{"id":3343,"date":"2026-05-26T15:41:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T15:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/"},"modified":"2026-05-26T15:41:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T15:41:49","slug":"millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/","title":{"rendered":"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This week Joseph speaks to Zack Whittaker, an editor at TechCrunch. Zack has been leading coverage into the spouseware or stalkerware industry. This is malware sold to ordinary people, which they then often install on their girlfriend\u2019s or someone else\u2019s phone. Zack talks about the crazy scope of this problem.<\/p>\n<p>Listen to the weekly podcast on\u00a0Apple Podcasts,\u00a0Spotify, or\u00a0YouTube. Become a paid subscriber for early access to these interview episodes and to power our journalism.If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player. Behind the stalkerware network spilling the private phone data of hundreds of thousandsSpyzie stalkerware is spying on thousands of Android and iPhone usersStalkerware tag on TechCrunch<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div>Joseph talks to Zack Whittaker all about stalkerware, the pervasive malware that ordinary people install on their partners&#8217; phones.<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-container-style":"default","site-container-layout":"default","site-sidebar-layout":"default","disable-article-header":"default","disable-site-header":"default","disable-site-footer":"default","disable-content-area-spacing":"default","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,14],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-3343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ai-and-ml","category-podcast","tag-ai"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker) - Imperative Business Ventures Limited<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker) - Imperative Business Ventures Limited\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Joseph talks to Zack Whittaker all about stalkerware, the pervasive malware that ordinary people install on their partners&#039; phones.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Imperative Business Ventures Limited\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-26T15:41:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02\"},\"headline\":\"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker)\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-26T15:41:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/\"},\"wordCount\":190,\"keywords\":[\"AI\"],\"articleSection\":[\"AI and ML\",\"Podcast\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/\",\"name\":\"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker) - Imperative Business Ventures Limited\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-26T15:41:49+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/\",\"name\":\"Imperative Business Ventures Limited\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d20b2cd313e4417a599678e950e6fb7d4dfa178a72f2b769335a08aaa615aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d20b2cd313e4417a599678e950e6fb7d4dfa178a72f2b769335a08aaa615aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/author\/admin_hcbs9yw6\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker) - Imperative Business Ventures Limited","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker) - Imperative Business Ventures Limited","og_description":"Joseph talks to Zack Whittaker all about stalkerware, the pervasive malware that ordinary people install on their partners' phones.","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/","og_site_name":"Imperative Business Ventures Limited","article_published_time":"2026-05-26T15:41:49+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02"},"headline":"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker)","datePublished":"2026-05-26T15:41:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/"},"wordCount":190,"keywords":["AI"],"articleSection":["AI and ML","Podcast"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/","name":"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker) - Imperative Business Ventures Limited","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-26T15:41:49+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/26\/millions-of-people-are-installing-malware-on-their-partners-phones-with-zack-whittaker\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners\u2019 Phones (with Zack Whittaker)"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/","name":"Imperative Business Ventures Limited","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/55b87b72a56b1bbe9295fe5ef7a20b02","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d20b2cd313e4417a599678e950e6fb7d4dfa178a72f2b769335a08aaa615aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/4d20b2cd313e4417a599678e950e6fb7d4dfa178a72f2b769335a08aaa615aa9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in"],"url":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/author\/admin_hcbs9yw6\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3343\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.ibvl.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}