Abuse Using Technology
Abuse Using Technology
Ways Survivors Use and Abusers Misuse Technology
Abuse Involving Connected Devices
What are connected devices and how are they used?
“Connected devices,” also known as smart devices, are physical objects that can connect with other systems via the internet or a data network. This lets you control them remotely through apps or a web browser. They may be programmed to turn on and off at certain pre-set times or they may be voice-controlled to complete activities on command. Some examples of connected devices include:
- location tracker accessories, such as AirTags and Tiles;
- smart speakers, such as the Amazon Echo;
- connected cars;
- thermostats;
- smart electrical outlets with lights or other devices plugged into them;
- entertainment systems, such as a stereo, TV, etc.;
- security cameras and motion detectors;
- smoke detectors;
- video doorbells;
- smart locks;
- smart appliances, such as a refrigerator, vacuum, etc.;
- “nanny cameras;”
- pet feeders, pet cameras, pet toys, and pet trackers; and
- smart toys.
You can use connected devices to help you in your daily life to do things like:
- control devices in your home remotely, such as the television, air conditioning, heating system, or the alarm system;
- install a security camera feature at your home that you can monitor remotely;
- use devices that allow you to control your car’s GPS device, locking mechanism, sound system, or allow you to start your car remotely; or
- use fitness watches to connect to a network to monitor your own movement and goals.
How might an abuser misuse connected devices?
An abuser could misuse connected devices, also known as smart devices, to monitor, harass, isolate, or otherwise harm you. An abuser could hack into these systems with a device connected to the network in order to control your devices or access your personal information. An abuser who uses your tech to track your actions may do so secretly or out in the open as a way to control your behavior by:
- taking pictures or video of you;
- keeping logs of your activity like those from a fitness tracker or your car’s GPS. These could reveal if you left the home to seek court protection, for example;
- eavesdropping on you; and
- gaining access to your email or other accounts linked to the smart devices.
An abuser could specifically misuse connected devices that you use to control your home by:
- turning lights and appliances on or off in your home;
- adjusting the temperature to uncomfortable levels;
- playing unwanted music or adjusting the volume;
- triggering home invasion and smoke alarms; and
- locking or unlocking doors.
Abusers can misuse features of connected cars, too, by controlling features remotely, such as heated seats, emergency braking, or remote steering technology. If an abuser with access to these features figures out how to control the speed or brakes of your car, this could put you in serious danger.
Note: Without access to your passwords, gaining control over your smart devices may require more tech savvy than most people have. However, other information could be easier for a non-tech-savvy abuser to access. When devices are connected through a data network or the internet, for example, an abuser may be able to log into that system to get information about how those devices were used. This information could include when you come and go from your home or where you drive your car.
What effects could an abuser’s misuse of tech have on a victim of abuse?
The misuse of technology described in How might an abuser misuse connected devices? can affect each individual victim differently. Some common effects of this sort of abusive behavior are that it could make you feel uncomfortable, scared, helpless, confused, or unstable.
An abuser could misuse this tech specifically to isolate you from others by threatening visitors and blocking physical access. For example, an abuser could remotely control the smart locks on your home to limit your ability to leave or return when you want to. A video doorbell could be used to monitor who comes to the door or harass your visitors remotely. In combination with a smart lock, a video doorbell could be used to prevent people from entering your home.
What laws protect me from abuse using connected devices?
Laws that apply to electronic surveillance could apply if the abuser is using connected devices to watch (surveil) you or otherwise abuse you.
If the abuser is… |
These laws may apply… |
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What can I do to protect my safety if I use connected devices?
For safer use of connected devices, it can be helpful to know:
- exactly how your devices connect to one another;
- what information is available remotely; and
- what security and privacy features exist for your tech.
With this information, if a device begins operating in a way that you know you are not controlling, you may want to disconnect that device or remove it from the network. If you do not know how, try reading the device’s manual or speaking to tech support. NNEDV’s Safety Net Project’s Survivor Toolkit has resources that could help.
If you think a device is being misused, you can begin to document the incidents. A technology abuse log is one way to do this. These logs can be helpful in showing patterns and deciding next steps. They could be useful in building a legal case if you decide to pursue one.
In terms of protecting your physical safety, each survivor’s situation and risks are different. There isn’t one “right” way to protect yourself. If an abusive person is monitoring your devices and accounts, making changes to them may alert the abuser to the fact that you discovered this unauthorized access. In some situations, it could even erase evidence of the unauthorized access. Prioritize safety and trust your instincts.
It can help to make a safety plan with a domestic violence advocate. If you are already working with an advocate who does not have specialized knowledge of tech misuse, the advocate can ask for help from NNEDV’s Safety Net Project.
Abuse Involving Texts, Photos, and Videos (non-consensual dissemination of intimate images/"revenge porn")
Abuse Involving Sexting
What is “sexting?”
Sexting refers to sending and receiving sexually explicit text messages, photos, or videos, mainly through a mobile device. These can be sent as a regular text message or through a mobile texting app.
Once a “sext” is sent, the image is out of your control. The person you send it to could share it with other people or post it to the internet without your consent. But remember, if someone shares your intimate images without your consent, is not your fault.
In many states, sharing an intimate image is illegal and you can report it to the police. You can learn more about this on our Abuse Involving Nude/Sexual Images page.
Is sexting against the law?
Sexting between consenting adults may not violate any laws. But many state laws that deal with sexting are different if a minor is involved. The laws will usually make it clear that sending sexually explicit images to a minor or keeping sexually explicit images of a minor that were sent by someone else is illegal.
If you are a minor, it may be against the law for anyone to send, keep, or share sexually explicit photos or videos of you. However, you should know that in some states, a minor who sends his/her own intimate image may even be violating the state’s child pornography laws or other related laws. You can find a list of states that have criminal sexting laws on cyberbullying.org.
You may not want to share sexual or explicit images with someone unless you have 100% trust that s/he will not send them to others. You should never be pressured or forced into sending personal images. Threatening or forcing you to do so may be illegal and there may be people who can help. You can discuss your options with a local victim service provider, attorney, or law enforcement officer. The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative has a confidential hotline where you can get more information.
What are some ways an abuser could use sexting?
Sexting can be consensual. It is not itself a sign of abuse. However, an abuser could use photos, videos, or messages shared through sexting to maintain power and control over you. For example, the abuser may later threaten to share these images or may actually share them with others. To learn more about laws on these topics, see our Abuse Involving Nude/Sexual Images page. If an abuser is threatening to post your images, there are tools that may be able to help you. StopNCII is a tool for adults and Take It Down is a tool for minors.
An abuser could also blackmail you once s/he gains access to images and messages shared through sexting. S/he may pressure or threaten you to continue to send photos, videos, or messages even if you do not want to. For more information on this type of blackmail, go to What is “sextortion”?
An abuser could also harass you by sexting after you asked him/her to stop. Sending unwanted sexual photos or videos is sometimes called “cyber flashing.” You may have legal options if someone is harassing you in this way. These could include reporting crimes to the police, filing for a restraining order, or suing the abuser.
Abuse Involving Nude/Sexual Images
Definitions and basic information
How can an abuser use images to harass and harm me?
