Cyberstalking on Social Media and Dating Apps: A Silent Threat in the Digital Age

Abstract

As cyberspace expands at an astonishing rate, it has developed a dual nature — both a blessing and a curse. These platforms have certainly opened doors for profit and innovation, but they’ve also become a breeding ground for harmful activities. Cybercriminals now represent a significant threat to society, targeting everything from smartphones to our Internet of Things (IoT) devices. One of the most troubling forms of cybercrime is cyberstalking, where offenders, often without the victim’s consent, track and harass victims through numerous electronic channels. Acknowledging the seriousness of this issue, governments around the globe have ramped up their efforts to tackle this problem, either by introducing new laws or updating existing ones to meet the challenges posed by modern technology. Victims of cyberstalking face a range of losses — psychological, social, reputational, and, most critically, in their personal lives. Numerous cases have sparked public concern about how effectively these new laws protect victims from predatory actions. In India, the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, along with the Information Technology Act, 2005, provides the legal framework to address this crime. The situation is even more challenging because many offenders are young and tech-savvy, and they know loopholes, which makes it harder for law enforcement to hold them accountable. This paper will delve into a comparative analysis of legal measures across various countries and explore how legal authorities can effectively tackle this issue. It will also shed light on common mistakes victims make and offer practical tips to help individuals safeguard themselves against becoming targets of digital stalking.

Keywords: Cyber Stalking, Information Technology.

“Humanity is acquiring all the right technology for all the wrong reasons.”[1]

Introduction

Cyber-stalking, as the name suggests it is the use of technology or any digital media with a malicious intent, by an individual or a group of people to engage in a behaviour which amounts attract the offence of stalking[2]. This crime stresses the use of information technology, particularly social media platforms, to intimidate or harass or exploit the victim[3]. The intent of these perpetrators might be to ask for favours, cause injury, harass, or have an eye on another person (victim), which results in a reasonable fear of death to the victim[4]. The normal behaviour of cyber-stalkers includes: sending spam mails or threating mails to victim; posting personal information of the victim; hacking for posting some offensive content; using various illegal methods to create sexually explicit images; phishing or hacking into to the victims social media accounts to retrieve information; advertising obscene content without victims will; setting up various websites to threaten to harass or harm the victim; asking for any favours and other activities or actions which instil fear to the victim. The offence of cyber stalking does not involve an element of sexual obsession, but it is a type of criminal activity which is being “motivated by interpersonal hostility and aggressive behaviours stemming from power and control issues rather than material gain”[5]. It is any course of conduct which causes alarm or distress, which the person engaging in amounts to harassment of another[6]. This offence also covers the ambit of placing any electronic tracking device without the consent of the owner on the property of another person[7] to track or take a follow-up of all the activities in a day. There were various reports on the use of dating apps to pinpoint the victim’s location[8] in a highly proximate range of the users. The data, which is stored or uploaded by the user or created or originated by the way of digital footprint, is easily accessible once these stalkers get into the victim’s system[9]. So, if we maintain the minimum security and exercise due diligence with our actions on the internet, it will reduce the chances of cyber stalking[10].

Traditional Stalking and Cyber Stalking

Traditional stalking before inculcating technology meant to “repeatedly maintain a visual or physical proximity to a person either directly or indirectly or through third parties….it can be any action, method, device or means, following, monitoring, observing, threating, communicating to do or about a person or interfering with victims’ property”[11]. On the contrary, cyber stalking stands to be “Cyberstalking is generally used to refer to the use of the Internet, e-mail, or other telecommunication technologies to harass or stalk another person. This could include the intentional behaviour to intimidate victims or make their lives unbearable”[12]. The offence of Stalking usually happens when the perpetrator, with the intention of malice, repeatedly keeps an eye or follows that person to such an extent that it makes the victim feel threatened[13] rather annoyed, which makes it difficult to do daily chores. In modern times, the mode of stalking has changed; earlier, it was confined only to physical means, but in the present time, it is done through various electronic media. Stalking is primarily done with the intention of undue advantage, anger, lust, revenge and sometimes persistent behaviours of following various individuals.[14]. To some extent, cyber stalking is an extension of traditional stalking in which the offenders utilise a high-tech modus operandi to commit these crimes.[15]. The modernisation has given rise to various forms of cyber stalking:

1. Through Email- it involves sending spontaneous emails, including hatred, obscene words, or repeatedly threatening the victim[16].
2. GPS Stalking- it involves tracking your location to learn where you have been and misusing that information against you (electronic surveillance)[17].
3. Through social media, it is a persistent and unprovoked behaviour involving multiple threats and messages despite suffering cessation, resulting in threatening the security and safety of the victim[18].
4. Dating Apps- it involves behaviours such as excessive communication, tracking online activities, visiting profiles repeatedly, with an attempt to gain personal information, which makes the victim feel uncomfortable and reluctant to continue on these sites[19].

