Google’s ad ban won’t stop stalkerware apps from promoting themselves

Google has announced that from August 2020 it will be prohibiting ads for stalkerware products and services.

What’s stalkerware?

It’s that particular foul family of software that enables someone with an unhealthy interest in you to remotely spy upon your phone, track your location, and read messages that you send and receive – all without your knowledge and permission.

In short it’s spyware beloved by creeps, jealous ex-partners, and those who have no qualms about invading someone’s privacy in the hope of tracking what they’re up to and with whom.

This video from the Coalition Against Stalkerware sums up the menace well.

Stalkerware is a serious problem. It is often victims of domestic abuse who are put in danger by stalkerware, which will often attempt to hide its presence on a smartphone, making it tricky to discover let alone uninstall. I”ve always been disappointed to see not only how generally available stalkerware is for purchase, but also that it is openly advertised on the web.

And it’s clear that there are plenty of people who are searching the internet for precisely those kind of products.

So I welcome the news that Google has google stalkerware promoting themselves