Intertwined Events: National Stalking Awareness Month and Data Privacy Day #NSAM2026

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Sparkling golden stylized butterfly with two blue gemstones in the middle, flying with a golden shadow over an indigo-accented rack of data servers

January is an important month in the tech safety world. It is National Stalking Awareness Month, and January 28 was Data Privacy Day. These are inextricably linked. Privacy of data – location data and contact information, web browsing data, financial data, and more – can help mitigate stalking.

Stalking and Technology

Stalking is often misunderstood. According to the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC), stalking is “a pattern of behavior directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear for the person’s safety or the safety of others; or suffer substantial emotional distress.” You can learn more from SPARC about the tactics and strategies that stalkers use.

As you read, think how a stalker might use technology in these strategies. For example, a stalker might place a device in a survivor’s car in order to track it (surveillance). Or they might use their social media to spread false rumors about a survivor to friends (life invasion and interference).

Tech makes it easier to communicate with others. This is a lifeline for many people, including survivors of stalking and other abuse. However, it also makes it easier for stalkers to involve others. One in three stalking survivors says that the primary stalker involved other people in the stalking. When a stalker uses technology as part of the stalking, that is a risk factor for escalation [1]. SPARC has more information about stalking and tech.

Data Privacy and Survivorship

Survivors have a right to technology. They should not have to choose between staying safe and using a device or platform. Many people rely on the internet to look for jobs and search for resources. They may even use it to earn a living. Abusers often isolate survivors as a tactic of abuse. Survivors may use the internet to decrease this isolation. We believe in strong privacy and security policies and settings. We believe in pairing them with access to technology. This combination helps keep all of us safe.

Think of the kinds of information a stalking survivor might need to protect for their safety:

  • Location;

  • Online activity;

  • Home and work addresses;

  • Children’s whereabouts; and

  • Much more.

Using technology with all this in mind can be challenging. For survivors, it can be exhausting and terrifying. However, we also see encouraging developments. One is that more and more online platforms and services are building in End-to-End (E2E) encryption. This helps protect users’ privacy and security by making it more difficult to eavesdrop on online communications. We have always been happy to see these announcements! We are even more thrilled when the platform has clearly also considered safety and accessibility! Safety Net has two resources to help you learn more about encryption:

  • The Understanding Encryption: The Connections to Survivor Safety resource that Safety Net developed with the Internet Society. This was written to help survivors and service providers understand encryption (especially E2E encryption) better.

  • The Encryption Basics for Programs resource. Safety Net created this resource for service providers. It discusses different types of encryption and how they relate to program work.

[1] Logan, T. K., & Walker, R. (2017). Stalking: A multidimensional framework for assessment and safety planning. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 18(2), 200-222.