Protect Your Digital Safety

Monitoring, harassing and stalking behaviours have always been part of domestic abuse. Modern technology has provided new, simpler, means to enable this behaviour to continue. Mobile phones, social media platforms, and apps are all developing so quickly that it can often feel difficult to know how to keep yourself safe online. Here are a few ideas that can help you.

• Use the ‘Exit Site’ button on our site if you need to leave the page fast. Note that this will not delete your browsing history.
• Don’t answer calls from withheld numbers
• Block or change numbers (only when it is safe to do so)
• Turn off location services such as ‘find my iPhone’ on smart phones
• Ensure that location services are also not activated on apps – for example facebook attaches a location to posts
• Delete and/or block your abusive partner on social media sites and don’t add anyone unknown
• Ensure your social media sites are managed safely; for example changing your facebook settings so you can’t be found by using the search function/setting up new accounts which you only give to safe friends or family
• Cover cameras on tablets/computers/phones in case perpetrators are able to hack them
• If you’ve experienced abuse through your phones/tablets the safest option is to get a new device
• If you can’t afford a new device you can restore the device to factory settings. Going in store to your provider can help you with this to check it’s done correctly.
• Get screenshots to keep a log of any threats occurring through social media where safe to do so.