Social Media And Divorce: Secure Your Online Presence
Divorce can be really harsh when you are not ready to cooperate amicably. All the divorce forms and organizational processes will seem to be as easy as 1 2 3 when you face the divorce cold war with your soon-to-be-ex. At first look, you may think that modern technologies are to make your divorce a simple and beneficial process, but at the same time, you shouldn’t underestimate all the threats it may bring to you. So, you have to be thoroughly aware, prepared, and digitally protected to survive through the divorce issues with no serious hurdles.
Know Your Possible Threats
Whether you go through a cheap divorce since you don’t have much to bother about, or you are getting ready for a severe fight over mutual interests, you should do thorough research and consult your lawyer on possible threats from your online activities.
- Lawyer-detective – when it comes to divorce arguments, mind that all possible means may be used to sabotage you. And even if you go for a cheap online divorce, it doesn’t mean your spouse will choose the same strategy. He/she can hire a lawyer who will act like a real detective, spy on you, and sneak out all the dirty details of your past and present.
- Making a mountain out of the molehill – even if you think you have nothing to be worried about, it is still not a reason to relax. Your simple chill with friends after work, you share on your personal page may be used as the evidence of your alcoholic tendencies and inappropriate behavior to be a custodial parent, for example. This way any of your photos or posts may be treated up to your spouse’s convenience and become a real threat to your reputation.
- Saved by default – you can cause a danger for yourself with your inattentive actions as well. You may not share the information with anyone directly, but save it by default to the device, your partner has access to. It means, he/she can get any of your passwords, surfing history, account details, and more, just getting hands to your phone or laptop, when you don’t see.
Don’t Rush to Make Mistakes
With modern tools supplying you not with privileges only but with real dangers to your divorce success, you should be careful with your own speedy decisions. You’d better consult your lawyer beforehand, and don’t hurry with super helpful actions.
- Don’t delete existing posts – don’t panic if you notice your spouse or his/her attorney spying on you online or offline, otherwise, it may lead you to rushed mistakes. The last thing you need to do is to delete existing posts or shared information. In another case, it may be proof that you are trying to hide something, or you may be forced to pay penalties for the attempt to delete clues of the divorce case. So, you’d rather get a professional tip in advance not to ruin your chances for beneficial divorce with your own hands.
- No online dating – no matter how safe it may look and how lonely or depressed you feel, never go for dating online before you finalize your divorce process. Your account on a dating website can be easily found and spotted even through a general search engine, and become another evidence against you in the divorce case. So, calm down your desires and needs and wait until the end of the procedure before you dive into any romantic affairs.
Do All Possible to Protect Yourself
Even if you file divorce papers online, don’t see your spouse, and don’t interact at all, it doesn’t mean he/she is not preparing some dirty case against you. So, you should defend yourself from all possible threats which can come from your online activities in the first place.
- Block your spouse – the primary thing you should do is to block or unfriend your partner and all his/her friends and relatives on all possible social media platforms and change your settings so that only friends can see your page and activity online. This way your soon-to-be-ex will have fewer opportunities to spy on you, but it is not the reason to feel completely protected at all.
- Change passwords – altering safety settings and changing passwords is a vital precaution you should definitely take to avoid dangers in high-conflict divorce. Don’t save passwords by default in your browser or anywhere else, better keep them locked in some appropriate apps. Lock the screens of your devices. Switch to two-step identification on financial and other significant accounts. It will save you not only from an angry spouse but from online frauds as well.
- Switch off location – posting something online you may get your location revealed by default, some websites, or online services may require allowing access to your location as well. Therefore, there are many sources to spy on you with no hurdles and use this information against you in court. So, switch off your location on all possible devices and platforms to avoid extra divorce hurdles.
- Avoid social media – generally, protecting your online life by all means you cannot be hundreds percent sure that someone will not give out some of your photos and posts to your partner and it will be used to sabotage you. So, the best strategy is to avoid using social media at all, this way you won’t make any mistakes and give out no materials to your spouse to operate against you.
All in all, you should realize that the success of your divorce depends on you greatly. And if you cannot persuade your partner in an amicable divorce, you should do everything possible to go through the process peacefully and protected. Study all the possible threats, take the appropriate precautions to be safe online, cooperate with professionals, and be fair with yourself and officials, and everything will end well if you put in some decent efforts.