An abuser could use nude or sexual images of you as a way to gain and keep power and control over you. S/he may do this by:
- sharing intimate images that you sent;
- taking photos or videos of you without your consent; or
- threatening to share images as a way to scare, harass, control, or blackmail you.
These actions can be part of a pattern of domestic abuse and there are laws that may address this type of behavior. You may choose to report it to the police to see if it qualifies as a crime in your state, file for a restraining order, or even sue the abuser in civil court for money damages.
What is nonconsensual image sharing? Is it the same as “revenge porn”?
Nonconsensual intimate image sharing, abbreviated NCII, is sometimes referred to as nonconsensual dissemination of images, nonconsensual pornography, or by the slang phrase “revenge porn.” All of these terms describe the sharing or distribution of sexual, intimate, nude, or semi-nude photos or videos of someone without his/her permission. Note: Most advocacy groups stay away from using the phrase “revenge porn” because it suggests that a scorned partner’s motivation is to “get back” at the victim. However, this may likely not be the actual motivation. An abuser may share or threaten to share images in order to:
- gain power and control over the victim;
- harass the victim;
- cause the victim distress, humiliation, and shame;
- cause the victim to lose a job or not be able to get a job; or
- influence an ongoing court case. For example, the abuser may think that posting such images would tarnish the victim in the eyes of a judge who is deciding an ongoing custody case between the victim and the abuser.
NCII can involve images that were originally shared with consent. It can also include images obtained without consent or and even without the victim’s knowledge through the use of cell phone cameras, hidden cameras, or hacking of devices.
What is a “deepfake”?
A synthetic media image, also called a deepfake, is a type of picture or video that is created using artificial intelligence (AI) tools. They are meant to look like real images and often the viewer cannot tell that the image is fake. Not all deepfakes are sexual but an abuser could misuse AI to create sexual or intimate images. For instance, the abuser can take a photo of you in clothing and use an app to turn it into a fake nude picture of you. This sort of deepfake image could be shared on the internet or in other ways; to the viewers, it looks like a real nude image.
Not many state laws specifically address this sort of synthetic media images. But it’s possible that other laws that deal with the following crimes might apply:
- harassment;
- stalking;
- unlawful dissemination of intimate images;
- unlawful disclosure of private images; or
- computer crimes.
You can look for the laws in your state on our Crimes page by entering your state in the drop-down menu. You can also check for your state’s laws on the Cyber Civil Rights Institute map of synthetic media laws.
What is “sextortion”?
“Sextortion” is when someone threatens to share sexual or intimate materials unless you do what the person tells you to do. It is a type of blackmail or extortion. The person may ask for money, sexual favors, more sexual images, or something else. Just like with other types of image abuse, sextortion can involve images that were taken with or without your permission. You may have previously shared the images with the person or s/he may have gotten them through someone else or through hacking.
Sextortion can also be used as a tactic to get money from someone who is not known to the victim. For example, someone may contact you over the internet falsely claiming to have sexual images of you and threatening to share or post them unless you pay a certain amount of money or send additional images. In those cases, the person is usually contacting many people with the same threat, hoping that some victims will be frightened enough to do what the scammer demands.
Sextortion can affect anyone. However, research shows that the following groups of people are more likely to be affected:
- young adults;
- bisexual people;
- lesbians;
- Black women; and
- Native American or Indigenous women.1
You can learn more about sextortion from the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.
1 Asia A. Eaton, Divya Ramjee & Jessica F. Saunders (2022): The Relationship between Sextortion during COVID-19 and Pre-pandemic Intimate Partner Violence: A Large Study of Victimization among Diverse U.S Men and Women, Victims & Offenders, DOI: 10.1080/15564886.2021.2022057
What is cyber flashing?
Cyber flashing is when someone sends you an unwanted naked or sexual photo or video on the internet, through an app, or by text message. Most often, this takes the form of someone sending an unwanted picture of his/her genitals or exposing one’s genitals over live video. Cyber flashing can be done by someone you know or by a stranger. It can happen in lots of different situations - for example:
- on dating apps or websites;
- on social media;
- over text, WhatsApp, or other messaging apps;
- during a video call;
- over email; or
- through Airdrop or another app that allows someone to share files with people close by.1
Cyber flashing can be considered a form of online harassment and sexual harassment. In some cases, it may be part of a pattern of abuse designed to cause you emotional distress. A few states have specific laws that make it a crime or specifically state that it can be the reason to sue the abuser in civil court for money damages.
1 Information adapted from Rape Crisis England and Wales
Where can I get help if I am the victim of abuse involving sexual or intimate images?
A lawyer may be able to help you figure out what laws apply to your situation. You can find legal resources on our Finding a Lawyer page by selecting your state from the drop-down menu. Or you can talk to a local domestic or sexual violence program or law enforcement. They can give you information on your options and the applicable laws.
You may also be able to find help through one of the resources listed on our National Organizations - Posting Nude/Sexual Images Without Consent/“Revenge Porn” page.
When images are threatened to be posted online or are actually posted
How can I find websites where my image is posted online?
You might know or suspect that the abuser has posted an intimate image of you online, yet you don’t know where. Or you may know of one website where the image was posted, but it is also possible that the abuser posted it in other places that you do not know about. To try to get an image taken down, it will be important to figure out all of the websites where the abuser may have posted the image. One way to search for a specific image posted online is to use a reverse image search on search engines, such as:
- Google;
- Bing;
- TinEyes;
- Yandex; and
- KarmaDecay - for Reddit.
If you are not sure how to do a reverse image search, try searching “[Search engine name] image search.” Here are some additional tips:
If you are on a computer:
- Find the website where your image appears, right-click on the image and select Copy image URL.
- On images.google.com or any image results page, click the camera icon in the search bar. You can use a different search engine, such as Bing, if you prefer. Most search engines allow this.
- Paste the URL into the search box.
If you are on a phone, you can use the Chrome app on an Android phone, iPhone, or iPad:
- Using the Chrome app, find the website where your image appears.
- Press and hold the image. In the box that appears, touch Search Google for this image. You might need to touch the image once to enlarge it on certain devices.
- If you prefer, you can use a different browser app. In that case you may have to use the same process as if you were on a computer.
It will be important to document all of the places where the image appears in case this is needed for reporting it to the police or the courts. You can take a screenshot of the results and then go to each website and take a screenshot of each one.
This whole process can be stressful and upsetting, especially if you find your image in multiple places. You may want to ask a trusted friend to help you through it and even seek professional emotional support from an advocate or therapist.
How can I get my images removed if the abuser posted them online?
Once you have identified all of the places where the intimate image of you has been posted, you will want to look for each website’s take-down policy. Most take-down policies can be found in the “terms of service” language on the website. There may even be specific instructions for you to follow regarding how to make a request to have your image removed from the website. If there aren’t any instructions or a take-down policy, you can read NNEDV’s Safety Net Project’s guide called Removing Sensitive Content from the Internet.
Note: As of 2023, Google will also remove sexual images that were shared without consent from its search results. This does not remove them from the websites, however. It makes it so that a Google search cannot find them. You can find Google’s request form here.
