Any app that you give access to, whether it is your camera, your contacts or your location, is a risk. You won’t know what exactly the app will do with that access. And even if they tell you, they can lie, or they could be hacked.
So unless you have absolute faith in the company, don’t do it. If their business model isn’t clear, don’t do it. Always ask, how will they make money?
SpyFone said they are an app that only lets you track your family members, with their permission. Yet they gave details on how to hide the app from people.
Turns out that SpyFone gave access to stalkers and others, way beyond what the installer would expect. It is reasonable to expect that all such apps, already borderline illegal and immoral, don’t care too much about their own security.
Today, the Federal Trade Commission banned SpyFone and its CEO Scott Zuckerman from the surveillance business over allegations that the stalkerware app company secretly harvested and shared data on people’s physical movements, phone use, and online activities through a hidden device hack. The company’s apps sold real-time access to their secret surveillance, allowing stalkers and domestic abusers to stealthily track the potential targets of their violence. SpyFone’s lack of basic security also exposed device owners to hackers, identity thieves, and other cyber threats.
Source: FTC
