Tech-facilitated intimate partner stalking countermeasures: Part 2

This is the third article in this series. The previous articles explained stalkerware and how it may lead to image-based abuse, some popular techniques of stalking that involve commonly used apps, features, online services and devices, and potential countermeasures to them. 

Note: Searching for, removing or disabling the means of stalking may alert the stalker. This may potentially cause the abuse to escalate, pose a risk to the target’s physical safety, and close their avenues to seek help or exit the relationship. If you are someone experiencing stalking or supporting someone who is, please assess the situation first. It is advisable to seek specialised support, using a device and a connection that the stalker does not use and is not likely to surveil. Please use your discretion while following the suggestions in this article, and have a safety plan.

Social media scraping

Publicly available information shared by the target or their contacts on social media is often an easy move for a stalker. For instance, the target may publicly seek help for something, RSVP to an event, or the event organiser may announce the target’s attendance at a forthcoming event. These seemingly innocuous posts can reveal the target’s whereabouts and plans. Moreover, public posts and actions (likes, comments RSVPs etc) can be accessed discreetly without spending much time, money or effort. The information is meant for all to see, so it carries a lower perceived risk of legal repercussions compared with doing activities that involve actively invading the target’s privacy or security. This information can be of a detailed nature depending on the platform and the privacy settings of the target and even the target’s contacts. 

Using automated tools and scripts to harvest information about individuals, organisations, topics, and more from social media platforms is called “social media scraping”. A stalker with sufficient knowledge and skills can scrape publicly available information about you or persons, places, events, and things associated with you from social media or elsewhere on the internet. Blocking the stalker’s profile on social media sites is unlikely to completely prevent them from scraping. This article about a specific scraping tool demonstrates how it works, and the sources and types of information it collects. 

While being discreet about the information shared on social media and applying optimal privacy settings can reduce exposure, it is unfortunately impossible for the target to prevent a stalker from accessing publicly available information. To effectively deter or thwart stalkers from misusing the information they gather, robust legal and social protections are essential. For information about applying the necessary privacy settings, refer to this article on cyberstalking, and the section on locking down personal information in the self-doxxing guide mentioned earlier. 

Dating apps

A recent Kaspersky survey reveals that digital stalking is a significant concern for online daters, with nearly a quarter of users experiencing it. While a dating profile is designed to showcase the best version of oneself, it is useful to carefully consider how a stalker may misuse the information shared on these platforms. In addition, creating a dating profile signals a desire for new companionship, which could lead to a negative reaction from a stalker who is also a current or former intimate partner. Some dating apps allow you to preemptively block other users via their phone numbers. To improve your privacy on dating apps and protect against cyberstalking, refer to this article and this one.

Some location-based dating, friendship or matrimony apps offer a feature that allows users to share profiles they like with friends. For instance, Bumble's "Recommend to a Friend" feature creates a shareable link to the profile. While intended to facilitate connections, this feature can be exploited by stalkers. A friend of a stalker in your area (dating apps show profiles within a radius or region) might come across your profile and share your information via screenshots or the shareable link. According to one study, some dating apps allow stalkers to access users’ near-exact location -- an accuracy of 2 metres radius on Bumble and Hinge and 111 metres on Grinder. Even if you block the stalker on the app, they can create multiple accounts using different mobile numbers to access your profile information. Accessing and viewing a profile via the shareable link does not require interacting with the profile.

Spy devices

Cameras, microphones, GPS trackers and other spy devices when installed without the knowledge and consent of the target are forms of stalkerware. They may be planted in places where the target has an expectation of privacy. In homes, cars, or other personal spaces, cameras and mics make the stalker privy to every aspect of their target’s life in those spaces. Cameras in bathrooms or bedrooms may enable the stalker to get access to nude or sexually explicit videos of the target. This may lead to image-based abuse. (For more information about stalkerware and image-based abuse, refer to the first article in this series.) 

