1. What it checks on Android
Which apps can read your screen (accessibility services), read your notifications, act as device administrator, or capture what you type (keyboards).
Whether such apps were installed outside an app store or hide their icon.
User-installed certificates that can read protected traffic, an active VPN or proxy, USB debugging and signs of root.
The signing certificates and package names of these apps against an open list of known stalkerware and mercenary spyware. A red result means a match with that list; a yellow result means risky access that you should review.
2. What it checks on iPhone
iOS does not let apps see other apps, so Umbera Shield on iPhone checks the signs of surveillance that are visible: an intercepted secure connection (a certificate or profile in the middle), a VPN or proxy, screen recording or mirroring, signs of a jailbreak, whether a passcode is set, and whether iOS is up to date.
It also links you to Apple’s own protections: Safety Check, Lockdown Mode and your Apple Account security.
3. Where the indicators come from
Echap stalkerware-indicators (CC BY 4.0) — stalkerware and watchware apps with their package names and signing certificates.
MVT indicators (MIT) and Amnesty International investigations (MIT) — mercenary spyware such as Predator, RCS Lab, Candiru and others.
The list is rebuilt and signed every day; your phone checks for a new version once a day and keeps only one copy.
4. What it cannot do
It finds only known stalkerware and risky access. “No known stalkerware found” does not prove that a phone is safe.
Advanced mercenary spyware such as Pegasus cannot be reliably detected by an app on the phone itself. If you think you are targeted, use “Check by a specialist”: Umbera saves a report without your messages, and a specialist can examine the phone with tools like MVT.
Umbera never removes or disables other apps by itself: it opens the right system screen and you decide.
5. If something is found
Before removing anything, think about your safety: the person who installed it may notice. Talk to a support service first, from another device if you can.
Help for survivors by country: stopstalkerware.org. Digital security help: Access Now Digital Security Helpline (accessnow.org/help). Amnesty Security Lab helps civil society.
Then follow the steps in the app: turn off the access, remove the device-administrator rights, uninstall the app, and run the check again.
6. Free for everyone
Umbera Shield is free and does not require a subscription. It runs only when you tap “Check phone” (and, if you allow it, once a day when you open the app) — no background scanning, no extra permissions.