Look who's stalking: what it feels like to be put on surveillance in London

London Spy DVD

It all started with an email titled: "Can we stalk you?". As subject lines go, it's definitely one of the more intriguing.

It turns out it wasn't just a random request but a pitch tied into the DVD release of London Spy - the superb spy drama starring Ben Whishaw.

This stalking wasn't going to be a GCHQ-style mass surveillance operation but the chance to feel what it would be like to be professionally surveilled by Intime Investigations - as per the murky overtones of subtle surveillance that are found throughout the series.

The "up to two man" team would be using, among other things, a Canon EOS 5D Mark III and a Mobius DVR camera to track my movements and that was all I was told. No drones here - well, not to my knowledge anyway.

What was I thinking?

"What was I thinking?" This was my first thought after I volunteered for this, but then I adjusted to the idea. Yes, I was going to be spied on but it would be interesting to see how modern surveillance compares to both our cultural fears and the ideal of the quintessentially English James Bond spy, of which London Spy inherits a cultural nod.

London Spy 1

I was given a date range of three days - Monday to Wednesday - and a window of six hours in which I knew activity was going on. And, well, that was it. I didn't know what kind of surveillance would occur or how deep it would go.

Would there be photos, video? Or even phone tapping? What about those drones? The possibilities half horrified and half fascinated me.

It's surprising how utterly paranoid you get knowing that someone might be lurking, watching. Immediately, I wondered: will I get that instinctual 'someone's watching' feeling? What should I wear, do I want to look 'nice' for my photos (ugh, really? But, yes, the thought crossed my mind)? Should I try and lose them? Boy did I want to try, as natural instincts kicked in over those three days.

I even wondered if I should approach complete strangers to signal somehow if I thought I had rumbled them.

Most of all I wondered if, for the sake of this piece, I was violating my own privacy massively by even writing this up, as I didn't want to invite further attempts by internet randoms to 'do a better job'.

RS1

Peak Paranoia

Monday arrived. The surveillance may or may not have begun. I conveniently had a doctor's appointment early before work, so I hoped they'd pick Monday to follow my movements as I had a quiet few days planned otherwise.

Walking to the doctor's I scanned the street and noticed a man ahead of me on the opposite side of the road, in a dark mac, not taking the bus like everyone else.

He wasn't walking with a purpose but he was dressed professionally, and his pace stayed in time with mine until he turned off the main road as I entered the doctor's surgery. I couldn't spot anyone else obviously waiting, but then again, it was early.

Real surveillance

The day continued and my imagination clearly got the better of me. The thing about surveillance is that if you know it's happening you will react, you can't help yourself fluctuating between "for god's sake act natural" and "evade, evade, evade!". My workmates gently teased me as I regaled them with stories of who I thought I might have spotted on the commute in.

The scarier thing, however, is if you don't know you're being watched. No feminine instincts, no glaring "man with a camera", it's called covert surveillance for a reason.

My hyper-awareness had ramped up and, to be honest, it was exhausting. The experience made me realise we normally walk around with a head in our phones, or phones in our ears, without really looking at who's around us.

We use our phones to communicate in public with hardly a thought to digital privacy when the potential to snoop is vast, a potential to record, log and trace your entire life.

Real Surveillance 3

A heightened paranoia followed me over the three days, but I was also half expecting to get a call from the PR, saying: "Psyche, we're not really following you!".

Tuesday came and the questioning continued. Was it the man who just lurched onto the bus in a rush, looking like a retired police officer in a black windbreaker and fitted ear piece no civilian would wear, clutching a coffee who then followed me halfway across London on the District Line? Maybe.

What about the casually-dressed teenager looking disaffected and bored with sunglasses on sitting opposite who seems to be staring at me behind them? Definitely... Maybe.

I even thought I was being tailed by someone using a briefcase hidden camera. So much so, I dropped back behind them as another commuter blocked its view, and I mirrored the commuter's steps down the rest of the road to try and keep out of sight. What had I become?

It was tiring and I'm sure it made me look like an idiot or a pickpocket. Despite the adrenaline, I was getting tired of feeling twitchy and normalcy eventually got the better of me so that by Wednesday, I had given up thinking I was being followed.

Real Surveillance 2

Then I received my surveillance pack from the London Spy team. My three-day binge of paranoia had, of course, been pretty much unfounded. Yes, I had been followed but only a few pictures were taken of me going about my day. There was a little composite video too but nothing massively invasive. This wasn't a 24/7 operation, even though my brain going overtime made it feel like it was, but they had successfully managed to surveil me at three key points in my day.

There was one video, however. It was of me on a train going to work and it was almost certainly taken by someone who I spotted while in my fug of suspicion, I am sure of it. Definitely… Maybe.

As that old t-shirt slogan goes: 'Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they are after you'. The fact that governments have access to even more sophisticated surveillance technology, made me realise that it takes a certain person to want to live in that world which London Spy captures so well.

And, even in the current climate of digital surveillance overstepping and Apple lawsuits, that person certainly isn't me.

London Spy is out now on DVD courtesy of Universal Pictures (UK). Watch the featurette below:

Latest in Entertainment
Trinity Rodman #2 of the Washington Spirit crosses the ball during a game between Bay FC and Washington Spirit at Audi Field on November 10, 2024 in Washington, DC.
National Women's Soccer League 2025: How to watch NWSL games live from anywhere
Irish boxer TJ Doheny receives an undercard bout, ahead of the WBO super welterweight world title fight in March, 2023
Ball vs Doheny live stream: how to watch the boxing action from anywhere
Bruno Guimaraes of Newcastle United during the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match in February 2025
Liverpool vs Newcastle live stream: how to watch Carabao Cup final 2025 online
The Russo brothers posing for a photograph and Herman carrying a Volkswagen camper van in The Electric State
'We're optimists': AI enthusiasts Joe and Anthony Russo defend its use in movies and TV shows, but admit there are 'very real dangers' around its application
Max Verstappen of Red Bull in testing for the 2025 season in Bahrain
Australian Grand Prix 2025: How to watch F1 race online from anywhere
A collage of Tom Holland's unmasked Spider-Man and Sadie Sink's Max in Stranger Things season 4
Marvel reportedly casts Stranger Things star Sadie Sink in Spider-Man 4, but I don't want her to tackle the roles she's rumored to play
Latest in News
A super close up image of the Google Gemini app in the Play Store
It's official: Google Assistant will be retired for phones this year, with Gemini taking over
Quordle on a smartphone held in a hand
Quordle hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #1147)
NYT Strands homescreen on a mobile phone screen, on a light blue background
NYT Strands hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #378)
NYT Connections homescreen on a phone, on a purple background
NYT Connections hints and answers for Sunday, March 16 (game #644)
Three iPhone 16 handsets on show
Apple could launch an iPhone 17 Ultra this year – but we've heard these rumors before
Super Mario Odyssey
ChatGPT is the ultimate gaming tool - here's 4 ways you can use AI to help with your next playthrough