According to the latest published data of NCRB, there were 8512 cases in 2020 and 10116 in 2022 registered for cyber stalking, with a steady increase of 1.5 per cent (approx.) every year[20]. The majority contributing state is Maharashtra, with reported crimes around 2557 in 2022[21]. It showcases how the crime is increasing day by day, and most prominently, woman have been stalked many a time in their lifetime. The numbers stated above are only for the cases which are registered. What about those victims who, in fear of loss of reputation, do not come to the police station? Ironically, even policemen are not left untouched; in 2023, a cop was arrested for stalking and sexually abusing a 10-year-old child[22]. This is just one case, as our over-dependence on the internet has led to various novel ways to commit the offence, like stalking. It is germane to note that the above-stated reports do not bestow the offence of cyber stalking but the accumulation of both forms of stalking[23].

Role of Social Media and Dating Apps

The similarity which is being withdrawn from all the dating apps[24] which are in use is “active proximity-based location system”[25], it continuously sends and keeps tracking users or consumers to help people find someone nearby or in their locality[26]. The issue of concern is about the privacy and safety[27] of the users sharing and storing private and personal information on the app, whether it is social media or dating apps[28], which might be uploaded purposely by the user. The Primary issue touching the ambit of dating apps is that predators are lurking in the dark shadows of the web in these apps to extract as much information as possible, including users addresses, and viewing their movements in a day. The condition is pretty similar in the context of social media apps, wherein monitoring and keeping track of the targeted user is done, and gathering of location, where the user goes or tracking the whole day what the user was doing[29]. This type of constant and incessant tracking, coupled with a lack of necessary restrictions on users’ ability or control over access to personal information, makes it a free flow[30], making dating apps far more vulnerable than social media apps. For instance, Tinder provides a feature to interlink their Instagram accounts, which provides access to all information, whether it is the latest photos or videos, including some crucial private information[31]. This is like leaving the gates open of your house and waiting for someone to steal. While we are using it, we have also switched on our location, which is easily accessible and records the user’s location[32]. There are various tales about threats and tragedy due to the sharing of location on dating apps[33]. The victims have sensed after these incidents that they were disclosing too much of their personal information on all the social media apps. When confronted by these victims, users have blocked these threatening perpetrators, but on the contrary, these perpetrators take alternative methods to commit their crime.  For instance, once the victim blocks or reports the account of the offender, stalkers find an alternative method to approach the victim,[34] and this becomes a never-ending chain. Even if users ignore or abstain from responding to the messages, the intent of the offender is completed, as he/she got access to the information being uploaded, like a post or a story being uploaded have a Geotag[35] at the backend which is further used to gain all the particulars of victim visiting frequently[36]. When we click on the permission to have access to our location, these apps 24×7 monitor our location and even track our past visiting places in digital data[37]. Based on this information, the stalkers predict the behaviour of the victim and follow them everywhere they go, whether it’s nightclubs or social meeting places[38]. These crimes are also denoted as “Technology-Facilitated Violence Against Women (TFVAW)”[39], which includes image-based abuse (IBA), cyber-stalking, e-bile, doxing and gender trolling[40].  Due to the changing scenario of the society, there is an increasing popularity of dating apps in India, which has reported numerous cases of abuse and harassment of women[41], including receiving explicit images, blackmailing, online stalking, sexualised remarks, and various abusive approaches[42]. Cyber stalking often involves a close connection with the victim, being a former friend on social media, and afterwards, the victim has distanced themselves[43].  There are various cases in which the victims are repeatedly called for primarily to satisfy sexual demands and other activities related to it[44]. So, these malicious intentions have adverse impacts on physical, emotional, mental and psychological impacts on the victims, which hampers their peaceful living. The victims must oversee how much data should be disclosed on these sites and apps to ensure minimal chances of these offences being committed.

