Location Tracking Software is making it harder for people to escape abusive relationships.
Malwarebytes recently posted a brilliantly balanced article on the pros and cons of location tracking software. Here’s the link to read the article in full https://lnkd.in/g9UaBhJj.
But if you are looking for a quick summary, here are my highlights:
- Location tracking software is really popular – especially with Gen Z who see it as a way to feel safe or for convenience. However, the purpose for location tracking needs to be transparent, voluntary and have a useful objective, otherwise it can be used to spy on others.
- Non-consensual tracking or feeling pressured into allowing someone to track you is an invasion of privacy and a form of coercive control which is never ok.
- In their survey, Malwarebytes discovered 16% of respondents had non-consensually tracked the location of their spouse or partner. While 13% had non-consensually installed monitoring software on another person’s devices.
- Malwarebytes describe real-time location tracking as “extraordinarily sensitive information, and as such, access to it should be understood as a privilege, not a right”. They go on to say that “refusal to share your location, at any stage of the relationship is not a ‘red flag’”.
- They conclude the article with the following guidelines if you choose to share your location with your partner:
- Have an open conversation about location sharing with one another.
- Have a reason why you’re engaging in location sharing.
- Set up rules about location sharing.
- Check in periodically about whether it is working.
Please share and repost as it could help a victim-survivor of domestic violence stay safe after they leave their abuser or while they are planning their escape.
