Nortonlifelock, the global major in consumer cyber safety, launched a new findings from the report of Safety Safety 2021 Norton.
Reports of Norton Safety Safety Insights 2021: Special Releases – Online creeping aims to assess customer online habits and whether it deviates into cyber stalking.
According to the report, 74% of Indian adults who have a romantic relationship claim to be “stalking” their current partners / ex online without their knowledge or approval.
The most common form of “stalking,” revealed, is reviewing the search history on their partner’s device (32%); Check text messages, phone calls, direct messages, email, or photos on their partner’s device (31%); and track their partner’s location through the location sharing application (29%) – all without the knowledge or approval of the partner.
Furthermore, 26% said they used their knowledge of their partner’s password to access the latest devices and online accounts, while 25% used the application to secretly monitor text messages, phone calls, or photos.
Among those who have stalked the current or former partners, 39% said they wanted to ensure that they were physically safe and / or mentally; 36% said they wanted to know what their partner did; While 33% claim they took to follow online when they learned that their partner did the same thing to them.
“For most people, checking someone online is not a crime.
However, this behavior becomes problematic when it becomes a pattern, where technology is used to track one’s activities,” said Ritesh Chopra, Director of Sales and Marketing of Field, India & Saarc, Nortonlifelock.
“Report It shows that almost half of Indian adults will do it more likely to follow their current partners / ex online if they know they will not be caught.
Because it is very important for Indians to understand the difference between checking and stalking someone.
“The report added that 52% of Indian adults believe it is not harmful to stalk today / former online partners; 59% believe that online stalkers are okay if it is to check the physical or mental well-being of their partners; 53% said that online further followed if one or both partners had cheated or suspected of deceiving; While 51% said they did not care about being followed online as long as they were not directly followed.
Incidentally, there is limited awareness in India about stalkerware or creamware; According to the report, only 32% are familiar with it, 35% only hears the name, while 33% does not realize it.
However, 54% of Indian adults today in romantic relationships believe that their partners tend to download stalkerware / crearware on their devices or have done it.
This belief is clearer among the younger generation (58% below the age of 40) compared to the older generation (41% above the age of 40).
The report was carried out in the partnership WI The Harris polls surveyed more than 10,000 adults 18+ in 10 countries including 1,000 Indian adults, to assess customer’s online habits and whether it deviated into cyber stalking.