Electronic Stalking: How Devices and Accounts Get Monitored
Important: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and is not legal, medical, or professional advice. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 (United States) or your local emergency number.
Quick answer
Electronic stalking is the use of phones, computers, online accounts, GPS trackers, spyware, or smart-home devices to monitor, contact, or harass someone. Federal law covers stalking that uses electronic communication services. If you suspect it, preserve evidence first, use a device the stalker has never touched, and make a safety plan before removing anything that might alert them.
Start With Safety: Don't Tip Off the Stalker
If a stalker has put software or a tracker on your device, removing it suddenly can alert them and sometimes escalate the situation. Before you change anything, think through these steps.
- Use a safe device, such as a library computer or a phone the stalker has never had access to, when researching or changing passwords.
- Save evidence first. Screenshot suspicious apps, login alerts, or tracker notifications.
- Consider telling a trusted person or police before you remove anything.
- Make a plan for where you will go if the stalker's behavior changes.
Our safety plan guide and Safety Plan tool can help.
The Most Common Methods of Electronic Stalking
- Spyware and stalkerware on a phone or computer that records messages, calls, photos, and location.
- Account takeover, where someone logs in to your email, cloud storage, or social media with a password they know or guessed.
- Location tracking, through hidden GPS devices, Bluetooth tags, shared location settings, family-plan features, or a car's app.
- Smart-home and camera access, such as a shared doorbell camera, speaker, or thermostat app.
- Social media monitoring, including fake accounts used to watch you after you block someone.
- Spoofed or anonymous contact, such as calls that appear to come from your own number. The FCC explains caller ID spoofing.
- Information exposure, where your address or workplace is posted or sold. Read what is doxxing.
Signs Someone May Be Monitoring You
No single sign proves it, but a cluster is worth taking seriously.
- The stalker knows things you have only said in private or only typed in messages.
- They turn up where you are without any way of knowing your plans.
- Your phone or accounts behave oddly: new logins you don't recognize, settings changed, battery draining quickly.
- You receive alerts about an unknown tracker or device nearby.
- Contact reappears shortly after you block, change numbers, or move.
- Passwords you recently changed are guessed or reset.
How to Lock Down Your Digital Life
Start with the highest-impact steps.
- Secure your email and phone account first, since they control password resets. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's Secure Our World guidance covers strong passwords and multi-factor authentication.
- Review logged-in devices and sessions on every major account, and remove any you don't recognize.
- Check app permissions and remove unfamiliar apps. Be cautious: some stalkerware hides its name.
- Review location sharing on your phone, apps, car, and family plans.
- Update your operating system and router, and change the Wi-Fi password.
- Remove personal details from people-search sites with our Data Broker Removal tool.
Is Electronic Stalking a Crime?
Yes. Stalking is a crime in all 50 states, and federal law covers a course of conduct that uses an interactive computer service, an electronic communication service, or other facilities of interstate commerce to cause fear or substantial emotional distress. Unauthorized access to someone's accounts or devices can also violate computer crime laws.
How to Report It
- Keep dated screenshots, logs, and files. Use the Evidence Auditor to check them.
- Report to local police, and ask for a report number.
- File an online report with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center when the conduct crosses state lines or involves online crime.
- Report platform abuse through the Social Media Reporting Guide.
Account Takeovers and Shared Accounts
Many stalkers get in through accounts they already know or can guess. A former partner may know your passwords, security questions, or the code sent to a shared phone. Shared streaming, cloud, shopping, and family plan accounts can also reveal what you do and where you go. Change your email password first, since email resets other accounts, then your phone account and cloud storage. Turn on multi-factor authentication, review logged-in devices, and remove recovery options that belong to someone else. Do it from a safe device, and save evidence before you change anything. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency's Secure Our World pages explain the basics.
Location Sharing: Phones, Cars, and Family Plans
Location can leak through settings you forgot you turned on. Check which apps have location access, whether location sharing is enabled with anyone, and whether your phone plan or car app lists other users. A connected car can show its location to every account holder, and a family sharing plan can show a phone's location to the plan's owner. If someone else has access, think before removing it, because the change may alert them. Add it to your safety plan.
Smart Home Devices, Cameras, and Wi-Fi Routers
Doorbells, cameras, speakers, thermostats, and routers can all be used to watch or listen. Review who has access to each device's app, change shared passwords, and update the device software. Check whether your Wi-Fi network has unfamiliar devices connected. If you share a home or account with someone you fear, assume shared devices are visible to them.
Hidden Cameras and Recording Devices
If you suspect a hidden camera or recorder in a home, car, or rental, do not confront anyone. Take photos of anything suspicious, leave it where it is, and call the police, who can document it. Tell the property owner or manager if it is in a rental. Secretly recording someone can violate laws in many states, and evidence of it supports a report.
Children's Devices and School Accounts
A stalker may reach you through a child's tablet, game account, or school login. Review the children's apps and contacts, tighten privacy settings, and talk with them about not sharing your location or schedule. Tell the school which adults may pick up a child and which may not, and ask them not to share your information.
A Monthly Digital Safety Check
Once a month, spend ten minutes reviewing logged-in devices, app permissions, location sharing, forwarding rules in email, and new apps you do not recognize. Use the Safety Audit to stay organized. Read stalkerware and stalker alerts for more.
If You Can't Replace a Monitored Device Yet
Many people cannot afford a new phone or computer right away. Until you can, assume what you do on the device can be seen. Use another device, such as a library computer or a trusted person's phone, for anything related to safety planning, searching for help, or contacting police or advocates. Avoid changing settings or removing software in ways that could alert the person until you have a plan. Keep your routine on the monitored device as ordinary as you safely can.
Talking to Police About Electronic Evidence
When you report, tell officers specifically what you found and why you think technology is involved: unfamiliar apps, tracking devices, logins you did not make, or a person who knows things only your device could reveal. Give them your log, screenshots, and any physical items you found, and ask whether a digital forensic examination is possible. Ask before you wipe or reset a device, since doing so can destroy evidence. For internet crimes, you can also file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.
Technology can be used to watch you, but it can also be used to build the record that stops the person watching.Verify your evidence with the Evidence Auditor →A four-point checklist that confirms your screenshots are 'court ready'.
Sources and further reading
Frequently asked questions
What is electronic stalking?
It is stalking carried out with phones, computers, accounts, GPS devices, spyware, or smart-home gear. The behavior is the same pattern of unwanted, frightening contact or monitoring, delivered through technology.
How can I tell if someone is tracking my phone?
Look for unknown apps, unusual battery use, unfamiliar logins, changed settings, and alerts about unknown trackers. No sign is definitive, so also consider whether the stalker knows things they shouldn't.
Should I delete spyware right away?
Not before you have saved evidence and considered your safety. Removing it can alert the stalker. Use a safe device and consider telling police or a trusted person first.
Is electronic stalking illegal?
Yes. State laws and federal law cover stalking that uses electronic communication, and unauthorized access to accounts or devices may be a separate crime.
Who do I report electronic stalking to?
Report to local police and, for internet crimes, to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center. Also report abuse to the platform involved.
Is it illegal to track someone's location without permission?
Secretly tracking another adult can violate stalking, computer access, and other laws, depending on the state and the facts. If you find a tracker or tracking app you did not place, document it and report it to police.