The Comparative Analysis of Cyber-stalking laws in the world

If we take a closer look at the different approaches of various jurisdictions to combat cyberstalking within their legal framework, some countries have enacted an exhaustive and specific provision under cybercrimes, or some have extended the ambit of their existing laws. For instance, if we see US laws, Section 2261a of Title 18 of the US code[45], has a specific provision relating to cyber stalking (which includes every electronic device). The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in the case of United States of America v. Shawn Sayer[46], Sayer’s persistent harassment and prolonged cyberstalking through various online platforms after a breakup in 2006, which made the court to held that there was permanent physical, emotional and mental distress and damage to the victim and was punished with imprisonment as the defendant engaged in numerous acts which amounts to stalking[47]. In the UK, the offence of stalking is covered under sections 2a and 4a, which are covered in the Protection from Harassment Act 1997[48]. It provides various acts associated with it[49]. One of the most celebrated cases is when an offender evaded for about a decade and exploited or harassed, or stalked more than a dozen women was caught in 2022 and sentenced to nine years of imprisonment[50].  Likewise, if we look at the territories of Australia, it has also enacted a provision as a subcategory of the general offence of stalking; section 19AA of the South Australian Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935[51] provides an exhaustive and detailed definition of stalking.  A case of crisis was also faced by a woman for an 18-month-long intense time that occurred between April 2019 to June 2020[52]. Similarly, the Singapore government has enacted the provision to curb this offence, enacted Section 7 of Singapore’s Protection from Harassment Act of 2014 also criminalises cyberstalking, including an individual or entity unlawfully stalking a person. A case from Singapore came when a person stalked an ex-employee for years; the court convicted the offender and was jailed[53].

Now, drawing attention to the Indian Sub-continent, the offence of cyberstalking is impliedly mentioned subcategory of Section 78 (1) (ii) of Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023 [herein denoted as ‘BNS’][54], which denotes that, especially a man can only commit the offence of stalking, especially against the woman through email, internet or any other form of electronic communication which comes under this definition is stalking. The Indian diaspora defines stalking which in comparison to the comparative criminal jurisprudence has a lot of difference, for instance, the BNS declares only a man as an offender, but we compare from the USA, UK, Australia and Singapore it starts with ‘whoever’ or ‘a person’[55] which shows it as a gender-neutral provision. Even though the rate of stalking faced by women is far more than men[56] but there should be gender neutrality in the newly enacted criminal law. The aforesaid section of BNS explicitly mentions “other form of electronic communications”; it must not be an exhaustive definition, but a slight reference shall have been given to denote or illustrate to what extent electronic communications are covered under it. There are numerous cases of stalking in India, for instance, a Karnataka Man attempts to commit Suicide over LOC in cyber stalking[57], a cop being arrested[58], Rajkot men held cyber stalking[59] and many other cases which might not be registered or reported to the police or law enforcement authorities. There is a sudden rise in the cases of cyber stalking due to increased exposure with the internet and social media[60], which should be under the watchful eye of the government to tackle it as soon as possible, with stricter measures to be taken against the offender.

Conclusion & Suggestion

By analysing all the cases and legislations or statutes, it is crystal clear that there is still some grey area left, which is providing support to these offenders to commit this offence. The percentage of people having internet access has also increased drastically[61], which also shows that tremendous data is being uploaded and digital footprints are being created, and once submitted, they are never erased. This is not a mere encrypted or codified data in electronic form, but is a gold mine for offenders to retrieve as much information as possible to harass the victim. The populace must be provided with pre-requisite precautions which are to be abided by while or before surfing over internet, rather than being ignorant of their privacy, to which they pay a hefty price. There is still an untouched part of cross-border cyber stalking, a bot committing stalking that will be liable and many other questions which shall be answered as soon as possible to ensure our long-standing fight with cyber stalking is won by us. The present-day users of the internet are somewhat literate but never taught about the basics of information technology, which makes them vulnerable to being preyed upon by cyber criminals. It is not only the government’s duty but also ours to ensure that the internet is a safer place to enjoy the blissfulness of it in various forms, which has been innovated over the decades.

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[20] Crime in India 2020, STATISTICS VOLUME-I, National Crime Records Bureau Ministry of Home Affairs, https://www.ncrb.gov.in/crime-in-india-year-wise.html?year=2020&keyword=, Pg. 35; Also refer to the reports of past years to understand the culture of stalking in Indian Sub-continent.

[21] Id. Pg. 59, it is state wise crime wise list, least being Nagaland as no case is registered under section 354D of Indian Penal Code (Now Section 78 of BNS).

