How did you get rid of it? Factory reset? Purchase new phone? Also I assume you didn't put up a lock screen on your phone before, or did you? I put mine, and I was wondering if anyone could still access it and download some unknown app in my phone.
The first phone infected was the original Moto G 4G phone. I tried to do a factory reset but on that phone there were commands written on the build.prop which when factory reset, just started getting commands from the build.prop.
It took me many phones and changing Google accounts etc but believe what also happened is i opened up a text message that was claiming to be from a bank in my country with a list of transactions for someone called Janet. No way was this legitimate. I discovered it's possible to open an account with a rogue spying company, you send them a mobile number and they will send rogue texts to that number with malware written in them. After extremely deep investigations I discovered this text will have a command to find your uccid number which is unique to your SIM card. Because I was putting the same SIM in different phones I was inadvertently starting the ball rolling each time I had a new phone. These spying techniques are very clever. Basically texts, Facebook messenger messages etc would be somehow uploaded remotely to a server which was viewable online by anyone who went on the site. I do not know to this day what the site was as if I ever saw the footage and what people had access to, it would totally destroy me. I know as fact this is true as I overheard conversations what was viewed including my bank statements and how much money I had in my bank. I even overheard conversations about my texts and they coming up with reasons why I had not answered certain texts. It was a complete breach of privacy that I know will take me years to recover from.
I bave got some handy tips to help anyone who may be going through the same or suspect
1) Ask your network provider to provide you with a new SIM card. No access to uccid means no access to transmit data.
2) Use two factor security on any app you want private especially email and messages apps.
3) If you suspect your WhatsApp messages are intercepted then go the whole hog and request a new SIM card with new mobile number.
4) be extremely careful where you download apks. You may like the sound of a modded game you haven't seen anywhere else and download it. If Google play protect warns you not to install then don't.
5) Change your passwords every week. If you create new accounts on Google Chrome, this browser allows a lot of sites to create the password for you. Use this as these are always strong passwords.
6) If you suspect your phone has been taken over, get rid of it. Start a fresh with new SIM card, Google account and new phone. It's not worth keeping a phone regardless if you have paid a lot of money for if it isn't safe.
7) Check your notifications for text messages. If you don't recognise the sender do NOT open it. Block the sender.
8) Gmail you need to be careful too. Be very wary of opening up emails from unknown sender's especially if they have sent attachments. Again block and report to Google. Google never responds but trust me on this - they will act if anything malicious and deal with them accordingly.
9) Guard your internet privacy. Use a good VPN. I use PROTON VPN and it's a great service. Proto mail is an excellent email service that encrypts all your emails and cannot be intercepted by third parties. Tor is your best friend if you want to go anywhere that you want to keep private. I don't necessarily mean the dark web but any site that you demand total privacy and cannot allow others spying on you.
10) Don't be stupid. If you have no knowledge of rooting and decide to go to a site that offers boot images and OS updates that you are unsure of, don't bother. Really not worth the hassle.
11) If you're certain you're being spied on and it's affecting your health like it had with me, confide in a reliable friend. Show them what you suspect on your phone and ask their opinion. You could be paranoid or you really could be spied on.
12) Be extremely wary of screens flickering on and off. This could be a sign an app is using the display over other apps. If this is happening, go in setting and apps and go through every single app you have including system apps to see if they have this permission. If in doubt take off the permission. Also be very wary of apps using the device administrator permission in security settings. These permissions can give apps permission to lock you out your phone and even uninstall and install apps without your knowledge.
13) Check an apps permissions. Does a game you downloaded really need making phone calls permission? Be sensible. Dont automatically allow permissions when they pop up. Question each one and if you don't like the look of one, don't allow the permission.
14) If you have developer options available on your phone, check running services. Again question if any app should really be running constantly in the background. Does a simple game you played hours ago really need to have a service constantly running in the background you cannot turn off? It's all common sense and experience.
Above all - learn from my mistakes. If I have saved one person from having their lives ruined by this, I have done my duty.
Anyone on here who needs further assistance or a discreet chat in messages here, my door is always open.