A woman says she was left "terrified" by her abusive ex-boyfriend after he stalked her for months using a secretly downloaded tracking device on her mobile phone.
Lisa said her former partner downloaded a tracking app on her phone without her knowledge in 2019 when they were still together. She said he used the software – which was completely hidden from the owner of the phone – to follow her movements for a year. It was discovered by police some seven months after they had broken up when she was taken to hospital following an assault.
Even after the discovery, Lisa said, neither the technology company that created the app nor the police were able to remove it from her phone.
“It felt hopeless,” she told The Independent. “It’s not something you can really escape. Unless you know what to look for on your phone, you won’t know that you’re being watched. It’s terrifying to then be told that he’s got a copy of everything, [and] he knows where you are constantly. It was a really big invasion of my privacy and safety.”
GPS trackers have become popular in recent years, including the high-profile Apple AirTag – a small and lightweight device that was released in 2021. They were designed to locate items and help parents with their children’s safety. However, the products are increasingly becoming the tool of choice for abusers.
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