iPhone and Android owners warned of horrifying ‘stalkerware’ apps spying on everything you do
IPHONE and Android owners have been warned about creepy apps that allow controlling partners to spy on their other half.
So-called stalkerware apps can be installed on devices that jealous boyfriends or girlfriends have access to - and they're hidden from the home screen so you have no idea what's going on.
Some of these apps try to market themselves as child monitoring tools.
But others blatantly encourage users to spy on partners by taking the angle of cheating.
One boasts that it can "not only enable you to read cheating spouse text messages" but also has "functionality to comb through the device’s installed applications and keeps tabs on social media and instant messenger data".
As if that wasn't bad enough, experts have reported a newly discovered sinister side effect.
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According to , some have allegedly stolen data from tens of thousands of iPhones and Android smartphones.
They're apparently riddled with security issues that can expose stuff.
Encryption should be a first for protecting user data but that appears to be broken or simply not exist at all.
At least 60,000 people are thought to have been affected since 2014 by one app alone.
The majority are reported to be on Android.
But data was also stolen from thousands of iPhones as well.
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The iPhone's tight rules and restrictions make it a lot harder to plant such apps on an iOS device.
So instead, developers target any backup data stored on iCloud.
HOW YOU CAN GET HELP:
Women's Aid has this advice for victims and their families:
- Always keep your phone nearby.
- Get in touch with charities for help, including the Women’s Aid live chat helpline and services such as SupportLine.
- If you are in danger, call 999.
- Familiarise yourself with the Silent Solution, reporting abuse without speaking down the phone, instead dialing “55”.
- Always keep some money on you, including change for a pay phone or bus fare.
- If you suspect your partner is about to attack you, try to go to a lower-risk area of the house – for example, where there is a way out and access to a telephone.
- Avoid the kitchen and garage, where there are likely to be knives or other weapons. Avoid rooms where you might become trapped, such as the bathroom, or where you might be shut into a cupboard or other small space.
If you are a victim of domestic abuse, SupportLine is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 6pm to 8pm on 01708 765200. The charity’s email support service is open weekdays and weekends during the crisis – messageinfo@supportline.org.uk.
Women’s Aid provides a - available weekdays from 8am-6pm and weekends 10am-6pm.
You can also call the freephone 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247.