When you’re going through a divorce, there are a lot of different things you have to consider – including your digital privacy.
It may or may not surprise you to learn that one out of every five spouses admits to spying on their partner during a divorce, using everything from tracking devices to keystroke capture devices – and good, old-fashioned snooping.
Even if you think your spouse isn’t the type to invade your privacy now that you’re divorcing, it’s better to be cautious. Here are some steps to take:
1. Get a new email account
Just in case your spouse finds a way into your old email account and tries to sabotage your personal or professional relationships out of spite, now is a great time to get a new email and delete the old one.
2. Change your passwords
Go through every online account you have – including your credit cards, streaming services, shopping sites like Etsy and Amazon and patient accounts with your doctors through MyChart – and change your passwords. Make sure to pick something your spouse would never guess, and use different passwords for each one.
3. Lock down your social media
Consider creating new social media accounts so you can carefully control who has access to what you post right now. In any case, make sure that you tighten your privacy settings and share nothing that you don’t want to see paraded before the court.
4. Secure your personal devices
If you haven’t done it already, you need to set up fingerprint or face recognition access on your phone and change the passcode to your laptop and tablet. Do the same to any other electronics you have sitting around.
Safeguarding your digital privacy during your divorce is largely a matter of being proactive – and not being naive about the temptation your spouse may feel. Protecting your future is often easier with experienced legal guidance.