TikTok is facing scrutiny after viral videos on its platform promoted GPS tracking devices explicitly marketed as tools to secretly monitor romantic partners. Some of the videos gained millions of views, and TikTok Shop’s own data shows that more than 100,000 of these trackers have already been sold. While TikTok has removed some of the content, similar videos and products remain available.
Devices Promoted as Tools for Secret Surveillance
In several viral clips, creators openly encouraged viewers to use the trackers to spy on their partners. One video, viewed over five million times before being removed, featured a voiceover telling viewers to “slap one of these on her car” and showed how to hide the device in various parts of a vehicle. The videos emphasized that unlike Apple’s AirTags, the devices make no sound, send no alerts, and cannot be detected by Apple’s FindMy system.
The devices are marketed as small, magnetic, and equipped with their own SIM cards, making them capable of transmitting location data globally without relying on Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The promotional framing, however, centered heavily on monitoring partners under the guise of suspicion about cheating. TikTok deleted the video after being contacted by 404 Media, but dozens of other similar clips remain on the platform.
“This is absolutely being framed as a tool of abuse,” said Eva Galperin, co-founder of the Coalition Against Stalkerware and Director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “Anything where the justification is ‘catch your partner cheating’ or ‘get peace of mind about your partner’ is enabling coercive control,” she said.
TikTok’s Response and Policy Questions
TikTok’s content policy prohibits violent threats, incitement, and the promotion of criminal activity. A spokesperson for the company told 404 Media, “We don’t allow content encouraging people to use devices for secret surveillance and have removed this content and banned the account that posted it. We further prohibit the sale of concealed video or audio recording devices on our platform.” Despite that, 404 Media found many near-identical videos and product listings still active the following day.
The company’s response raises questions about the effectiveness of its enforcement. In some cases, videos advertising the trackers had tens of thousands of likes and linked directly to TikTok Shop listings with tens of thousands of recorded sales. One vendor alone had products with nearly 100,000 sales. The algorithms also amplified the exposure, showing users more listings once they clicked on a single tracker ad.
Comments under the videos highlighted the risks of misuse. In one example, a user claimed to have purchased trackers to attach to the cars of women at a gym, to which the original poster responded with a laughing emoji. Alongside trackers, some sellers also advertised secret audio recording devices with similar messaging, encouraging covert surveillance of partners’ conversations.
Legal Implications and Broader Concerns
The legality of using these devices depends on jurisdiction. Eleven U.S. states explicitly ban digital location tracking in stalking laws, while fifteen states prohibit placing a GPS tracker on a vehicle without the owner’s consent. “Showing people how to do something that might be illegal is not necessarily illegal,” Galperin said. “But TikTok is still allowing people to make money by marketing the tech specifically for the use of spying on a partner.”
Past cases underscore the danger of such technology. In 2021, Apple’s AirTags came under criticism after being used to stalk women, leading Apple to add safety features like notifications when unknown AirTags are nearby. However, lawsuits argue that the measures remain insufficient. Unlike AirTags, the GPS trackers sold on TikTok Shop are advertised specifically for undetectable monitoring, making them harder to identify.
A Kaspersky survey from 2021 found that 30 percent of respondents saw no issue with secretly monitoring a partner under certain conditions, and nearly one-third of digital stalking victims reported that their location had been tracked. Privacy experts warn that products marketed for abusive surveillance reinforce these attitudes. “You would be amazed how many people think stalking, or recordings, or stalkerware is perfectly justified, as long as they think their partner is up to something like cheating,” Galperin said.
Despite user reviews often criticizing the trackers as unreliable or detectable, the devices remain widely sold and promoted through TikTok Shop. The continued availability highlights the tension between platform policies and enforcement, as well as the broader challenge of preventing technology from being repurposed as tools of abuse.