Ah, technology. While it has revolutionised pretty much every aspect of our lives, it has given creepers even more tools to be…well, creepy.
Case in point: one woman was left thoroughly chilled after she discovered a man had shared her location without her consent – and had been using the service to watch her.
Disgusting.
Taking to the r/TwoXChromosomes thread on Reddit, the woman explained: “Last week while looking for jobs in the city, I wondered into this place where I was greeted by this overly chatty waiter.
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“After I spoke to a manager about open positions, he chatted my ear off before offering his number in case I had questions. To be nice I said sure and went to type it in my phone but he gestured to me so that he could type it.
“Well he called himself which ticked me off, but I let it go and left. He texted me that it was nice to meet you and I replied thanks but ignored his subsequent attempts to start conversation. I decided to apply elsewhere because I thought he was too much.”
Returning to the city a week later, the woman was stunned when the waiter in question immediately texted her after she arrived.
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“I coincidentally received a text from him asking to get drinks that night,” she said. “My heart literally sank as I realised that this was more than perfect timing. I immediately checked his contact info to find that MY LOCATION WAS SHARED THIS ENTIRE WEEK!!!!!!!
“He knows where I live and checked it often enough to know I was in the city for the small window I was there! I am disgusted. I will never feel that I owe men kindness again!
“I turned off locations and blocked him but should I tell his manager about this? This has to be considered stalking and I wouldn’t want an employee like that. Also, he will likely do it to another girl.
While the original poster doesn't go into great detail about how her location was shared, many smartphones have location services set up as standard.
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There are a number of apps such as WhatsApp, Snapchat and Find My Friends which can show where a person (or their device) can be found.
Naturally, this horrifying story left Reddit agog.
“Report him to his manager, the owner, and corporate if it’s that type of company,” one person suggested.
“Also, I would file a report with the police, both local to the city, and where you live. You are probably not the first girl he’s done that too (unfortunately) and having his name on file can make it a more serious matter to the police.”
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“This is a major invasion of privacy,” a second responded. “This is such a high sense of entitlement that I bet he’s been problematic for other woman before too. At the very least you’ll be starting a paper trail, at the most you might be getting the police to take another woman’s complaint more seriously.”
Updating Reddit on the situation, the woman in question said she reported the man to his place of work.
This is terrifying – and disgusting. Fingers crossed this man is dealt with.
Featured Image Credit: UnsplashTopics: Life