Report on most invasive stalkerware apps

In August 2020, Coalition member Corrata published their research findings on the most invasive stalkerware apps currently available. They conducted this research by downloading the apps and installing them onto a number of test phones.

The key findings of the research were:

• Call recordings, texts, WhatApp messages, photos, camera access and GPS location were visible to the installer through a separate server
• Out of 80 URL Categorization Sites tested, only 2.5% detected the websites from which the stalkerware was downloaded as being malicious
• The stalkerware apps required access to Device Admin Privileges and Accessibility permissions and instructed the installer to disable Google Play Protect
• The apps alerted the installer when the stalkerware was removed from the device

You can read Corrata’s full report here.