Reducing your digital footprint during your divorce

 Posted on February 12, 2023 in Divorce

Everyone you know likely has a social media account, and you may too. You and your friends post pictures about what you eat, where you went on vacation and who you’re spending time with. You may even make comments and have long conversations on online forums.

While the internet is a great place for people to connect, it has a large drawback if you’re having a divorce. If your soon-to-be-ex-spouse finds something they don’t like online, then they could create issues during the divorce process. Your spouse could use what they find online to draw out the process or demand more assets or alimony.

The best thing you can do about protecting your online information and interactions is to stay offline. Completely ignoring your social media account can prevent your spouse from using it against you. But, if you still want to stay online during the process, then you may need to consider taking protective measures going forward. Here’s what you should know:

Change your privacy setting

Every social media user has a privacy setting. A privacy setting allows users to decide who can view their accounts. In most cases, users have options to alter who can see their account, make comments, follow or like posts. You may need to change all of your settings so that your spouse can’t access your account and prevent them from using a friend to spy on you.

Change your passwords

Having your privacy setting changed can prevent people from seeing your account, but it won’t prevent your spouse from logging into your account if they have your password. Many spouses share passwords, particularly people who’ve been in long-term marriages. If you believe your spouse knows your password, then you should consider changing it on all of your accounts to something very random.

There are certain things you can and can’t do when protecting your digital footprint. For example, you may create issues if you delete comments or photos that might be used during a divorce case. To better understand your rights, you may need to reach out for legal help.