Spying on smartphones isn't just about secret agents. Watch out for "stalkerware", software for "stalker", digitally monitor the person of his or her choice … It is completely forbidden: it constitutes an invasion of the privacy of others.

It is a criminal offence but it does not prevent these bug applications from proliferating, there are dozens of them … Many do not even know their existence, and yet there are dozens of them-not going to give you their names-and it is an extremely juicy business. And for good reason: they make it easy-and discreetly-to monitor the slightest act of the person of his or her choice.

A very lucrative business for the managers of these applications

Just have access to his phone for two minutes. Discreetly, the app is downloaded to the person's phone. And from there, you can, from your own smartphone, monitor all your activities, and you have a dashboard that shows where it is, thanks to GPS. You can read the text messages, emails, Facebook publications, the call history-all this far away-see the photos, the browsing history on the Internet …

And even use the phone speaker remotely to listen to non-telephone conversations, everything that happens around the phone carrier, a meeting for example. A perfect little snitch, which can be set up in seconds. And a very lucrative business for the managers of these applications, which cost around 15 to 30 euros per month.

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All the more pernicious because these applications are often presented as tools to monitor the whereabouts of their children.

These applications began with reasonable uses: remote monitoring of children's whereabouts or remote monitoring of a person suffering from Alzheimer's disease (Alzheimer's disease, Alzheimer's disease). But very soon, many startups found new sales arguments: checking on your partner is faithful or, for the bosses, monitoring what your employees are doing.

To defend themselves against possible lawsuits, these companies use totally hypocritical and contradictory marketing. On the home page of these apps, messages like: "do you want to keep an eye on your employees or your wife? download XXX!"

How do we know if we're being spied on and suppress these snitches?

Solutions to protect yourself from this: upstream, protect your smartphone and never lend it. In case of doubt, the simplest solution is to check all the apps on your smartphone.

If there is an icon that you do not know, that you have not installed yourself, it is suspicious. Use an antivirus that will scan for stalkerware. There are codes to type too, such as * # 21 #, which will immediately tell you if your calls are diverted. Except that this is not always enough, because many of these software do not go directly through application shops, they are often programs that you will download via a website.