In addition, if you took the image yourself –in other words, if you were the photographer– there might be a way to use copyright law to get it removed. Generally, the person who takes a photo automatically owns its copyright. However, even if the abuser took the photo or video and the copyright belongs to him/her, the person who is featured in the photo or video may also be able to apply for the copyright to that image. If someone owns the copyright to an image and another person posts the image publicly without the copyright owner’s consent, it’s possible to file what is called a “takedown notice” based on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998. The notice would be sent to the relevant websites and search engines with the request to remove the image. You can read more about this strategy in a 2016 New Yorker magazine article. However, this strategy would be very difficult to do on one’s own without the help of a lawyer. You may want to look for an attorney on our Finding a Lawyer page. You can also get help by contacting the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.
How can I prevent the abuser from posting my images on Facebook, Instagram, and other apps?
The StopNCII tool lets you create a “hash” of an image. A hash is a “digital fingerprint” created with a mathematical process. The tool lets you share the hashes of your images with many different app companies. This way you do not have to share the actual images. The app companies and StopNCII will look for posts of images with the same hashes so they can help detect and remove the images from being shared online.
StopNCII is for people who are 18 or older in the images. If you are under 18, you can use the similar TakeItDown tool.
The Cyber Civil Rights Initiative (CCRI) may provide you with other help too.
If the abuser already posted the image, go to How can I get my images removed if the abuser posted them online? for information on how to remove the images.
Criminal and civil options
Is it a crime for someone to take or record intimate video or images of me without my knowledge or consent?
Taking nude or semi-nude videos or photographs of you without you consent is usually a criminal act if the images are taken in a place where you can reasonably expect to have privacy. For example, if someone places a hidden camera in your bathroom or bedroom and captures you, this is almost always illegal. Now, let’s say you are on a nude beach or you are doing sexual acts in a public park, it may not be illegal to take photos or videos because you likely cannot expect to have privacy in these types of public places. The specific laws in your state will say what is legal and what is illegal.
In some states, the laws about sharing intimate images may also specifically address taking images without consent, making that a more serious crime, for example. Or there might be another crime that covers this behavior, such as violation of privacy, invasion of privacy, voyeurism, or unlawful surveillance. You can look for the actual crimes in your state on our Crimes page by entering your state in the drop-down menu.
If someone shares my intimate images, is that a crime? What is the crime commonly called?
Many states have laws about sharing sexual or intimate images. These laws generally prohibit anyone from taking or distributing intimate photos or videos without the consent of the person shown. They may also prohibit threatening to do so. Distributing an image could happen by posting it on a website or app. It could also include other sharing, like sending it to others over text message or email, or printing out the pictures and mailing them to others.
Crime names and exact definitions vary by state but may be something similar to unlawful dissemination of intimate images or unlawful disclosure of private images. In some states, a threat to share them can be a crime that comes under extortion or blackmail.
If the images were taken without your consent or without your knowledge, laws against unlawful surveillance or invasion of privacy may be broken as well. Stealing images from your computer may break a data theft or computer crime law in your state. You can look for the actual crimes in your state on our Crimes page by entering your state in the drop-down menu.
Can I request a restraining order if the abuser has posted an intimate image of me online?
It could be possible that the distribution of intimate images, or the threat to do so, is a legal reason that a judge could issue a restraining order. If it’s not specifically listed in the law, it’s possible it might be considered harassment, which many states include as a reason for getting an order.
If you qualify for a restraining order, you can specifically ask for the order to include a term that states that the abuser cannot post any images of you online. You could also request the judge to order the abuser to remove any current images. For information about filing for a restraining order in your state, and to see the legal reasons (grounds) for which an order can be granted, please see our Restraining Orders page.
Cyberstalking and Online Harassment
What is cyberstalking?
Cyberstalking means misusing the internet or other technology to stalk and harass someone. A stalker may contact you by:
- email;
- social media sites;
- a messaging app; or
- through other online spaces/websites.
The person may do any of the following:
- post messages about you;
- spread rumors about you;
- harass your friends or family;
- recruit other people to harass you;
- impersonate you;
- share your personal information or pictures of you online to harass or scare you;
- use technology to find/track your location and to monitor what you do online or offline; and
- create fake images or recordings of you (“deepfakes”).
A stalker or harasser may also target your friends or family. This is a risk factor for the stalking getting worse. You can learn more about risk factors at the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, & Resource Center (SPARC) website.
Even if your state does not have a criminal law specifically against “cyberstalking,” that doesn’t mean it isn’t a crime. In most states, repeatedly contacting or harassing a person through the internet or other technology is still considered a crime under the state’s stalking or harassment laws. It’s important to know that even if you were originally okay with the person contacting you, it could still be illegal if you make it known that the contact is now unwanted. To read your state’s specific laws, you can go to our Crimes page and enter your state in the drop-down menu.
What is online harassment?
Online harassment is a pattern of behavior where someone tries to scare or hurt you using tech. It can happen through:
- email;
- messaging;
- social media;
- dating sites; and
- other platforms.
Abusers who commit online harassment often do it to make you feel unsafe, humiliated, scared, emotionally distressed, or to keep power and control over you. They may also be trying to:
- publicly embarrass you;
- sexually harass you;
- threaten you;
- dox you; and
- cyberbully, offend, or otherwise harass you.
What is doxing?
“Doxing” is when someone weaponizes your private or identifying information by collecting and publishing it. That person may be trying to scare, humiliate, blackmail you, or encourage others to harm you or sexually assault you. The information posted publicly could include your:
- name;
- address;
- phone number;
- email address;
- photos;
- finances;
- family members’ names;
- social media accounts; and
- other things.
An abuser who wants to dox you may already know a lot of this information about you. If not, s/he might look for your information online through search engines, social media sites, or even by hacking into devices or accounts. An abuser may reach out to your friends or family members pretending to be you or a friend of yours. This could allow them to get more information about you.
There may not be a law in your state that specifically identifies doxing as a crime. But this behavior may fall under your state’s stalking, harassment, or criminal threat laws. To see what laws in your state may protect you, visit our Crimes page and enter your state in the drop-down menu to see the laws related to harassment.
NNEDV’s Safety Net Project has two resources that can help if you have been doxed or are worried about it: Removing Sensitive Content from the internet and Password Safety.
How is online harassment different from cyberstalking?
Online harassment and cyberstalking look a lot alike. They also often happen at the same time. However, the laws covering each may differ.
Cyberstalking laws usually require proof of a few things. One is that the harassment made you feel scared that you or someone else was in immediate physical danger. Another is that the abuser knew or should have known it would make you feel that way.
Online harassment laws often don’t require proof that the abuser knew or should have known his/her actions would scare you. Instead, online harassment laws may require that:
- the abuser meant to annoy or alarm you, and possibly that s/he knew or should have known the actions would do that; and
- there was “no legitimate purpose” for his/her actions.
Both sets of laws usually require proof of a “course of conduct,” which means a pattern of incidents.
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying is unwanted and aggressive behavior targeted at a specific person through the internet and other technology. A cyberbully may repeatedly send offensive, insulting, hurtful or threatening text messages to you. S/he may use social media to post rumors or share personal information about you.
Not all states have cyberbullying laws. Many laws that do exist only apply to students or minors since “bullying” is typically associated with children and teens. If you are being cyberbullied and your state doesn’t have a cyberbullying law, it’s possible that the your state’s stalking or harassment laws may apply.
