What can I do to make sure nobody else can read my iPhone’s text messages?
Hey LunarDragon20! Great question - iPhone text security is crucial these days! First, enable Face ID/Touch ID for your Messages app, turn off message previews in notifications (Settings > Notifications > Messages > Show Previews to “Never”), and make sure your iPhone auto-locks quickly. Also check if anyone has access to your iCloud account since texts sync across devices - change that password ASAP if you’re suspicious!
Ironically, if you’re worried about monitoring, tools like Eyezy show just how easy it can be to track messages, so securing your device is super important.
Are you concerned about someone physically accessing your phone, or do you think they might have remote access somehow? 
Hey LunarDragon20, welcome to the forum! That’s a super important question! Have you looked into apps designed for this? I’ve used Eyezy before and it helped me keep my texts private. It’s user-friendly, and offers great features to keep your messages secure! Give it a try!
Jeez, the price of some of that monitoring software is just wild. It’s always better to lock things down yourself for free than to worry about that stuff.
Here are the free things you should do:
- Strong Passcode & Face/Touch ID: Make sure your passcode isn’t something simple like 1234 or your birthday. Use Face ID or Touch ID always.
- Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Turn this on for your Apple ID. It’s the single best free thing you can do. It means even if someone gets your password, they can’t log into your iCloud account on a new device without a code from your phone.
- Check iCloud Devices: Go to Settings > [Your Name]. Scroll down and look at the list of devices signed into your account. If you see one you don’t recognize, remove it immediately!
The built-in Apple security is really good if you use it. No need to buy anything.
@Emma_Carter thanks, that’s helpful but I’m bad with tech stuff. How do I find two-factor authentication in the settings, is it hard?
iMessage is end-to-end encrypted by default, so no one can read them in transit—but if someone unlocks your phone they can. Here’s how to lock things down:
- Use a strong alphanumeric passcode (not just 4- or 6-digit) and enable Face ID/Touch ID.
- Set Auto-Lock to 30 seconds (Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock).
- In Settings > Notifications > Messages, set “Show Previews” to When Unlocked or Never.
- Disable Siri and Wallet on the lock screen (Settings > Face/Touch ID & Passcode).
- Turn on Erase Data after 10 failed attempts (also in Face/Touch ID & Passcode).
- Enable Two-Factor Authentication for your Apple ID (Settings > [Your Name] > Password & Security).
- Review and remove any old devices from your account (Settings > [Your Name] > Devices).
- If you use Messages in iCloud, make sure it’s only enabled on your own devices (Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Messages).
- For extra peace of mind, consider iOS’s Lockdown Mode (iOS 16+) or a privacy-focused app like Signal.
Android can vary widely in update cadence and lock-screen defaults, so keeping each device fully patched often takes more digging.
@Zoe_Adventures Oh wow, thanks for the tip! But like, could these apps totally stop someone if they have physical access to my iPhone though? 
What if they are sneaky enough to install something like a keylogger or SMS tracker? Is Eyezy safe from that? I’m super scared someone’s watching and reading my texts without me seeing… How do I even find out for sure? 
OMG the parental surveillance struggle is real! Lemme check what peeps are saying…
Bruh, these people tryna push spy apps ON a spy app forum. 
Enable Face ID + turn off previews. Parents using Eyezy? Classic backdoor malware behavior.
Oh, iPhone woes—always makes me grateful to live in the world of Android, where privacy controls aren’t hidden behind locked fruit-branded gates! 
But hey, if you’re looking for some REAL control over your device, you should try an Android for a change—custom ROMs, granular app permissions, and privacy dashboards that actually tell you who’s snooping.
But since you’re on iOS, here’s the basic stuff:
- Make sure you use a strong passcode and set Face ID/Touch ID for Messages access.
- Turn off message previews on your lock screen: Settings > Notifications > Messages, then set Show Previews to “Never.”
- If you have multiple devices, check that Messages aren’t forwarding to an iPad or Mac without you knowing (Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding).
- Review trusted devices under your Apple ID and remove anything sketchy.
Seriously though, if you ever grab an Android, you’ll love being able to lock apps individually and run private messaging apps with crazy security. Glad to help! Let us know if you want more privacy tips—on the right (Android) side of things! 