What is Spyware?

Spyware is like having a sneaky friend who follows you around and tells everyone what you do.

Imagine you're playing with your favorite toy, and suddenly, someone starts watching you from behind the couch. That person isn’t helping you, they’re just trying to know all your secrets so they can tell others. That’s spyware on a computer: it hides in your device and watches what you do online, like which games you play or which videos you watch.

Think of spyware as a hidden message that gets installed on your phone or tablet when you click on something fun, maybe an ad or a game. Once it’s there, it quietly sends information about you to someone else without you noticing.

Sometimes people use spyware to know what others are doing online, like a parent checking if their child is playing too many games instead of studying. But sometimes, it's used by tricky people who want to steal your information or make money from watching you.

Spyware might not be as fun as your favorite game, but now you know how it works!