One place you can find cyberbullying laws is on the Cyberbullying Research Center’s website. Another is at stopbullying.gov.
Can I get a restraining order based on cyberstalking or online harassment?
In many states, you can file for a restraining order against anyone who has stalked or harassed you regardless of your relationship with that person. Most states also include stalking as a reason to get a domestic violence restraining order and some include harassment as well. Please check the Restraining Orders page for your state to find out which restraining order may apply to your situation.
Another way to get a restraining order is from the criminal court if the stalker/harasser is arrested.
It can be helpful to keep track of any contact a stalker or harasser has with you by creating a log to document phone calls, drive-bys, messages, voicemails, or emails. Take screenshots of online harassment posts on social media and print them out. When printing harassing emails, print the header too, which has identifying information. Save original messages and recordings. The Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC) has a stalking incident log that you can use to record this information. And Safety Net, a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, has a sample cyberstalking incident log with tips on how to best document evidence of tech abuse.
With or without a restraining order, there are things you can do to try to increase your safety. Go to our Safety Tips for Stalking Victims page for more information.
What is cyber flashing?
Cyber flashing is when someone sends you an unwanted naked or sexual photo or video on the internet, through an app, or by text message. Most often, this takes the form of someone sending an unwanted picture of his/her genitals or exposing one’s genitals over live video. Cyber flashing can be done by someone you know or by a stranger. It can happen in lots of different situations - for example:
- on dating apps or websites;
- on social media;
- over text, WhatsApp, or other messaging apps;
- during a video call;
- over email; or
- through Airdrop or another app that allows someone to share files with people close by.1
Cyber flashing can be considered a form of online harassment and sexual harassment. In some cases, it may be part of a pattern of abuse designed to cause you emotional distress. A few states have specific laws that make it a crime or specifically state that it can be the reason to sue the abuser in civil court for money damages.
1 Information adapted from Rape Crisis England and Wales
Where can I get additional information?
Here are a couple of resources you may want to look into to get additional information:
- Safety Net is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence specializing in tech safety. Their Tech Safety website has resources for victims of tech abuse.
- The Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center (SPARC) has information on their website about stalking. It also has safety tips and resources.
Recording
How can an abuser misuse recording technology?
In a relationship where there is domestic violence or stalking, an abuser may record you. This could mean recording your conversations or taking video of you. S/he can use the recordings to get more information about your personal life or even as a way to blackmail you by threatening to share intimate or embarrassing information, photos, or videos. Keeping you from having any privacy can also be a way to keep power and control over you. You can learn more about misusing recording technology on our Electronic Surveillance page.
Is recording a conversation with another person illegal?
Whether recording a conversation is illegal depends on your state’s laws. Some states allow recording of calls and in-person conversations without consent of the other person involved. These laws may allow you to record a conversation between you and someone else without that person knowing. On the other hand, this means that the abuser may also be legally allowed to record a conversation with you without your knowledge or consent. These types of law are often called “one-party consent” recording laws.
Other states require consent to record from everyone who is a part of the conversation. Without that consent, recording a conversation might be considered illegal, at worst, or just not admissible in court, at best. The “two-party consent” laws make it much more difficult for victims to gather evidence of threats or abuse.
Although some state’s recording laws may refer specifically to “telephone calls,” there are other types of voice calls these days besides phone calls. Many apps, like Discord and WhatsApp, can be used for voice calls. There are also video calls using apps like Zoom and FaceTime. You may want to find out how your state’s recording laws apply to these types of technology if you are hoping to record such a call. A lawyer who is knowledgeable about privacy laws should be able to provide legal advice.
Most states have specific recording, eavesdropping, or wiretap laws that deal with the issue of whether consent is needed for a recording to be legal. You can check your state’s Crimes page to look for any laws related to recordings or you can check the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press website. It has a lot of state-by-state information on recording laws.
Is taking a video or photograph of another person illegal?
The key to figuring out whether it is legal to take a photo or video of someone without their consent is whether the person would have a “reasonable expectation of privacy.” A “reasonable expectation of privacy” generally exists if someone is in a place where an “average person” would expect to not be seen or spied on.1 If there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, then taking the photo or video without consent may likely be illegal. For example, if you are in a public place, such as a beach or a park, you may not have a reasonable expectation of privacy. If you are in your bedroom or a public restroom stall, you generally would reasonably expect privacy.
Many states have specific voyeurism or surveillance laws that could apply to taking a video or photo of someone without his/her permission. You can check your state’s Crimes page to look for any laws related to photos or videos.
1 See Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967)
Can recordings be used in court?
Whether or not a recording can be used in court may likely depend on whether the recording was made in line with your state’s laws regarding consent for recordings. Generally, evidence gathered illegally cannot be entered “into the record” in court. But, even if you have recordings that were legally created, whether you can use them in court will still depend on your state’s rules of evidence. So, for example, you may have to prove the truthfulness (authenticity) of the recording to the judge and convince the judge whose voice or image is in the recording.
Another possible challenge with getting a recording admitted into evidence is that the recording may be considered hearsay. Hearsay is basically an inadmissible out-of-court statement. There are several exceptions to the hearsay rule, one of which could be used to allow a recording to come into evidence. You can read more about hearsay and the exceptions to hearsay in our Preparing for Court – By Yourself section.
After considered these factors and others, the judge will decide whether it is appropriate under your state’s rules of evidence to allow the recording to be accepted (“admitted”) as evidence. It may be helpful to speak with a lawyer in your state. A lawyer can give you advice about whether recordings that you think are important to your case might be allowed into the court hearing. The lawyer can also advise on how to object to recordings that the abuser may try to enter into evidence in court.
Spoofing
What is spoofing?
Spoofing is a type of masking or hiding one’s actual phone number by having a different number show up on the recipient’s caller ID. The fake number is chosen by the spoofer.
Is spoofing illegal?
Most states do not have laws that specifically deal with spoofing technology itself. However, it can be illegal to use spoofing to defraud or harm someone. It may also be illegal to use someone else’s identity to defraud or to impersonate certain public officials. See What laws protect me from impersonation? for more information on some criminal laws that could apply to spoofing.
What are some ways an abuser could use spoofing technology?
An abuser could use spoofing to trick you into picking up the phone if you would not pick up a phone call that comes from the abuser’s number. Depending on what number the abuser enters into the spoofing app, you might think you are receiving a telephone call from a family member, an advocate, your lawyer, or the courthouse. Be cautious if you receive a call that appears to come from the courthouse, for example, telling you that your court hearing date has been changed. This may be a way the abuser is tricking you into missing your court date.
Another way that an abuser can use spoofing for impersonation is by calling others with your phone number as the “caller.” The abuser may pretend to be you to cause problems with your personal or professional life. An abuser may also do this to create a false record of you calling him/her multiple times in order to report you to the police or courts for harassment. However, you can prove that you did not make the calls since they would not appear on your phone bill in your outgoing call log.
Some spoofing apps allow users to alter their voice as well so it appears to come from another gender, for example. Or it could be used to add background noise or record the call.
How can I prove spoofing in court?
