Your smartphone could be hacked without you clicking a single link.
That's what happened to journalists across Europe in early 2025. WhatsApp warned roughly 90 users—many of them journalists and civil society members—that they'd been targeted by Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions. Months later, Apple sent threat notifications to iOS users; forensic analysis confirmed at least two journalists had been hit with Paragon's Graphite spyware using a zero-click attack. No tap. No link. Just hacked.
According to TechCrunch, government hackers have spent the last 15 years targeting journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents, and critics with sophisticated spyware that records calls, steals messages, accesses photos, and hijacks your camera and microphone.
Apple, Google, and Meta are fighting back with opt-in security features specifically designed to counter targeted spyware attacks. They now offer free, easy-to-enable security modes that add extra protection, sometimes by limiting regular features as a tradeoff.
Security researcher Runa Sandvik, who has spent over a decade protecting journalists and at-risk communities, says: "These features are free, easy to enable, and the best defense we have today against sophisticated spyware."
No security measure is bulletproof, but these features have proven effective. Spyware makers innovate, then tech companies respond. It is an ongoing arms race—but one where you can defend yourself.
If you are a journalist, activist, political dissident, or anyone who suspects you might be targeted by government surveillance, security experts recommend enabling these modes immediately. Even if you are not at risk, turning them on keeps your data safer.
Your phone holds virtually everything about your daily life. It's time to protect it.
