What is Spywhere?
After years of researching the global spyware market, I was surprised that no one had built a comprehensive, public repository tracking international spyware sales and their documented uses. Spywhere is an attempt to fill that gap.
Why it matters
Commercial surveillance tools are sold across borders with little transparency. The same software marketed for “lawful interception” has repeatedly surfaced in the targeting of journalists, activists, and political opposition. Mapping who sells these tools, and where they end up, is a first step toward accountability.
How to read the map
Each highlighted country has at least one documented case of commercial spyware deployment. Selecting a country opens a profile with the vendors involved, the governing regime type, and a short description of what reporting has established. Countries with no shaded color simply have no documented case in this dataset — not necessarily an absence of activity.
Sources & method
The underlying records are adapted from the publicly available Global Spyware Market dataset, supplemented by public journalist reporting. Regime classifications use the V-Dem 2021 typology. This is an evolving project; entries reflect documented cases and will be expanded as new reporting emerges.