It can be very difficult to prove spoofing in court. A judge may not understand how an abuser can make phone calls when the phone number on your call log doesn’t match the abuser’s number. But there are some steps that a victim of spoofing can take to help the judge to better understand what is happening. Here are some things you may want to think about:
1. Similar times: Is there anything that you notice about the times of when the abuser usually calls/texts and when the spoofed calls/texts arrive? For example, let’s say the abuser works from 2 PM until midnight and, in the past, always called you right after midnight. Then, all of the calls/texts with the spoofed number came in at the exact same time. Perhaps that can be an indication that it is the abuser making the spoofed calls. The smaller the timeframe or the more unique the timeframe, the better.
2. Similar information: Are there any similarities between texts that you received from the abuser’s number and those from the spoofed ones? If all of the messages are written in a similar manner, with similar words, or with similar information, this can be an indication that it is the abuser making the spoofed texts.
3. Suspicious timing: Did the calls/texts start right after a certain event that can be proven in court? For example, let’s say you could show social media posts, voicemails, emails, or other proof of your breakup with the abuser. And then, the spoofed calls start immediately afterwards. This may help convince a judge that the abuser sent the calls/texts.
4. Other types of abuse: Is the abuser committing other acts of abuse that you can prove to the judge? Showing up at your home or work? Posting negative things about you online? (Sometimes, doing a Google search for your own name can reveal if the person is posting anything about you online). Proving to the judge that there are other forms of abuse going on during the same time period of harassing spoofed calls/texts could help convince the judge that it’s the abuser.
5. Evidence in court: Sometimes the best way to get evidence is actually to request help from the court. For example, you may be able to ask the judge to sign a subpoena for the abuser’s phone records. Phone records are often the most direct way to prove spoofing. Coming prepared with all of the information listed above may be useful in trying to convince the judge to sign such a subpoena. Sometimes, your number won’t show up on the phone call logs. This is because the abuser can call a spoofing number to call your number. In that case, only the spoofing number that the abuser used would show up on the phone records of the abuser. However, if the abuser’s phone records show that the abuser made calls at the exact time you received calls from the spoofed number, this may cause the judge to believe the abuser made those calls. However, comparing phone records is not a perfect answer because not all spoofing calls will be on the phone records. For example, if the person makes the spoofed calls through an app, you may need to request the records from the app itself; but you may not know which app was used. In fact, if the calls were made from an app and therefore do not appear on the abuser’s phone records, this could even harm your case. The judge may see this as proof that the abuser did not make the calls.
For more information about getting evidence for court, see the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges’ How to Gather Tech Evidence and 10 Steps for Presenting Evidence in Court.
Electronic Surveillance (“spying”)
Electronic surveillance involves watching or monitoring a person’s actions or conversations without his/her knowledge or consent by using one or more electronic devices or platforms.
What is electronic surveillance?
Electronic surveillance is a broad term used to describe when someone watches another person’s actions or monitors a person’s conversations without his/her knowledge or consent by using one or more electronic devices or platforms. In a relationship where there is domestic violence or stalking, an abuser may use recording and surveillance technology to “keep tabs” on you (the victim) by monitoring your whereabouts and conversations. The motive for using electronic surveillance may be to maintain power and control over you, to make it hard for you to have any privacy or a life separate from the abuser, and/or to try to discover (and stop) any plans you may be making to leave the abuser.
Electronic surveillance can be done by misusing cameras, recorders, wiretaps, social media, or email. It can also include the misuse of monitoring software (also known as spyware), which can be installed on a computer, tablet, or a smartphone to secretly monitor the device activity without the user’s knowledge. Spyware can allow the abusive person access to everything on the phone, as well as the ability to intercept and listen in on phone calls. To learn more about spyware, visit the Safety Net’s Toolkit for Survivors or go to our Crimes page to see if there is a specific spyware law in your state.
Is electronic surveillance illegal?
It depends on whether the person doing the recording is part of the activity or conversation and, if so, if state law then allows that recording. In most circumstances, what is generally referred to as “spying,” meaning someone who is not a part of your personal/private activities or conversations monitoring or records them without your knowledge, is usually illegal. The differences between these two are explained more below.
If the person is part of the activity or conversation:
Many states allow someone to record a phone call or conversation as long as one person (including the person doing the recording) consents to the recording. Other states require that all parties to the communication consent.
For example, if Jane calls Bob, Jane may legally be able to record the conversation without telling Bob under state X’s law, which allows one-party consent for recordings. However, if state Y requires that each person involved in the conversation know about and consent to the recording, Jane will have to first ask Bob if it is OK with him if she records their conversation in order for the recording to be legal. To learn more about the laws in your state, you can check the state-by-state guide of recording laws from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
If the person is not part of the activity or conversation:
There are several criminal laws that address the act of listening in on a private conversation, electronically recording a person’s conversation, or videotaping a person’s activities. The names of these laws vary across the country, but they often include wiretap, voyeurism, interception, and other recording laws. When deciding which law(s) may apply to your situation, this may often depend on the circumstances of the surveillance and whether you had a “reasonable expectation of privacy” while the abuser recorded or observed you. Legally, a reasonable expectation of privacy exists when you are in a situation where an average person would expect to not be seen or spied on.1 For example, a person in certain public places such as in a football stadium or on a main street may not reasonably have an expectation of privacy, but a person in his/her bedroom or in a public restroom stall generally would.
1 See Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967) (noting that “what a person knowingly exposes to the public, even in his own home or office, is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection. But what he seeks to preserve as private, even in an area accessible to the public, may be constitutionally protected.”)
What is spyware?
Spyware is monitoring software that can be used to secretly monitor a device’s activity without the user’s knowledge. Spyware can be installed on a:
- computer;
- tablet;
- smartphone; or
- other device.
Spyware can allow an abuser access to everything on your device, as well as the ability to record and listen in on phone calls or other communications. Spyware software may be hidden on a device, and generally does not give a notification that the software has been installed or is in use. It can be hard to find spyware once it is installed and also hard to remove from a device.
If the abuser is using spyware, s/he may be breaking the law in your state. Installing and using spyware could be illegal based on stalking or harassment laws, computer laws, wiretapping, or eavesdropping laws. You may want to speak with a lawyer in your state for legal advice. To read the specific language of the laws in your state, go to our Crimes page.
What specific crimes come under the category of “electronic surveillance?”
There are various laws that an abuser may be breaking by electronically surveilling someone or by recording someone’s private conversation without their consent.
Some states have specific laws that address the recording of telephone, online, or in-person conversations. If someone who is not a part of your conversation records the conversation without your consent, it may be illegal even if you know that person is listening to you speak. Below, we give general definitions of various types of crimes. To read the specific language of the laws in your state, go to our Crimes page.
WIRETAP
Wiretap is a form of electronic surveillance where a person monitors or records telephone communications. Most typically, people think of wiretapping as a way that law enforcement tracks criminals or gets access to incriminating evidence. However, wiretaps are also something that abusers and stalkers have misused to listen in on and record telephone conversations. Many states have laws that criminalize wiretapping. In addition, most state wiretap laws also address whether someone who is part of a conversation is allowed to record that conversation without the permission of others.
