Hacked, leaked, exposed: Why you should never use stalkerware apps

**Executive summary:** The report documents a persistent pattern of security failures and compromises involving stalkerware vendors: since 2017 at least 27 companies producing spyware for covert monitoring have been hacked or accidentally leaked sensitive customer and victim data (including messages, photos, call logs, GPS locations, credentials, and payment records), with multiple large-scale incidents in 2024–2026 such as uMobix, Catwatchful, SpyX, Cocospy, Spyic, Spyzie and others; the piece highlights the privacy and physical-safety risks for targets, legal and regulatory responses, and the recurring reappearance or rebranding of shuttered vendors.