Another aspect of surveillance may be the intrusion of third parties into the privacy of citizens or employees. The use of increasingly intrusive connected objects makes it possible to control individuals, whether through the use of cameras, geolocation or by monitoring connected devices.

Some unscrupulous managers may see a possibility in this technology to increase the productivity of their employees by applying constant control of the workplace.

Connected toys with listening or video recording capabilities can easily turn into spies. This was particularly the case with the Cayla doll, which was withdrawn from sales in Germany.

A large amount of information collected by home automation instruments can tell a lot about our lifestyles and behaviours. If it falls into the wrong hands, this information could be used to monitor, control or influence us.

Our smartphones follow us everywhere and they are equipped with GPS, microphones, cameras and many other sensors. Diverted from their original function, they can become perfect spies who follow us, listen to us, can see us and see what is happening around us. And even if they don’t spy on us in real-time, they store a very significant amount of sensitive data that they could disclose if compromised.

Wearables being by definition worn by their owner, they record all their movements if they are equipped with GPS. Diverted from their initial function, they can spy on us or disclose sensitive data concerning us (physical condition, movements, eating habits, etc.). The data recorded by these connected objects may, for example, be of interest to insurers who could use it without your knowledge to increase your insurance premiums if they believe that you are behaving at risk or in poor health. 

Connected watches are generally equipped with a GPS chip … enough to allow spies to follow you. They usually activate a real-time location sharing feature, which can be very handy but can become annoying if used carelessly.

Headphones are often equipped with microphones, sometimes even a GPS chip, enough to allow spies to listen to you and follow you.