hack into your partner’s phone, simply ask them if you can borrow their Netflix (or Binge, Stan, Paramount Plus etc …) streaming account. They usually give you the password without hesitation, and 9/10 times it will be the same password they use for their laptops, emails and phone.

I tried this on my closest guy friend, and it worked. Safe to say he was mighty peeved when I told him and promptly changed his passwords. But if you’re wondering if your partner is cheating, it’s a perfectly good way to find out.

Now I will leave you with this parting warning: if you are going to look, be prepared for what you are going to find. A man’s phone can be a wild and dirty place.

Jana Hocking is a columnist and collector of kind-of-boyfriends | @jana_hocking