Hey there, welcome back! We’ve been talking about the importance of protecting yourself online before a divorce, and what that means for you. In the previous post we covered the first two items on the list – managing your browser history and being careful about synced devices. Moving on we’re going to look at two very important ones – dealing with the privacy of your social media account, and being careful about who you add.
Social media account privacy:
Living online is almost a given these days. People post status updates on Facebook, share pictures on Instagram, tweet about their feelings, and chat with friends on Snapchat and Whatsapp. We check in on Foursquare, shop on Amazon, send info on Messenger, and follow our faves on Tumblr. Most people have multiple social media accounts, and keeping track of them can be a challenge.
But if you’re considering a divorce, then managing your social media privacy is a big deal! Change your facebook settings so that only friends and family can see what you post. Make sure all of your social media accounts are password protected, and be sure to set it up so that your devices DON’T remember your login info. You don’t want your spouse being able to log into your social media accounts from your home computer while you’re at work!
Location sharing:
Did you know you can open Google maps and share your location with friends and family? It’s a wonderfully useful option when you’re travelling and you want loved ones to know when you’ll arrive somewhere. But the problem is, if you’ve shared your location with someone on Maps (or someone else has used your phone to share your location with themselves) then it requires that you go in and shut it off manually, or your location with be shared in real time on a continual basis, with no end in sight.
Stop and think about that for a minute. If your spouse uses your phone to share your location with their device, you probably won’t know unless you open maps and check your location sharing options. And once it’s turned on, they’ll know exactly where you are, with updates coming through every three minutes or so, until you figure it out and turn it off! No jokes! So don’t share your location on social media anymore, and make sure your apps aren’t set up to share location data with anyone else!
Be smart, be aware, and stay alert!
Divorce is a stressful time. There’s often a lot of conflict, and emotions run high, which often brings out people’s ugly sides. Your spouse may be a very reasonable person, but the pain of divorce might make them do and say things they will later regret. So be alert, and make smart choices when it comes to protecting yourself. One of those choices should be calling The Kronzek Firm at 866 766 5245 and talking to our experienced family lawyers. WE’re here to help you make the best of a difficult situation. And don’t forget to join us next time for the wrap up of this series about online protection!