First stalkerware maker prosecuted since 2014 receives no jail time

The first stalkerware manufacturer convicted in the U.S. since 2014 received no jail time at his Friday sentencing.

Bryan Fleming, founder of pcTattletale, was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine by a San Diego federal judge and will spend no time in prison beyond the one day he already served. 

In January, he pleaded guilty to one count of manufacturing, distributing, possessing and advertising wire, oral or electronic communication intercepting devices.

Fleming’s Michigan-based stalkerware company sold a surveillance product that was marketed as a way for people to spy on spouses and others without their consent.

His conviction could be a harbinger of more stalkerware convictions to come and was the result of a long-running Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) probe. 

pcTattletale was one of more than 100 stalkerware companies investigated by HSI beginning in June 2021, according to a search warrant affidavit in the case.

Fleming was brazen in his marketing of pcTattletale and posted a video on YouTube promoting its use for catching a “spouse you’re worried about [if] you don’t think they’re being honest.”

“You put it on their Android phone, they won't be able to see it,” Fleming said in the video. “As they use their Android phone and click around, you see a movie of everything they've done.”

The pcTattletale website warned users not to use the app illegally, but at the same time frequently promoted how it could easily be used to surreptitiously spy on romantic partners and employees without their consent.

The app “has been developed for over 15 years and has helped thousands of spouses, family’s [sic], and employers just like you,” according to an affidavit description of the pcTattletale’s website.

A lawyer for Fleming did not respond to a request for comment. TechCrunch was first to report on his sentencing. 

Criminal prosecutions of stalkerware makers have been rare, experts say. 

The Federal Trade Commission has penalized stalkerware companies, but the lack of prosecutions has contributed to a burgeoning marketplace for the products.