Just a few steps and a smartphone monitoring app provides information about who your partner is constantly chatting with behind your back or where your offspring are still hanging out late in the evening. That sounds tempting, especially when the trust within a relationship has already been damaged. The knowledge of possible penalties due to illegal surveillance can sometimes be suppressed by one's own jealousy and the firm conviction not to get caught.
After all, secretly monitoring your partner's smartphone is no longer a big challenge. However, anyone who cannot resist the temptation to secretly spy on others out of jealousy, personal distrust or curiosity is committing an offence. Because in Germany it is forbidden to collect personal data of other people without their knowledge and consent and thus violate their privacy. Violating this is not a trivial offense and, in serious cases, can lead to a prison sentence of several years.
