US courts will begin publishing how often judges approve government wiretaps conducted using spyware or hacking tools, improving public visibility into a surveillance practice that has operated without clear nationwide figures. The change matters because these tools can give authorities real-time access to highly sensitive communications, while wiretap approvals require a higher legal threshold than ordinary search warrants.

The judiciary will start collecting the information for its 2028 Wiretap Report, due for publication in 2029, after Senator Ron Wyden pressed for greater transparency. The figures will cover spyware used to intercept live communications, including calls and messages on services such as Signal and WhatsApp, but will not include remote searches extracting stored phone data such as photos, files or location information.