[22] https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/cop-arrested-for-stalking-sexually-abusing-10-yr-old-8968881/

[23] Id. 20.

[24]  Tabitha Britt, Stacia Datskovska, 10 Free Dating Apps Worth Trying In 2025, in.mashable.com, https://in.mashable.com/dating-relationships/89408/10-free-dating-apps-worth-trying-in-2025 (23rd March, 2025, 4:30 am)

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[27] Doug Gross, How Your Movements Create a GPS Fingerprint, CNN (Mar. 24, 2025, 2:34PM), http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/26/tech/mobile/mobile-gps-pri vacy-study/index.html (showing how location data can be used to predict the behaviors of an individual).

[28] Anthony Wing Kosner, Tinder Dating App Users Are Playing with Privacy Fire, FORBES (Mar. 23, 2025, 11:20 am), https://www.forbes.com/sites/anthonykos ner/2014/02/18/tinder-dating-app-users-are-playing-with-privacy-fire/#41a2ab8d3dbd

[29] Always Be Oriented with the Integration of Geolocation into Your App, CLEVEROAD (Mar 24, 2025), https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/always-be-orientated-with-the-integration of-geolocation-into-your-app.

[30]Christen Costa, How Does Tinder Work? What Is Tinder?, GADGET REV. (Mar, 24 , 2025), http://www.gadgetreview.com/how-does-tinder-work-what-is-tinder.

[31] Paresh Dave, Tinder adds ability to show off Instagram photos to potential matches, www.latimes.com, https://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-tinder-instagram-20150414-story.html (Mar 23^rd, 2025)

[32] Always Be Oriented with the Integration of Geolocation into Your App, CLEVEROAD (Mar. 23, 2025), https://www.cleveroad.com/blog/always-be-orientated-with-the-integration of-geolocation-into-your-app

[33] Lydia Brown, I Was Stalked by Someone I Met on Tinder, TAB, http://thetab.com/uk/york/2016/05/12/i-stalked-someone-i-met-tinder-10249 (last visited 23rd March, 2025, 11:20 am); Nearly a quarter of online daters experience digital stalking, www.kaspersky.com, https://www.kaspersky.com/about/press-releases/nearly-a-quarter-of-online-daters-experience-digital-stalking (23rd March, 2025, 11:30 am); Linda Adey, Dating’s Dangerous Secrets, www.bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2022/08/datings-dangerous-secrets (23rd March, 2025, 11:40 am).

[34] Amrita Prasad, In the age of rising cyberstalking, dating apps fight digital abuse, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/love-sex/in-the-age-of-rising-cyberstalking-dating-apps-fight-digital-abuse/articleshow/81925529.cms (23rd March, 2025, 12:10 pm).

[35]Rebecca Sheehan, Geo-stalking and how to protect yourself, www.ksdk.com, https://www.ksdk.com/article/news/local/5-on-your-side/geo-stalking-and-how-to-protect-yourself/63-346421913 (23rd March, 2025, 12:30 pm).

[36] Lisa Riordan Seville, Foursquare and Stalking: Is Geotagging Dangerous?, www.thedailybeast.com, https://www.thedailybeast.com/foursquare-and-stalking-is-geotagging-dangerous/ (23rd March, 2025, 12:50 pm).

[37]Meredith Land, How Digital Photos Are Helping Stalkers, www.nbcdfw.com, https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/how-digital-photos-can-help-stalkers/1895757/ (23rd March, 2025, 1:30 pm).

[38] Rajan, B. Harassment and abuse of Indian women on dating apps: a narrative review of literature on technology-facilitated violence against women and dating app use. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 12, 55 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04286-6; Dani Ran, I Matched With the Perfect Date on Tinder – Then He Started Stalking Me, www.vice.com, https://www.vice.com/en/article/i-was-stalked-by-tinder-date/ (23rd March, 2025, 1:30 pm)- this is a great example how tinder had played a role in stalking the victim.

[39]Kristine Baekgaard, Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence An Emerging Issue in Women, Peace and Security, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security & Embassy of Denmark (Washington D.C.), prevention-collaborative.org, https://prevention-collaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Technology-Facilitated-Gender-Based-Violence.pdf (23rd March, 2025, 2:40 pm).

[40] Sood, A. (2024). Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence in India. In: Sinha, R., Basu, P. (eds) Family and Gendered Violence and Conflict. Social Work. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-60383-9_25.

