FTC bans apps that allowed users to snoop on other people's texts, phone calls, and GPS location

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FTC bans app maker from selling ‘stalkerware’ that allowed users to snoop on other people’s texts, phone calls, and GPS location

The Commission voted to block Retina-X from selling three monitoring apps
The apps had been marketed to parents who wanted to monitor their children
Critics say it was too easy to abuse the apps to spy on others without consent

Published: 23:19 BST, 22 October 2019 | Updated: 23:19 BST, 22 October 2019

Today, the Federal Trade Commission announced it would block the sale of three ‘stalking’ apps produced by the company Retina-X and James N. Johnson.

The decision comes after criticism that the monitoring apps were being used to compromise the privacy of smartphone users.

Retina-X will no longer be able to sell MobileSpy, PhoneSheriff, or TeenShield, subscription apps that had 15,000 customers as of 2018.

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MobileSpy (pictured above) is one of three monitoring apps made by Retina-X that the FTC has issued a ruling against

The apps had been advertised as resources to help parents monitor their children’s use of online devices.

According to a report from Vice, he apps let users access to another person’s text messages, calls, and GPS location, among other data.

‘Although there may be legitimate reasons to track a phone, these apps were designed to run surreptitiously in the background and are uniquely suited to illegal and dangerous uses,’ the FTC’s Andrew Smith said in a statement.

‘Under these circumstances, we will seek to hold app developers accountable for designing and marketing a dangerous product.’

Retina-X’s MobileSpy app (pictured above) gives users access to another person’s smartphone from anywhere

WHAT IS ‘STALKERWARE?

Stalkerware is software that allows you to spy on someone’s phone or tablet.

They are often advertised to parents who wish to track the online activity of their child, or bosses looking to snoop on their employees.

Typically, stalkware allows you to remotely intercept messages, photos, browsing history, GPS coordinates and even phone call data.

They work by pairing an online account to an app that is installed on the device you wish to spy on.

Users can then remotely access the phone’s data without the owner knowing they are under surveillance.

Stalkerware apps are technically legal, but have stirred controversy in the past when people have employed them for illicit spying.

The FTC commissioners vote 5-0 to issue an administrative complaint against Retina-X.

Administrative complaints are issued when the commission has reason to believe a law has been or currently is being violated.

A settlement proposal will be offered to Retina-X, allowing the company to begin selling the apps again if it can guarantee their use will be limited to children, employees, or adults who have provided written consent.

In 2017, anonymous hackers accessed the stored data Retina-X kept from its users, adding concerns that the apps not only might be used to spy on a user without their knowledge but that the company’s security devices around the data collected from that surveillance was insecure.

The FTC alleged that Retina-X was violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, a law from 1998 that requires online service provides ensure the data of children 13 and under is kept secure.

TeenShield (pictured above) is pitched to parents worried about their teens behavior, including what sorts of photos they might be taking with their smartphones

In 2018, a bug in another monitoring app, Xnore–which could be used to monitor another person’s Facebook messages and calls–was hacked, exposing the data of its 28,000 users.

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