The founder of the spyware company, pcTattletale, which encouraged customers to secretly monitor their romantic partners, has pleaded guilty to federal charges, marking one of the few successful prosecutions in the US of stalkerware.
See also: How to protect your smartphone from spyware
Bryan Fleming, who ran the now-defunct tracking software company pcTattletale from his home in Michigan, pleaded guilty on January 6 in federal court in San Diego to charges including computer hacking, conspiracy and illegal advertising of tracking software.
The case is significant not only for its rarity, but also for how brazenly Fleming operated. Unlike many stalkerware operators who hide behind anonymity, Fleming openly promoted pcTattletale via YouTube videos filmed at his home, advertising the software as a tool to “catch a cheater.”.
If you visited the pcTattletale website, you would be told that it was “employee and child monitoring software” designed to “protect your business and family.” However, in reality, it was a way to secretly spy on other people’s phones and computers, secretly watching everything they were doing.
The software claimed to be “100% Untraceable,” raising the question of why it needed to be untraceable if it was only being used to monitor employees or children. Surely a parent or employer would only use such software with the explicit permission and knowledge of their child or employee?
The reality is that stalkerware like pcTattletale can also be used to track people's location and activities without their knowledge. For many buyers, this was probably the only reason they bought the software – to spy on spouses and partners without their consent.
See also: ClayRat: Android spyware steals messages and photos
Law enforcement began investigating pcTattletale in 2021. An agent went undercover, posing as a marketing associate and then a customer. Fleming provided promotional materials that advertised pcTattletale as a way to “catch an unfaithful man,” noting in an email that “there are far more women who want to catch their husbands than the other way around.”.
Court documents revealed that when a customer was concerned that pcTattletale would show up on their friend's credit card receipt, Fleming reassured them that the purchases could show up as a "general computer scan.".
A data breach, rather than a federal investigation, ultimately ended pcTattletale's operations. In May 2024, a hacker exploited vulnerabilities in pcTattletale's infrastructure, defacing the website and leaking gigabytes of data, including details of over 138,000 customer accounts. Fleming shut down operations shortly thereafter.
Fleming claimed through his lawyer that he “had no idea that the product might violate any law.” This claim seems questionable, given that the software was advertised for illegal surveillance purposes.
Fleming faces up to 15 years and will be sentenced on April 3, 2026.
Law enforcement has indicated that pcTattletale is just one of many stalkerware businesses under investigation, which could spell bad news not only for those who run such companies, but also for those who have purchased spyware from them in the past.
See also: CISA: Spyware campaigns target Signal & WhatsApp users
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Using stalkerware to spy on others without their permission is never acceptable.
