When Anthony van der Meer had his phone stolen, he realized how much personal information the thief had instantly obtained. So, he allowed another phone be stolen, but first he installed spyware on the device, enabling him to track it.

The spyware allowed him to remotely control and monitor use of the phone, and learn intimate details about the thief. The filmmaker turned the entire process in a short film called Find My Phone. In the film, van der Meer follows the man who stole his phone from Amsterdam to Berlin and France, reading his messages and watching his conversations in real-time.

Van der Meer installed an app called https://www.cerberusapp.com/home/" ; target="_blank">Cerberus on his phone, which allowed him to track its location, create backups of texts and phone logs and remotely control the camera on the stolen device.

Van der Meer began to feel sympathy for the man, and even topped up the call credit in the phone during the night. However, after seeing him in person, the film graduate quickly lost all sympathy for the man and realized he didn’t know him at all. Eventually, he ended his surveillance of the thief.

Van der Meer’s film has quickly gone viral on social media, amassing over one millions since it was posted on December 13. Credit: YouTube/Anthony van der Meer via Storyful