spyware

noun

spy·​ware ˈspī-ˌwer How to pronounce spyware (audio)
: software that is installed in a computer or mobile device without the user's knowledge and that transmits information about the user's activities
Jan should scan her computer for viruses, worms, and spywareKenneth Baldauf and Ralph Stair
Smartphones belonging to more than three dozen journalists, human rights activists, and business executives have been infected with powerful spyware that an Israeli firm sells, purportedly to catch terrorists and criminals, The Washington Post and other publications reported.Dan Goodin

Examples of spyware in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The natural comparison to be made here is to Grindr, the gay dating app whose popularity, spyware features, and obvious blackmail potential were swiftly recognized to be an intolerable civic and national-security threat. The Editors, National Review, 12 Mar. 2024 The judge in the case, Phyllis Hamilton, sided with WhatsApp in its demand that NSO Group hand over the code of its Pegasus spyware, which has long been considered one of the most sophisticated pieces of spyware to target mobile devices, sometimes through vulnerabilities in WhatsApp. Andy Greenberg, WIRED, 2 Mar. 2024 In Italy, Meta got rid of hundreds of fake personas on Facebook and Instagram after finding out spyware companies were using them to snoop on journalists and activists. Cio, Forbes, 15 Feb. 2024 The State Department went first, yesterday announcing a visa ban on both individuals who misuse commercial spyware to unlawfully surveil and suppress people like journalists, activists, and members of marginalized groups, and those who sell them the spyware. David Meyer, Fortune, 6 Feb. 2024 The book charts the sprawling international investigation conducted in 2020 and 2021 which revealed how governments used Pegasus spyware technology to spy on politicians, activists and business executives. Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 28 Nov. 2023 Apple is wary of how predatory payment techniques, mobile ransomware and consumer spyware could be focused on the iPhone if it’s deemed to be more vulnerable or less secure. David Phelan, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 Previously, Google researchers had discovered RCS Lab’s spyware targeting Apple iPhones and Android devices in Italy and Kazakhstan. Thomas Brewster, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2024 The company has faced spying allegations for its ties to a mobile phone app identified as spyware. Jon Gambrell, Quartz, 13 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spyware.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1994, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spyware was in 1994

Dictionary Entries Near spyware

Cite this Entry

“Spyware.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spyware. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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