Protecting Your Online Privacy During A Divorce
Protecting yourself during a divorce is one of the most important things to do. No matter how much you trust your spouse to be a good person, separation can change people. Feelings of anger, sadness, frustration, etc., can cause someone to do things they have never done before. Therefore, protecting your online privacy should be on your priority list.
Your online accounts have valuable information about you. Someone who has access to these accounts can use this information against you during divorce proceedings. A Massachusetts family and divorce lawyer can help you stay secure and prevent you from making costly mistakes.
Protecting your online privacy during a divorce
- Change your passwords.
It is not uncommon for couples to share their social media and phone lock passwords with each other. Passwords are the key to entering into your accounts; therefore, the first thing you need to do is change all of them. If you have any accounts linked with your spouse’s email or phone number, make sure you change them as well. Shared passwords are often seen as a symbol of trust, but they can cause trouble during a divorce.
- Create new accounts.
You do not need to delete all of your social media accounts. Changing your email address can give you a sense of security as it is one of the key elements you use in creating social media accounts. If your ex-spouse does not know your current email address, they won’t be able to try and hack into your account. If possible, get a new number for an extra layer of security. Do not forget to create an inventory of all the accounts you have and cross-check whether your spouse has access to any of them.
- Financial logins.
An attorney in Massachusetts can educate you on how you should handle shared bank accounts during a divorce. However, there are certain things you need to take care of on your own. If you use any money-transferring apps, make sure your spouse does not have access to them. Accounts like PayPal, Apple Pay, and Venmo have your money and personal banking info. You do not want these to get into the wrong hands. Secure your accounts with new passwords and security questions that your spouse does not know the answer to.
- Lock your devices.
If you own a lot of digital gadgets, such as a mobile phone, tablet, laptop, computer, etc., you have your personal information lying around in the house for anyone to access. If you and your spouse live in the same house during the divorce proceeding, keeping your devices unlocked or having your spouse know their PINs is not safe. Secure them with a new PIN or fingerprint.