INTERCEPTION
Interception occurs when someone who is not part of a conversation uses technology to interfere with the communication so that s/he can overhear or record the conversation. Interception laws usually apply to communication other than telephone conversations, such as email and text messages. Many states may have either an interception law or a wiretap law; so, if you don’t find one in your state, look for the other.
EAVESDROPPING
Eavesdropping is the crime of listening in on or recording another person’s private conversation without the consent of one or both of the parties. Eavesdropping can be done in various ways, some of which may not involve complex technology. For example, if you are talking on a landline at home, someone else can pick up another receiver in your home and listen in. If someone wants to record your conversations, this could be done on a basic tape recorder or by using an app or software to monitor and record conversations on your smartphone. Eavesdropping laws generally apply when the parties have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
INVASION OF PRIVACY / VOYEURISM
Invasion of privacy laws can apply to situations where an abuser misuses technology, such as a surveillance device, in order to observe, monitor, or record your personal or private activities. This may include taking nude or partially nude photos or videos without your consent. It can also include when an intimate partner secretly videotapes sexual acts without the consent of his/her partner. Voyeurism refers to the act of spying on someone for sexual pleasure. Voyeurism does not always include videotaping or the use of electronic devices (it may apply to physically spying on someone), but the act of videotaping your sexual activity (or nudity) without your consent and knowledge could fall under the crime of voyeurism if there is no “invasion of privacy” law in your state.
Impersonation
Impersonation generally refers to when someone uses a false identity and commits acts that will result in personal gain or that will deceive or harm another person, which often involves the use of technology.
What is impersonation?
Impersonation generally refers to when someone uses a false identity and commits acts that will result in personal gain or that will deceive or harm another person.
Is impersonation illegal?
It depends. Some states have laws that criminalize impersonating certain types of professionals or public figures (such as law enforcement, political officers, or lawyers) or criminalize impersonating another person with the intent to defraud someone (cheating/tricking someone out of something). However, even if impersonating you or someone else is not a crime under your state’s laws (if, for example, you do not fall under a protected category), the acts committed during the impersonation could be criminal. For example, if an abuser impersonates you to withdraw money from your bank account, s/he may be committing the crime of theft or fraud. If an abuser impersonates someone else in order to harass you, s/he may be committing the crime of harassment, and, if there is a restraining order in place, s/he may also be committing the crime of contempt.
What are some ways that an abuser might use technology for impersonation?
There are many ways that abusers misuse technology to help them impersonate someone.
Social Media
Abusers might create fake social media accounts in your name, log into your accounts by having or guessing the password, or manipulate technology in a way that makes it seem like a communication is coming from you. Through impersonation, abusers may gather confidential or personal information about you from your friends, family, or employer; spread harmful information about you; or even create false “evidence” that casts doubt on your courtroom testimony or on your version of events that you included in a court petition or police report. Some abusers have even created fake messages to make it look like they are the person who is getting harassed. Additionally, an abuser may try to impersonate you or someone else online as a way to learn information about your location or trick you into meeting him/her somewhere.
Email
Abusers may create “fake” email accounts (accounts not connected to their own name) for various reasons. They may use the accounts to send harassing emails that look like they are coming from someone else or that mask their identity as the sender. In many cases, however, the original sender can still be proven with the help of law enforcement.
Abusers may also send an email from these “fake” accounts to trick you into opening a message that contains a virus or spyware that would then allow them to spy on your computer. Abusers may also create an email account in your name in order to send emails to others while pretending to be you. This could be done because they are trying to embarrass you, discredit you, put you at risk of harm, or cause some other negative consequences in your life.
Spoofing
Spoofing is a form of impersonation where an abuser could mask or hide his/her actual phone number so that another phone number (chosen by the user) shows up on the recipient’s caller ID. You can find more information about spoofing in on our Spoofing page.
Online impersonation
An abuser may also use your private information to pose as you on the Internet and invite others to harass you or put you in danger. For example, an abuser may create an advertisement (posing as you) directing others to contact you for escort or massage services, or inviting others to come to your home or call your home for a specific purpose.
Some abusers could even use impersonation to encourage others to sexually assault you. An abuser could include information in the advertisement or online post that states that you have a “rape fetish” or “rape fantasy” and asks for someone to carry out this “fantasy.” The purpose of these types of online posts is so that the third party who is sexually assaulting you thinks that your protest or resistance is part of some type of “role-playing.” (Note: In these types of cases, the abuser who makes the post will often be charged with rape or solicitation to commit rape, in addition to whatever rape charges are filed against the person who actually commits the sexual assault).
What laws protect me from impersonation?
Depending on the abuser’s behavior, there may be laws in your state that can protect you. Please note that these laws, explained below, do not necessarily have to involve impersonation, but may apply when someone is impersonating you.
HARASSMENT
If an abuser impersonates you or someone else for the purpose of harassing you, that may be a crime that you can report to the police. As a victim of harassment, you may also be eligible for a restraining order, depending on your state’s laws. To see if there is a law against harassment in your state, go to our Crimes page for your state.
DEFAMATION
Defamation is a legal term that refers to the act of saying or writing false information to others that damages a person’s reputation in the community. If the damaging statement is spoken out loud, that act may be considered slander; and if the statement is written, then it may be considered libel. Slander and libel are not considered crimes, but they are classified as “torts” (civil wrongs) in most states, which means you could sue someone in civil court for damages.
For a statement to be considered slander or libel, the judge will generally require proof that:
it was a false statement;
it was published (meaning a third party must have read or heard the statement); and
the statement caused harm to your reputation (which is often proven by showing that your business was negatively impacted or that you were subjected to public hatred/disapproval, disgrace, or ridicule).
If an abuser has impersonated someone else to speak or write false and damaging statements about you, or has impersonated you to spread false information, you may be able to sue in civil court for money damages. See our Suing an Abuser for Money page for more information on civil lawsuits.
FALSE LIGHT
False light is a tort (civil wrong) that is available in some states and is similar to defamation (explained above). False light privacy claims are different from defamation claims because defamation is meant to protect your reputation and false light privacy laws are meant to protect your mental or emotional well-being. To prove false light, the courts generally require proof that:
- the abuser attributed a statement/view to you that you do not hold (placing you in a “false light”);
- his/her actions were done with “actual malice;” and
- the statement or view that s/he attributed to you puts you before the public in a very offensive and untrue manner.
If an abuser has impersonated someone else to share information that places you in a false light, you may be able to sue in civil court for money damages. Generally, even if the information published about you is not necessarily false but is misleading and offensive, a false light claim may apply.
IMPERSONATION
There may be criminal laws in your state that specifically address impersonation. If the abuser is impersonating you with the purpose of defrauding someone, or if the abuser is impersonating a law enforcement officer or public official, his/her behavior may be a crime. You can check your state’s Crimes page to see if your state has a specific impersonation crime. You can also find information about your state’s identity theft laws on the National Conference of State Legislatures website.
SPOOFING
In addition, there is a federal law (which applies to all states) called the Truth in Caller ID Act. This law prohibits the falsifying or spoofing of caller ID information with the intent to defraud (cheating/tricking someone out of something), cause harm, or wrongly obtain anything of value.1 If a person violates this law by illegally spoofing his/her caller ID, s/he can be reported to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and face penalties of up to $10,000. Note: The law does allow for people to use spoofing to mask their caller ID information as a way to protect their personal information and privacy (such as victims of domestic violence concerned for their safety) as long as it’s not being done to cause harm or to defraud anyone.
