S.T.O.P. Report Shows Family Surveillance Apps Used for Probation, Enable Abuse

S.T.O.P. released Big Brother Babysitter: The Carceral Logic of Family Surveillance Apps.

View this email in your browser For Immediate Release S.T.O.P. Report Shows Family Surveillance Apps Used for Probation, Enable Abuse (New York, NY, 9/25/2025) - Today, the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.), a New York-based privacy and civil rights group, released Big Brother Babysitter: The Carceral Logic of Family Surveillance Apps, a report detailing how family surveillance apps transfer surveillance used for probation and parole to familial contexts, enabling abusive parents and intimate partners. Courts have even opportunistically used Life360, one family surveillance app, to enforce probation. The report calls on regulators to reign in family surveillance apps based on federal and state wiretap laws, and demands developers prioritize user safety if they refuse to pull the apps entirely. SEE: S.T.O.P. Report - Big Brother Babysitter: The Carceral Logic of Family Surveillance Apps stopspying.org/big-brother-babysitter “We don’t make our children and partners wear ankle monitors, but demanding they use family surveillance apps isn’t all that different,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Research & Advocacy Manager Corinne Worthington. “In fact, the technologies are so indistinguishable that some courts have swapped out body-worn monitors for Life360. This is stalkerware sold as safety, with our data then sold to the highest bidder. If developers refuse to pull apps from shelves, the least they can do is implement robust privacy and safety measures to reduce their harm.” “Family surveillance apps are such effective carceral tools that some courts require them for community release,” said Surveillance Technology Oversight Project Research Director Eleni Manis. “If your children aren’t on probation, they shouldn’t be on Life360. Family surveillance apps’ push notifications and exhaustive tracking make overwhelming surveillance not only possible, but easy. Apps enable abusers while offering highly inadequate protections for survivors of stalking and intimate partner violence. We all need to deinstall and denounce these apps.” Key Findings Include: Family surveillance apps like Life360 repurpose the surveillance typically used to enforce probation and parole. In fact, some courts use Life360 in lieu of apps branded as probation or parole tools. Family surveillance apps frequently function as stalkerware, enabling abusers to track their targets anywhere they go. These apps can enable abusive parents, intimate partner violence, and other crimes. Most family surveillance apps track more data than needed to serve their core functions, compounding safety risks for tracked individuals. Short of pulling family surveillance apps entirely, developers should implement anti-abusability measures recommended by advocates for survivors of domestic abuse. Last year, S.T.O.P. released Age Of Surveillance: Conservative Age Surveillance Of LGBTQ+ Youth, a report detailing the harms of internet age-verification laws on LGBTQ+ children and teens. While protection of children is always a laudable objective, far-right lawmakers have manipulated this narrative to censor LGBTQ+ resources online, dramatically reshaping access to internet content in their states.  SEE: S.T.O.P. Report - Age Of Surveillance: Conservative Age Surveillance Of LGBTQ+ Youth https://www.stopspying.org/age-of-surveillance The Surveillance Technology Oversight Project is a non-profit advocacy organization and legal services provider. S.T.O.P. litigates and advocates for privacy, fighting excessive local and state-level surveillance. Our work highlights the discriminatory impact of surveillance on Muslim Americans, immigrants, and communities of color.   -- END -- Copyright © 2025 Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.