Electronic Frontier Foundation

Founder of pcTattletale pleads guilty to hacking and selling stalkerware

Bryan Fleming, the founder of U.S. spyware firm pcTattletale, pleaded guilty in a San Diego federal court to charges of computer hacking, illegal sale and advertising of surveillance software, and conspiracy. The plea follows a Homeland Security Investigations probe that began in 2021 after uncovering more than 100 stalkerware websites linked to the company. pcTattletale shut down in 2024 after a data breach exposed information on over 138,000 customers, and federal agents later raided Fleming’s home in Michigan. This marks the first successful U.S. federal prosecution of a stalkerware operator in over a decade.