Spy cameras and microphones (also called “bugs”) come in a large variety. Some are capable of connecting to the internet and transmitting the video footage. Others may be housed in casings with in-built memory storage that the stalker can later retrieve. (For example, take a look at the sections “spy camera”, “live streaming spy camera”, “spy voice recorder” and “GPS trackers and transmitters” on this website that sells them.) Spy cameras and mics are meant to be tiny and discreet (with lenses as small as 1 millimetre) and can be implanted in places such as lamp shades, smoke detectors, air filters and hair dryer holders. Depending on local laws, policies and practices, it may be possible for a stalker to procure a spy device without leaving a paper trail. 

This article by the anti-virus software company Norton offers useful advice about how to find hidden cameras while this one by the Safeguarding Hub shines a light on domestic abuse and covert surveillance via cameras, devices for eavesdropping and location tracking, and smart devices. 

Air Tags

AirTags are small devices that connect to nearby Apple devices via Bluetooth. Airtags are useful for finding lost items by tracking their location on Apple’s Find My network. Unfortunately, AirTags have been misused in numerous cases for stalking (See here and here). In one case, a man allegedly planted as many as seven AirTags on a car used by his then-wife. He also threatened to expose her sexually explicit images and videos that were in his possession if she did not meet his demands. This article describes AirTag stalking and how to protect against it. 

Spy devices are designed to evade detection. Hence, detecting spy devices and evading detection are like a cat-and-mouse game. Thus, the responsibility of always staying safe from stalkerware should never be on the victim-survivor. Spy devices and their detection constitute an entire industry. As an individual and someone in an abusive situation, the victim-survivor may not be able to keep up with invasive devices, tactics and their sophistication. More needs to be done to regulate the sale and availability of spy devices. Depending on the jurisdiction of the victim-survivor, the use of spy devices may amount to unlawful surveillance and other offences. However, legal remedies may be harder to access if the stalker is a current or cohabiting partner who plants these devices in their own home or property such as a car in order to surveil the target.

CCTV

The cohabiting stalker may install a CCTV camera system or other kinds of cameras (nanny cams or Ring camera, for example) for physical security and monitoring of the home, all of which can be misused to surveil the target. They may be able to remotely change the direction in which the camera is pointed, change the zoom settings, or surreptitiously switch it on and record the target when the target is nude, partially nude or in a sexually explicit act -- another potential act of image-based abuse as described in the first article in this series. 

A stalker may try to access recorded footage or live streams showing the target from camera security systems installed on the property of other people or in public places. Depending on where you are in the world, it may be possible for the stalker to do so without leaving a paper trail and without the backing of a judicial warrant. For example, the intimate partner-stalker may convince a neighbour to let them access the recording on their CCTV camera or bribe a government clerk or a private security guard to give them access. 

Gaslighting

Gaslighting is a form of psychological manipulation that makes the target doubt their own perceptions, experiences or understanding of events. It makes the targets believe that they may be imagining things or over-reacting to, or misunderstanding certain events and incidents. Gaslighting works insidiously, which makes it hard for the target to gather evidence or prove the goings-on to a third party such as law enforcement. These are some ways in which a stalker may be able to gaslight their target:

Information gathered from the sources that the target is unaware of (as mentioned previously stalkwerware, CCTV camera footage etc.), enables the stalker to manipulate the target in ways that creates self-doubt.

Disappearing emails and messages delete themselves after a period of time set by the sender. Some email and messaging services make the “disappearing time-period” clear to all parties involved in the conversation -- WhatsApp, Signal, Protonmail, Telegram etc. However, depending on the email service, a sufficiently skilled stalker may send emails that hide their disappearing nature, in order to alter the target’s perception of reality.

Smart home devices, such as those in this list, are networked devices in the home that allow remotely controlling appliances and systems such as heating or air-conditioning. While the target is likely to be aware of the presence of the device in their vicinity, they may not know that it can be remotely controlled. These devices can be used to gaslight the target by changing their settings, turning them on or off unexpectedly, listening to conversations, or monitoring the target’s activities.

Constant surveillance, digital or physical or both, can create a sense of being watched, causing the target to doubt their own perceptions of safety and privacy. This may have severe psychological impacts on the target.
 

The next and final article in the series shines a light on risk assessment for victim-survivors and detecting the misuse of their images.

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Rohini Lakshané is an interdisciplinary researcher, technologist and Wikimedian. https://about.me/rohini  
Illustration by Laura Ibáñez López. https://cargocollective.com/pakitalouter