[41] Chahal R, Kumar L, Jindal S, Rawat P (2019) Cyber Stalking: Technological Form of Sexual Harassment. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.27772.90246.

[42] Eric Filice, Kavishka D. Abeywickrama, Diana C. Parry, Corey W. Johnson, Sexual violence and abuse in online dating: A scoping review, Aggression and Violent Behavior, Volume 67, 2022, 101781, ISSN 1359-1789, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2022.101781, (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178922000623).

[43] Benson Rajan, Harassment and abuse of Indian women on dating apps: a narrative review of literature on technology facilitated violence against women and dating app use, HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES COMMUNICATIONS, https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04286.

[44] Das V (2021a) Dating Applications, Intimacy, and Cosmopolitan Desire in India. In: Mohan S, Punathambekar A (eds), Global Digital Cultures. Uni versity of Michigan Press

[45] 18 U.S.C., United States Code, 2010 Edition, Title 18 – CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE, PART I – CRIMES CHAPTER 110A – DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND STALKING, Sec. 2261A – Stalking, From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov. There are also specific provisions on all the states of the USA or rather they have amended existing provision.

[46] No. 12-2489

[47] L.A. Police Dep’t v. United Reporting Publ’g Corp. , 528 U.S. 32, 39 (1999)

[48] 1997 CHAPTER 40.

[49] “…….(3)The following are examples of acts or omissions which, in particular circumstances, are ones associated with stalking— (a)following a person;(b)contacting, or attempting to contact, a person by any means; (c)publishing any statement or other material—(i)relating or purporting to relate to a person, or ;(ii)purporting to originate from a person; (d)monitoring the use by a person of the internet, email or any other form of electronic communication; (e)loitering in any place (whether public or private); (f)interfering with any property in the possession of a person; (g)watching or spying on a person……….”

[50]Matthew Hardy: Stalker jailed for harassing women on Instagram, bbc.com, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-60139693 (24th March, 2025, 5:40 am).

[51] Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) No. 2252

[52] Matilda Marozzi and Kristian Silva, Cyber stalking victim says phones, computers have been hacked for months, www.abc.net.au/news, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-18/cyber-stalking-victim-says-phones-computers-hacked-by-ex-partner/12894584 (24th March, 2025, 5:50 am).

[53] Nadine Chua, Married man jailed for stalking ex-employee for almost 2 years like a ‘surveillance camera’, www.straitstimes.com, https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/married-man-jailed-for-stalking-ex-employee-for-almost-2-years-like-a-surveillance-camera (24th March, 2025, 6:50 am); Also read Lydia Lam, ‘I thought she liked me too’: Man jailed for stalking woman, following her home from work repeatedly, www.channelnewsasia.com, https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/unreciprocated-love-man-stalked-woman-waitress-follow-home-work-4064811 (24th March, 2025, 6:52 am).

[54] THE BHARATIYA NYAYA SANHITA, 2023 NO. 45 OF 2023. This provision also attracts various other sections of Information Technology Act, 2000 Section 67 Punishment for publishing or transmitting obscene material in electronic form; Section 67A. Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material containing sexually explicit act, etc., in electronic form; Section 67B. Punishment for publishing or transmitting of material depicting children in sexually explicit act, etc., in electronic form.

[55] CRIMINAL LAW CONSOLIDATION ACT 1935 – SECTION 19AA—Unlawful stalking-

“(1) A person stalks another if—……………..”

[56] Isabel Santagostino Recavarren & Marina Elefante, Protecting women and girls from cyber harassment: a global assessment, blogs.worldbank.org, https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/developmenttalk/protecting-women-and-girls-cyber-harassment-global-assessment (25th March, 2025, 5:42 pm).

[57]Vijay Kumar Yadav, Karnataka man attempts suicide at Mumbai airport over LOC in cyber stalking case, indianexpress.com, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/karnataka-man-attempts-suicide-at-mumbai-airport-over-loc-in-cyber-stalking-case-9374738/ (25th March, 2025, 5:55 pm).

[58] Cop arrested for stalking, sexually abusing 10-yr-old, indianexpress.com, https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/cop-arrested-for-stalking-sexually-abusing-10-yr-old-8968881/ (25th March, 2025, 6:05 pm).

[59] Two men held for cyber stalking teenage girls in Rajkot, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/two-men-held-for-cyber-stalking-teenage-girls/articleshow/89309630.cms (25th March, 2025, 7:05 pm).

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[61] https://www.statista.com/statistics/792074/india-internet-penetration-rate/