Abuse involving smartwatches and rings rising at ‘alarming’ rate, charity warns
Abusers are increasingly using wearable technologies such as smartwatches and rings to track, harass and pressure survivors, a leading domestic violence charity has warned.
New data published by Refuge shows that the number of referrals to the technology-facilitated abuse and economic empowerment team increased from 512 in 2024 to 829 in 2025, a 62 percent increase.
The charity said this increase was due to the “increasing availability” and “accessibility” of wearable technology, which allows abusers to “track, surveil and control survivors” even from a distance.
Emma Pickering, head of the technology abuse team at charity Refuge, said: Independent He believes tech companies need to do more to protect their products, adding that it is “unacceptable” that the safety of women and children is “an afterthought”.
“Wearable technology is cheaper than ever to buy,” he said. “It’s a part of all our lives and we can’t escape it even if we wanted to.”
Most reports the charity has received involve wearable health technology such as smartwatches and rings, but abusers also use smart locks, heating technology and even fertility trackers to manipulate and control victims, it said.
He said perpetrators of abuse were “quickly learning” that they had “new tools at their disposal.”
“Years ago, a perpetrator had to physically be in the home to change the heating and turn the lights on and off,” he explained. “You no longer even need to be in the same country, and you can use smart locks to trap someone inside or outside a property. You don’t need to be anywhere physically near the person you’re targeting.”
According to Refuge’s data, 24 percent of tech-related referrals come from people under 30. Ms Pickering said that although young people were generally seen as more “tech-savvy” than older people, she believed their status as digital natives meant it was “natural for them” to integrate it into their lives.
“Older people can live without technology in ways that younger people can’t, and that’s probably why the data looks the way it does,” he explained.
He said companies were “excited” by the possibilities offered by new technology but did not take into account how products could be manipulated by exploiters.
“As things move forward, we have to remember that the data it collects has to stay somewhere,” he said Independent. “We need to think: Who can access this? Can someone hack it? Can someone manipulate it, and what are we doing to think about that in the context of intimate partner abuse?”
Survivor Mina, whom Refuge worked with, said she was “deeply shocked” and “scared” after realizing she was being tracked through cloud accounts linked to her smartwatch.
“I suddenly felt exposed and unsafe, knowing my location was being tracked without my permission,” she said. “It created a constant feeling of paranoia; I couldn’t relax, sleep properly, or feel settled anywhere because I knew my actions weren’t private.”
The abuser used the data to send her documents and verify her exact location to the police, which Mina described as “terrifying”.
“It reinforced the feeling that there was nowhere I could go without being watched,” he added.
It comes after reports that women were being filmed without their consent using smart glasses. Experts told Independent Women face “multifaceted” harms from this behavior, including the risk of becoming victims of deepfakes, having to “protect” their privacy in public spaces, and being the subject of controversy in comment spaces with “global” reach.
A government spokesman said: “Tackling all forms of violence against women and girls – including when it occurs online or is facilitated by technology – is a top priority for this government.
“Our new VAWG strategy sets out how to use the full power of the state online and offline. We are working with Ofcom to identify how online platforms will tackle the disproportionate abuse women and girls face online.”
