Spotminders advert found to breach standards after domestic violence complaint

Uyen Duong

1st May 2026

A Facebook ad by Spotminders has been found to breach advertising standards following a complaint that the content suggested coercive control and monitoring without consent.

The ad is presented as a first-person narrative from a man describing how his wife often forgets her phone. He says he had considered using tracking devices but viewed it as ‘rude’ before deciding to place a Spotminders tracking card in his wife’s wallet without informing her. He says this allows him to track her location.

“I just open my phone, see the little green dot at the bakery, and I just breathe. It’s brilliant. Truly,” he said. 

The complaint argued, in a submission to the Ad Standards Community Panel, that the scenario depicted non-consensual tracking and could pose a safety risk if the woman visited locations the ‘watcher’ did not approve of.

The advertiser did not respond to requests for comment. The panel found that the advertisement breached sections 2.1, 2.3 and 2.6 of the AANA Code of Ethics.

The panel said the ad depicted gender-based discrimination by portraying the woman as forgetful and in need of control ‘for her own wellbeing,’ without providing context such as a health or cognitive condition.

It also said placing a tracking device without consent suggested coercive control and constituted an infringement on privacy and freedom of movement, which could amount to a form of violence or abuse under section 2.3.

The panel further found that the ad was inconsistent with community standards on health and safety under section 2.6, as it normalised non-consensual tracking behaviour, which it said bordered on stalking. It added that the product could be promoted in other ways without implying covert monitoring.

The ad has been referred to Facebook’s parent Meta for further action.