To learn more about the Truth in Caller ID Act, including information on how to make a complaint if you believe someone is spoofing you illegally, visit the Federal Communications Commission’s website.
1 47 U.S.C. § 227(e)
GPS Monitoring
An abuser may misuse GPS technology to try to gain or keep control over you.
What is GPS monitoring?
A Global Positioning System (GPS) is a network of satellites that provides location information to many common devices such as smartphones, car navigation systems, and laptop computers. The satellite information allows these devices to be located on a map. There are many different types of devices that use GPS technology and GPS can be extremely useful for tasks like finding nearby establishments or getting directions to an unknown location. For all of the positive uses of GPS, the expanded use of GPS-enabled devices has also increased the inappropriate use of technology to monitor or track a person’s location.
GPS monitoring can also lawfully be used in many ways – for example, a parent may monitor the whereabouts of a minor child or a judge may order that someone on probation be monitored through a GPS device. However, as GPS technology has become cheaper and more advanced, small and easily hidden devices can include GPS technology and make it harder to know which devices have tracking capabilities, enabling abusers to misuse the technology to track your location. For example, nearly all cellphones now have GPS technology that could be misused by an abuser to gain access to information about where you are and where you have been.
How can an abuser misuse GPS technology?
Because domestic violence is about one person seeking power and control over another person, an abuser may misuse GPS technology to try to gain or keep control over you. For example, an abuser could use GPS to learn where you have been, and then misuse this information against you. Because GPS-enabled devices can be so small and easily hidden, an abuser could hide a device in your belongings or car. The GPS in your phone could also be used to track you. Your location information through the GPS in your phone is not automatically available to another person, but there are a variety of ways that an abuser could get that information. Some examples of how that information could be accessed is if an abuser shares a cell phone plan with you, if s/he can access your cell phone account, or if s/he has another way of accessing your information, such as through spyware, downloaded apps, or when your devices are synced to the “cloud” or your computer. An abuser may use this technology as a way to stalk you or to maintain power and control over you by not allowing you to have any privacy or autonomy. You can read more about this in Safety Net’s Survivors Guide to Location Tracking.
What laws can protect me from GPS monitoring?
Some states may have laws that specifically protect you from having a tracking device installed on your property without your consent. If the abuser tampered with your personal technology devices (e.g., cell phone, tablet, etc.), there may also be state laws that protect you, such as interference or tampering with an electronic communications device. Depending on the language of your state’s laws, stalking, harassment, or cyberstalking laws may protect you from this behavior as well. You can read our Stalking/Cyberstalking page for more information. Additionally, electronic surveillance laws may also apply to a situation where an abuser is monitoring or tracking you. Many of these laws are not specifically focused on domestic violence, so when speaking to the police, an advocate, or an attorney, it may be a good idea to suggest that they look at the computer crimes or privacy laws within your state.
You can find laws in your state on our Crimes page by selecting your state from the drop-down menu. You can also find legal resources on our Finding a Lawyer page to discuss your case with a lawyer.
What can I do to stay safe or prevent the mis-use of a GPS-enabled device?
If an abuser seems to know too much information about where you have been or shows up in random locations that you did not share that you would be at, you may consider checking your belongings or car for hidden GPS-enabled devices. GPS can be included on a number of different types of devices, so you may need to look for something that you do not recognize or something that is out of the ordinary. A device will generally need a power source, so if a person has not had access to your belongings for a substantial period of time, you may want to see if there is a device that is connected to a power source like your car battery or under your dashboard. You may be able to get help from a professional to search your belongings. If you find something, an attorney, advocate, or law enforcement can help you determine what the device is and what to do with it. You can also find out a lot of information about a device if you do an online search with a description of the device that you found.
In addition to looking for unknown devices, it is also important to consider whether GPS is currently enabled on the devices that you already own. Devices to consider, include but are not limited to, your phone, your computer, a “wearable” device like a smart watch, and devices used by people close to you, like your children. Many “apps” and programs on your devices are GPS-enabled and could possibly send information to a person who intends to misuse that information. If you have any questions, a professional can help or you could try an online search with the words “how to turn off GPS on my [insert device name].” More information about phone safety can be found at limit location access on your smart phone.
You may also consider keeping a log of incidents related to the tracking so that you have evidence of a pattern or history to share with a lawyer or law enforcement.
GPS monitoring can be particularly dangerous if you are attempting to safely leave an abusive relationship since the abuser would be able to locate you. However, if you find a GPS device in your property, it can be important to safety plan with an advocate before removing any type of tracking device since removing the device may alert the abuser that you have found it. You may consider calling a domestic violence program from a public or third party’s telephone to safety plan if the abuser is tracking your location or monitoring your telephone.
Safety Net, a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, also has information on how you can limit location access on your smart phone and tips for staying safe if an abuser is using technology to monitor you.
Computer Crimes
An abuser may access (break into) your computer or other technology device without your permission and copy or steal your data, such as private identifying information, employment information, calendar details, etc.
What are computer crimes?
The term “computer crimes” refers to a broad category of crimes that could include a number of criminal activities that violate your privacy or interfere with your data/technology. Computer crimes include but are not limited to, misusing a computer to steal information or something else of value, manipulate you, harass you, or impersonate you. Some of the crimes described can also be committed without the use of computers or technology, such as fraud or identity theft, but technology can often make it easier for an abuser to commit those crimes by assisting him/her with accessing or using your private information, copying your data, destroying your information, or interfering with your data or technology. Other crimes we describe, such as hacking, are specific to the use of computers or technology devices.
How can an abuser commit a computer crime as a way to abuse me?
An abuser could commit a computer crime to gain access to your information and use that information to keep power and control over you. S/he may do this by accessing (breaking into) your computer or other technology device without your permission and copying or stealing your data, such as private identifying information, employment information, calendar details, etc. Depending on the information that the abuser steals or learns, s/he may use that information to stalk or harass you (showing up at the places where you have marked in your calendar) or by blackmailing you by threatening to share your private information. If the abuser steals nude or sexual images or videos, s/he may threaten to post or share these videos as a way to gain control over you. See our Abuse Involving Nude/Sexual Images page for more information.
What are some examples of computer crimes?
The term computer crimes can be used to describe a variety of crimes that involve computer use. Computer crimes do not include every type of misuse of technology. The list of possible crimes below is not all of the ways that a computer could be misused but will give you an idea of some of the more common forms of misuse. See our full Technology Abuse section to read about additional ways an abuser can misuse technology and other legal options.
HACKING
Hacking is when someone intentionally gains access to your computer without your permission or accesses more data or information than what you allowed. An abuser could gain access to your computer if s/he knows your password, if s/he has the skills to break into your system, or by using software designed to gain entry into your technology. An abuser could also hack into your account without your knowledge, including through the use of spyware. Therefore, it is important to keep safe passwords and to only use technology devices that you believe to be safe and free of spyware or malware.
