A disturbing incident of privacy invasion has come to light in Bengaluru, where a woman discovered that her ex-boyfriend, an employee at a food delivery platform, had been using the app to track her location. The shocking revelation was shared on LinkedIn by Rupal Madhup, a friend of the victim and a brand marketing professional from Bengaluru. According to Ms Madhup's post, her friend had met a man working at a food delivery platform on the dating app Bumble. After their relationship ended, the woman's ex-boyfriend allegedly flagged her account, granting him access to her real-time delivery addresses. This allowed him to monitor her movements without her knowledge or consent.
Initially, the woman ignored her ex-boyfriend's inquiries about her late-night food orders and weekend trips. However, as his intrusive behaviour continued, she realised that he was using the app to keep tabs on her activities. He constantly questioned her whereabouts and even commented on her food choices during her period. “Why are you not ordering at your own place at 2 AM? Where are you?”, “What are you doing in Chennai?”, and ''Ordering chocolates, are you on your period?”, were some of the questions he asked.
''At first, she thought it was just him being weird, but when it kept happening, she put 2+2 together. This man was literally using data to stalk her post-breakup. Just think about it. Knowing someone's location and activities through a food delivery app is seriously creepy, especially given how revenge-driven breakups can be. Data might be the new electricity, but it's also one of the most dangerous weapons in the wrong hands,'' Ms Mandhup wrote.
See the post here:
Reactions to the post are mixed, with some questioning the story's authenticity, citing robust privacy policies and security measures at tech companies. Others shared personal experiences of data misuse and cyberstalking, fueling concerns.
One user wrote, ''Most tech companies employ strict privacy policies and security measures to safeguard user data. It is highly unlikely that an individual employee regardless of their access level can use customer data for personal motives without violating internal protocols or facing severe consequences. Data systems in such companies are typically monitored to prevent unauthorized access and breaches of privacy are taken seriously often resulting in strict disciplinary action or legal consequences.''
Another commented, ''I work in Data and for people saying this might be fictional and getting this level of data access isn't possible are all incorrect. When you are part of data teams, you mostly have access to user data. It's unusual, but you can see activity by customer ID itself. Extremely scary.''
A third wrote, ''In 2017, I experienced something similar and unsettling with one of my former partner's exes, who happened to be a Flipkart employee. His stalking escalated to a frightening level—he somehow got hold of my phone number and contacted me, attempting to intimidate me. He claimed to know my address and even mentioned details about my past orders, implying that my phone or personal data had been compromised. It was a disturbing abuse of power, driven by a twisted sense of control.''
