Maybe you've seen a strange pop up on your phone recently.
Maybe you've heard an ex or a current partner refer to something you know you said to someone in private over email or text, or maybe somebody had access to your phone when you weren't around.
Those are all red flags that your cell phone could be harbouring stalker wear.
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What is stalker wear?
Well it can go by the name, spouse wear or spyware But it does the same thing.
Stalker where is software installed on your device that can stalk you by doing things like intercepting text or phone calls, accessing and revealing your location, logging your web browsing activity, or even turning on your camera or microphone to spy on you the information gathered by stalker where apps are usually sent to a portal where the person who installed the app can monitor it.
Stalker wear is real.
And a recent Harris Poll conducted with antivirus firm Norton lifelock found that one in 10 people admitted to using stalker wear to track a partner or an ex partner.
Yikes.
Now there is one tiny silver lining in all of this.
And it's that the person installing stalker wear on your device usually needs physical access to do so.
But, if you are concerned that you all ready have stalkerware on your phone, we have some advice and best practices for locating it, identifying it and potentially deleting it.
First open your phone's settings and take a look at the apps you have installed.
Is there anything that you don't recognize, even something as innocent looking as a calculator app or a parental controls app that you can't remember installing could be more nefarious than it first appears?
If you see something fishy, head over to a different device and Google the name of the app.
Usually a quick web search will give you, a lot of information, including whether or not the app in question, does what it's claiming to do, and its name and icon.
If you're using an Android phone, there are a decent number of antivirus apps, you can download to scan your device.
For stalker wear in particular Norton does a lot of research on the topic of stalker wear and Malwarebytes works very closely with organizations focused on victims of domestic violence and abuse.
Side note there are Also concerns that antivirus apps can track and send or sell your data.
But that is a whole other can of worms.
And also once you're done scanning, you can always delete these antivirus apps.
Let's say you do find Starker wear on your device.
What do you do now.
Before proceeding It is very important to note that tampering with, or deleting stalkerware almost always notifies the person who installed it.
We agree with the coalition against stalkerware and their advice on stop stalkerware.org Make sure you have a safety plan in place and ready to go before doing anything that might tip off the person monitoring you will include information and resources at the end of this video.
Once you have your safety plan prepared, here's what you can do.
Remove all permissions of the app in question and then delete the app.
This can be done in your phone settings.
We'll stop most stalker wear in its tracks.
Unfortunately, some of these apps may be incredibly hard to find or even hidden and could require more professional tools or experience to remove.
If you're still worried about hidden stalker wear after checking your application list, you can factory reset your phone.
This will restore your device to the way it was when you originally bought it, including removing all accounts and apps that were installed after purchase.
Make sure you save any important pictures or files that aren't backed up anywhere else before you factory reset.
Any tech.
Lastly, you can replace your device or devices.
This is definitely the most extreme option and can be a very difficult one if your movement or finances are being monitored by another person and you don't want them to find out.
So again, that safety plan is key.
There are support groups out there like the National Domestic Abuse hotline that can help you create a plan before you take action and remove stalker wear.
Until next time, be safe.
Be smart.
Be good humans.
