ZEE and her friends often post reels and stills on Instagram and Tiktok. Aged 16 to 17, these girls from a public school in Laguna have a following of about 5,000 or so people. To their surprise a lot of their followers are men three times their ages, and try to reach out to them.
Flo, works in a call center in Lucena City and has a busy, time-reversed world. But this did not take away his ablity to have a love life, mostly online. Using popular dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and Pinoy Singles he is able to meet people whose lives and timezones are similar to his.
Digital stalking ncludes filming or recording with no consent, unauthorized location mapping or tracking, excessive checking of social media pages, and even setting up meetings just to see how a person is.
Both Zee and Flo experienced being digitally stalked–unauthorized or excessive following of social media accounts by new people just newly met.
A new survey, commissioned by Kaspersky of 21,000 people worldwide, reveals shocking data about the extent of digital abuse.
The study interviewed people in 21 countries around the world (excluding the Philippines). But the findings apply to what is happening locally. The study concludes that many online daters are keen to take steps to protect themselves in the quest for love.
However, almost 23 percent of respondents claim that they had experienced some form of online stalking from a person they newly met or were newly dating. The study confirmed that people are still vulnerable to an alarming rise in stalking and abuse, which increased during the last Valentine’s Day mostly because of risks posed by location settings, data privacy, and more broadly, oversharing.
“The Internet of things, or connected world is brilliant and offers a myriad of possibilities. But with opportunity comes threats and one of those threats of a connected world is the ease of access to traceable data which leaves us vulnerable to abuse,” David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky said.
Oversharing of information is a major cause of stalking. However, 34 percent of respondents believe that Googling/checking social media accounts is more of a form of due diligence, not as stalking, and is acceptable. Some 41 percent admitted to doing so when they started dating or before meeting someone.
Information oversharing includes the willingness to share passwords that could potentially allow their location to be accessed. 90 percent of respondents said they shared passwords–a big no-no in keeping personal security safe.
The prevalence of abuse takes many forms, with a significant portion of individuals (39 percent) reporting exposure to some form of violence or abuse from a current or previous partner. This includes 16 percent who received unsolicited emails or messages, and notably, 13 percent who experienced unauthorized filming or photography.
Additionally, 10 percent reported unauthorized tracking of their location and another 10 percent had their social media or email accounts compromised. Alarmingly, 7 percent reported the installation of stalkerware on their devices without their permission.
The data shows a higher incidence of violence or abuse among female respondents compared to males (42 percent versus 36 percent). Moreover, those actively dating reported higher rates of violence or abuse than those in stable, long-term relationships (48 percent versus 37 percent). A concerning 34 percent of all respondents expressed fears of online stalking, with females more likely to be worried about this threat than males (36 percent versus 31 percent).
The incidence of online stalking varies worldwide, with higher reports in parts of South and Central America and Asia. For instance, 42 percent of respondents from India, 38 percent from Mexico, and 36 percent from Argentina reported experiencing some form of online stalking.
“While victims of stalking should never be blamed, the reality is that they often have to take steps to mitigate risks. It’s excellent to see individuals taking precautions to confirm identities online, but it’s also crucial to pause and critically assess the information, passwords, or data being shared to prevent misuse by malicious parties,” Emm stresses.
“Dealing with online dating and navigating virtual spaces can present challenges. It’s vital for social media platforms and dating apps to implement stringent verification processes to ensure the authenticity of user profiles. Currently, Bumble stands out as the only dating app with such a comprehensive verification process. I advocate for more platforms to incorporate similar safety protocols. Furthermore, easily accessible safety guides and resources in various languages are essential to support individuals at risk without the prerequisite of app registration,” Emma Pickering warned. Pickering leads initiatives on Technology-Facilitated Abuse and Economic Empowerment at Refuge, and NGO devoted to stopping digital stalking.
Kaspersky offers valuable advice for ensuring safety in online dating environments, including information on protecting against stalkerware. The huge possibility of digital stalking leading to abuses has pushed it to work with experts and organizations in the field of domestic violence, ranging from victim support services and perpetrator programs through to research and government agencies.
Kaspersky is one of the co-founders of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, an international group dedicated to tackling stalkerware and combating domestic violence. Since 2021, it has been a consortium partner of the EU project DeStalk, co-funded by the Rights, Equality, and Citizenship Program of the European Union. Kaspersky has also launched and maintains TinyCheck, a free, safe and easy-to-use tool to check devices for stalkerware and monitoring apps.
Respondents in the Kaspersky study were aged 16 years and over. All were either in a long-term relationship (62 percent of the sample), dating someone (16 percent) or not currently dating/in a relationship but had been in the past (21 percent). The fieldwork took place between January 3-17, 2024.
