How to Protect Your Digital Privacy and Prevent Online Harassment After a Breakup | Lifehacker

Even a “good” breakup is emotionally taxing. If the particular person you have reduce ties with seems to be malicious, it is a complete totally different story. Not solely do it’s a must to cope with the emotional toll of separation, however you even have to determine easy methods to shield your self from doable harassment. Putting bodily distance between you and your ex is step one, nevertheless it’s additionally essential to contemplate your digital privateness. If you have been sharing accounts for streaming providers, know one another’s cellphone passcodes, or share entry to monetary accounts, then it is time to do a step-by-step evaluate and lock down your accounts to cease unauthorized entry by your ex.

The folks at Refuge Tech Safety, a corporation that helps girls and kids dealing with financial and technological abuse, have produced a wonderful Digital Breakup information that will help you via the method. While the entire thing is value studying and following, these eight steps will get you began.

Secure your most essential accounts

Start by altering the passwords of your essential accounts. This might embrace:

• Your checking account

• Other finance accounts, comparable to PayPal, Venmo, CashApp, Zelle, and so on.

• Your funding accounts (together with mutual funds, cryptocurrency, retirement funds, emergency accounts, and so on.)

• Passcodes to your cellphone, laptop computer, tablets, and every other private tech gadgets

Start utilizing a password supervisor

Credit: Pranay Parab

I all the time advocate switching to a very good password supervisor to securely retailer delicate information, together with passwords, account particulars, ID playing cards, and so on., and that is pretty much as good a time as any. My suggestions embrace 1Password and Bitwarden (for most individuals), and KeePass (for extra tech savvy folks). You must also do a checkup in your most crucial accounts, like your Google account. Consider the next steps:

You must also arrange two-factor authentication on all your accounts. This might be completed simply should you arrange an authenticator app comparable to Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and even your password supervisor. (Most password managers additionally retailer your two-factor authentication keys.)

If you already use a password supervisor, change your grasp password

Now is an efficient time to alter your grasp password in your password supervisor, even should you do not suppose your ex-partner ever knew it. If warranted, you’ll be able to even contemplate shifting to a special password supervisor. 

Hide your location

We reside in a hyper-connected world, and each machine tracks your location to some extent. If you want to conceal your location out of your ex-partner, begin by disabling location monitoring on the cloud service degree. Start by going to Google Location History settings and choose Turn off. You also can click on the Manage historical past button and delete location historical past information. 

If you’re within the Apple ecosystem, flip off location entry in your ex by way of Apple’s Find My app, or every other location monitoring apps, comparable to Life360. You might even contemplate turning off location providers in your cellphone solely till you’re feeling it is protected.

Lock down your e mail

If you may have e mail accounts aside from Google or iCloud, change your passwords for these too. Consider blocking your ex-partner from contacting you by way of e mail. Most e mail providers have a block sender function that’s helpful for these conditions. You must also guarantee your account restoration cellphone quantity and e mail addresses are yours, and never these of your ex.

Protect your social media, streaming, gaming, and health accounts

While it might be tempting to simply delete any probably triggering social media app after a breakup, it is higher to safe your account beforehand.

Even should you aren’t deleted, make certain your accounts are coated by your password supervisor and two-factor authentication. Make certain your account restoration particulars are your personal, flip your account personal, take away followers or buddies linked to your ex, and block any accounts you do not acknowledge which will really belong to your ex (some providers, like Instagram, will can help you block a number of related accounts without delay).

Many social media and streaming apps can help you verify if there are every other gadgets you have logged in from. and sign off remotely. Do so. If you have been sharing a streaming web site account along with your ex, it is best to sign off. Change the password or open a contemporary account for your self.

The identical recommendation additionally applies to your health accounts, together with Strava and others which will make your information obtainable for others to see. Think earlier than posting any of your exercise particulars on-line and guarantee this information cannot be seen by your ex. If you and your ex shared a gaming machine, you must contemplate a manufacturing facility reset and a contemporary login.

Separate your procuring and meal supply accounts

Shared ecommerce websites and supply apps may reveal your present deal with to your ex should you neglect they’ve entry. Reset your passwords in all of them, sign off of unused gadgets, and contemplate creating new accounts to keep away from the possibility of being tracked. 

Hide your journey particulars

If you steadily use apps to take cabs and e-book motels and flights, it is value doing a fast password reset to ward towards unauthorized entry. While a password reset will possible suffice, contemplate that the majority apps have a competitor that is equally good, so you too can take the nuclear possibility and change providers to raised shield your location and exercise.