Safety & Privacy

• Use a safe device instead — a library computer, a trusted friend's phone, or a prepaid phone ($20–40, no ID required).
• Warning signs: battery drains fast, the phone runs warm when idle, data usage spikes, or the other person knows things you only said or searched on the phone.
• If you find spyware or a tracker, do not delete it right away. Removing it can alert the person monitoring you. Call the DV Hotline (1-800-799-7233) first and make a safety plan. Tech-abuse specialists: techsafety.org.
• Check bags, coats, children's backpacks, and your car (wheel wells, trunk, under seats) for small trackers like AirTags. iPhones alert you to unknown AirTags; on Android, the free “Tracker Detect” app can scan for them.

Five steps, in order, from a safe device. Take them at your own pace.

1. 1Create a new email account from a safe device — this becomes your master key.
2. 2Change passwords from the safe device only: email first, then bank, phone carrier, social media.
3. 3Turn on two-factor authentication using your safe number or an authenticator app — never a shared number.
4. 4Remove the other person from account recovery options on every important account.
5. 5Turn off location sharing and photo location tags on your devices.