If you’re in the midst of a divorce, you may not know that your online life could be under examination by your spouse’s attorney. This includes your posts on Facebook, tweets on Twitter, and your texts and emails. Additionally, all these types of electronic communication may have already been investigated if a divorce had been in the works for some time.
An article in Forbes outlines some ways to deal with the increased scrutiny that can come with divorce proceedings. First, don’t panic and go on a binge of deleting. It will only make you look like you have something to hide. At this point, it may not do you any good because, most likely, you cannot fully delete anything from the internet.
Next, seriously consider limiting your online activity. This may go without saying, but since your online presence is now under scrutiny, consider deactivating your social media accounts, or at the very least, giving very innocuous, plain updates. Reveal nothing about new romantic relationships or how you spend your money.
It is safest to assume that all your online accounts are compromised, so there a few things you should do, such as change your passwords and security questions. As you make these changes, make sure that your spouse cannot guess these passwords and answers to your security questions.
On top of this, you should create a new email account. You should use this account with discretion. Your social media accounts’ privacy settings should be reviewed and strengthened. For example, if you’re posting on accounts where you have mutual friends with your spouse, then that means your spouse can see them, too. You may want to consider limiting who can read your posts.
Finally, you should examine your devices. Many times, your electronic devices will have geo-tagging or location services automatically switched on. This is important if you are posting social media updates. It may be best to turn this feature off. Also, you should turn off automatic synchronization of shared calendars as well as other apps, which can leave your devices vulnerable to snooping.
Your online life may depict you in a slanted way, and your spouse’s attorney could try to exploit this. If you’re concerned about being electronically investigated, reaching out to an experienced family law attorney may help you determine what investigative tactics are legal or illegal, and what evidence is admissible or inadmissible in court.