The phone has become the most intimate object in a young Nigerian’s life. It stores friendships, careers, love stories, arguments, dreams, and private fears. Yet experts now say that the same device is increasingly being used as a window into other people’s lives without their knowledge, as covert surveillance apps quietly spread among young users.

At a youth digital literacy forum in Lagos, Godwin Iheuwa, Digital Head at Youth Orientation for Development under UNESCO, warned that tracking software, which was originally created for parental supervision and workplace security, is being repurposed for personal spying. 

He explained that these tools are now commonly used to monitor partners, friends, and acquaintances, often driven by suspicion, jealousy, or the simple urge to know more than one should. Many users, he said, remain unaware that accessing someone else’s phone activity or messages without permission is not only unethical but criminal.

Iheuwa described a cultural shift taking place, where emotional insecurity and digital curiosity merge into behaviour that normalises privacy invasion. People increasingly justify surveillance as caution or protection, forgetting that consent remains the foundation of lawful digital interaction. According to him, such habits quietly corrode trust while exposing both victims and perpetrators to serious consequences.

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The fears he raised resonated with young participants, many of whom acknowledged how vulnerable personal content has become. A single recording can leave a private space and enter the public domain within minutes. Iheuwa pointed to the widely discussed “TikTok London Red Bus Lady” episode as a clear example of how a moment never meant for public view can spiral into viral spectacle before the person involved even realises what has happened. For many, the incident symbolised how easily personal dignity is stripped away in the age of instant sharing.

Beyond individual harm, Iheuwa said the surge in covert digital surveillance reveals a much deeper issue: a national gap in digital literacy. Nigerian youth increasingly depend on the internet for connection, income, and recognition, yet many do not understand the basic mechanics of privacy protection, metadata, data tracking, or platform algorithms. As more careers are built online, the lack of this knowledge translates directly into personal and economic risk.

He argued that creative talent alone can no longer sustain success in the digital economy. Young people must now pair creativity with technical literacy and ethical awareness. Understanding how platforms shape visibility, how data circulates, and how consent governs digital interaction has become as essential as artistic skill itself.

Iheuwa encouraged youth to adopt artificial intelligence tools as aids for productivity rather than sources of fear, pointing to design, video, and content platforms that allow creators to scale their work. He also highlighted digital marketplaces that provide new income streams when creators combine them with data tools that reveal how audiences behave. 

From his experience with the Andela and Microsoft Introduction to Artificial Intelligence programme, Iheuwa said that knowledge consistently proves more valuable than expensive gadgets. The divide in opportunity, he noted, is less about who owns the most technology and more about who understands it.

His message landed within a broader and uncomfortable truth about Nigeria’s digital evolution. As technology reshapes opportunity, it also expands vulnerability. Surveillance apps are becoming easier to obtain at the same time that online presence is becoming essential to economic survival. The result is a society where visibility increases while personal safety and privacy quietly weaken.

Iheuwa warned that technological advancement without ethical grounding is ultimately hollow. He said the promise of the digital age will only be realised by those who learn to use technology responsibly, respecting not just their own ambitions but the rights and boundaries of those around them.

Meiza Nigeria