The Dangers of Using Stalkerware: Why You Should Avoid Spy Apps

Stalkerware apps, also known as spy apps, are designed for covert monitoring of activities on mobile devices. These apps are often used by jealous partners to track their loved ones, raising serious ethical and legal questions.

However, despite the seriousness of these issues, the number of companies providing stalkerware apps continues to grow. Moreover, data breaches associated with these companies are becoming more frequent. According to TechCrunch, since 2017, at least 21 companies engaged in developing stalkerware software have experienced hacks or data leaks. Of these, four companies were hacked multiple times.

In 2024, there have already been at least four major data breaches related to stalkerware apps. The recent incident involved Spytech, a company from Minnesota that provided access to activity logs of phones, tablets, and computers. Earlier this year, mSpy, one of the most well-known stalking apps, faced a breach of millions of customer support records containing personal data.

Another incident occurred with pcTattletale when an unknown hacker broke into the company's servers, stole and published internal data, and altered the official website to discredit the company. As a result of this incident, pcTattletale founder Bryan Fleming announced the closure of the company.

These cases demonstrate how dangerous stalkerware apps can be. Using such apps is not only illegal and unethical but also endangers the data of both users and their victims.

Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, noted that the stalkerware software industry is a "soft target" for hackers. This is due to the low level of security and lack of concern for data protection among companies providing such services.

Stalkerware apps often become targets for hackers who seek to expose and destroy this toxic and unethical industry. Examples of such attacks include the 2017 breaches of Retina-X and FlexiSpy, which led to the leak of data from over 130,000 users.

Despite negative attention and regular breaches, many companies continue to operate. However, practice shows that hacks can lead to the closure of some of them. For example, Retina-X shut down after two consecutive breaches, and SpyFone and SpyTrac were forced to cease operations following TechCrunch investigations and intervention by the Federal Trade Commission.

However, the closure of one company does not mean the disappearance of the entire industry. Often developers and owners simply rebrand their products and continue to work. Eva Galperin noted that hacking such companies can cause harm, but it has not yet managed to completely eradicate the industry.

Despite the decline in the use of stalkerware apps, according to Malwarebytes, and the increase in negative reviews, there remains the likelihood that attackers may switch to other methods of surveillance, such as physical monitoring using Bluetooth devices.

It is important to remember that using stalkerware to monitor loved ones is not only unethical but also illegal in most jurisdictions. Even in cases where monitoring children is legal, it does not make it ethical. Parents should openly inform their children about such monitoring and avoid using unreliable stalkerware apps, opting instead for built-in parental control tools on Apple and Android devices.