The digital age has made it easier than ever to communicate with others, but it has also made it easier for your spouse to access your personal information. If you are going through a divorce, it is important to take steps to protect your digital security.

Here are some good tips to protect your digital security during your divorce:

• Change your passwords. This includes your passwords for your email, social media accounts, bank accounts, and any other online accounts that contain sensitive information. When you do, do not save them on shared devices. Do not change the password and then write it down. Instead, you might want to srat using a password storage like LastPass.
• Use two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your accounts by requiring you to enter a code from your phone in addition to your password.
• Be careful what you post on social media. Anything you post on social media can be used against you in court, so be careful what you say. But do not delete old posts either. You can change your privacy settings so that you are no longer sharing older posts.
• Don't use shared devices to communicate with your attorney. If you are communicating with your attorney about your divorce, don't use a shared device, such as a computer or phone, that your spouse also has access to. They might be able to get in and read what you are saying to your lawyer.
• Use a new email address for communicating with your attorney. You can create a new email address specifically for communicating with your attorney. This will help to protect your privacy and make it more difficult for your spouse to access your communications with your lawyer. It will also help you keep all of these communications in one place so you can access them. You might want to consider having an email address that you only use to communicate with your soon-to-be-ex as well, in the chance you need to give it to your lawyer as evidence. It will make it a lot easier to send those emails over if you do not have to sort through emails about your purchases and bank statements.
• Don’t use your employer-provided email or devices to communicate with your lawyer or soon-to-be-ex. Your employer probably has the right to read your emails and monitor them. Moreover, if you leave that job, you will lose important emails.
• Back up your data. In case your devices are lost or stolen, or if your spouse hacks into your accounts, it's important to have a backup of your data. This includes your financial records, emails, photos, and other important documents.You also might lose access to important pictures if your soon-to-be-ex deletes them or you lose access to them.
• Be aware of the privacy settings on your devices and online accounts. Make sure that your privacy settings are set to the highest level of security.
• Be careful about what information you share with others. Even if you trust someone, it is important to be careful about what information you share with them.
• Know what apps are installed on your phone, and delete anything that you do not recognize. Some can track or record you. Consider changing your permissions on your apps so that they do not track your location online.
• Delete your browser history weekly. If you share a computer, your browser’s history betrays a lot of information about you. Consider deleting it no less than weekly, or, if you share a computer, every time you are done using it.

You should do this even if you and your soon-to-be-ex are cordial and are going through an amicable divorce. You should be planning to have a separate digital life from your ex, and in the process keeping your information private.

If you and your soon-to-be-ex are going through an amicable, agreed or uncontested divorce in the Metro East, I would love to see if I could help you through. Reach out to my office either through my website or by calling me.