SPYWARE
Spyware is software that allows someone to secretly monitor/observe your computer activity. The software can be inappropriately installed on computers and on other devices, such as tablets and smartphones. Spyware can be installed without your knowledge by either gaining physical access to your device or sending attachments that will download the software onto your device when you click on a link or download the attachment. Spyware is typically a “ghost file,” which means it runs hidden on your computer and can be difficult to notice or remove. Once spyware is installed, an abuser can see and record what you type, the websites that you visit, your passwords, and other private information. Many states have laws that specifically prohibit installing spyware on a computer without the owner’s knowledge. If your state doesn’t have a law that addresses spyware, you may check the other computer-related crimes to find out if the abuser’s actions are a crime.
PHISHING
Phishing is a way that an abuser may use a text message or an email that looks real or legitimate to trick or scam you into providing your personal information. The abuser could then go on to use your personal information to steal your identity, monitor you, or blackmail you.
FRAUD
Computer fraud is when someone uses computers, the Internet, Internet devices, and Internet services to defraud people, companies, or government agencies. (To “defraud” someone means to get something of value through cheating or deceit, such as money or Internet access.) An abuser could use a computer or the Internet to pose as someone else and defraud you or to pose as you and defraud a third party (to cause you to face criminal consequences, for example).
IDENTITY THEFT
Identity theft is the crime of obtaining the personal or financial information of another person with the purpose of misusing that person’s identity. An abuser could use your identity to destroy your credit score, attempt to make you lose your job, obtain public benefits in your name, or subject you to criminal consequences for his/her actions. Many times, abusers use information that they already have available such as a Social Security number, name and date of birth, and residential history in order to steal an identity. However, even if an abuser only has some of the above information, s/he could still commit identify theft by gaining information by using another computer crime such as hacking, spyware, or phishing.
What types of laws protect me from computer crimes?
There are several federal laws that address computer crimes, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Wiretap Act. Additionally, many states have individual laws that protect a person against hacking. The law in your state may be called hacking, unauthorized access, or computer trespass (or by another name) depending on your state’s laws.
The National Conference of State Legislatures has complied computer crime laws on their website and state phishing laws. The National Conference of State Legislatures has also compiled spyware laws on their website. You can also check our WomensLaw.org Crimes page in your state to see if we list any relevant crimes.
Additionally, you may also have an option to use the civil legal system to combat computer crimes. For example, you may be able to sue the abuser in civil court for the misuse of a computer. When you sue a person in civil court, you can ask for money “damages” based on what you lost and other harms that you experienced. You may also be able to ask a civil court, including family, domestic relations, or divorce courts depending on your state, to order the person to stop committing computer crimes by asking a court to include protection provisions in a restraining order. If you have a restraining order, committing a computer crime may also be a violation of the order. Violating a restraining order could mean that the abuser committed contempt of court (an offense that could have civil and/or criminal consequences). You can find lawyer referrals on our WomensLaw.org Finding a Lawyer page if you want to try to get legal advice or representation or you can contact the National Crime Victim Bar Association for a lawyer referral.
Responding to Technology Misuse: Civil and Criminal Options
Technology misuse can often be dealt with in both civil court and criminal court. The process and purpose for using each court is different and you may accomplish different outcomes depending on which court you are in.
What are the basic differences in criminal and civil court cases?
In criminal court, the case is filed by the state or county prosecutor and the purpose is to punish the abuser for breaking the law, which may result in jail time. In civil cases, the case is filed by you (the victim) or your attorney and the purpose is usually to have the abuser pay you for damages that his/her behavior caused you. In civil cases, you are not asking the judge to send the abuser to jail for his/her behavior (even though the abuser’s behavior may be a crime in your state). In some situations, there may be both civil and criminal cases happening at the same time or close in time based on the abusive behavior. For example, in 2008, Erin Andrews, a sportscaster on ESPN, was stalked by a man who filmed her in her hotel room through a peephole. A year later, the stalker was convicted of stalking in criminal court and sentenced to over 2 years in jail. Five years later, Erin Andrews successfully sued the stalker (in addition to the hotel and others) in civil court for money damages based on negligence, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress. It may not always be clear what legal options are available to you and so it’s important to consult with an attorney who is knowledgeable about the laws surrounding technology misuse.
What can I accomplish through civil court?
One way to address the misuse of technology can be through the civil court system. To file a lawsuit in civil court, you can use an attorney or file on your own. You (the victim) can sue for money damages for things like lost wages, loss of your job, emotional pain and suffering, damage to your reputation, and even punitive damages (to punish the defendant). If your damages are below a certain amount, you may be able to file on your own in small claims court. In some states, if you were the victim of the crime of disclosure of intimate images, the law may allow you to sue the person who discloses or uses the image for damages that increase each day the abuser is in violation of the law. You can learn more about the option of suing an abuser in civil court by reading our Suing an Abuser for Money page and selecting your state from the drop-down menu. You can also ask the court to issue an order (often called an injunction or a restraining order) in which the judge orders the defendant to stop doing certain things (like sending images of you to others) or to force him/her to do certain actions (such as destroying or turning over images). Restraining orders may be a legal remedy for victims experiencing various types of abuse involving technology (and not only for nonconsensual image sharing cases) depending on your state’s legal definition of domestic violence.
There also may be other important civil legal options to consider in technology-related abuse cases, especially those that deal with the sharing of images of you without your consent. One possible option, for example, deals with turning over the copyright of images to you. Generally, copyright law may protect certain photos or videos taken as an “original work,” and the person who takes a photograph or video is generally the copyright “owner.” The owner of the copyright can decide if, how, and when those images are distributed, published online, etc. However, in a civil lawsuit, it may be possible for you to request – and for a judge to order – that the defendant sign over any copyright ownership of the images to you (the victim). Therefore, if you are the copyright owner, you would have the legal power to decide where the pictures are published and you may be able to demand that the pictures be removed from the Internet or other publications. For advice on whether or not you may have a valid legal claim to get the copyright of any images taken of you, please consult with a lawyer who is knowledgeable about copyright law and technology misuse. See our National Organizations - Posting Nude/Sexual Images Without Consent/”Revenge Porn” section for legal referrals.
What can I accomplish through criminal court?
Another way to address technology misuse is through the criminal court system. In the criminal law system, cases are filed by the state prosecutor (also called the district attorney or attorney general in some states) based on violations of state criminal law. (Or if a federal law is violated, the federal prosecutor would be the one to file the case.) Generally, when you call 911 or go to the police department to file a criminal complaint, the police will do an investigation and if there is “probable cause” to make an arrest and sufficient evidence to prosecute, the abuser may be charged with a crime. To see a list of some common crimes in your state, especially those that involve technology misuse, go to our Crimes page and enter your state in the drop-down menu.
One important difference between a civil and criminal case is that in a criminal case, the prosecutor is the one who decides whether or not to file the criminal case against the abuser and whether or not to withdraw the criminal charges. Once a criminal case has been filed, if you later decide that you do not want the case to continue (you want to “drop the charges”), the prosecutor does not have to drop the case (since the prosecutor is not “your attorney”). It is up to the prosecutor whether to continue the case or not. You do not necessarily have the same ability to start or dismiss a case in criminal court the way you may be able to in civil court.
How can I stay safe if I am the victim of technology abuse?
Nothing is more important than your safety and your well-being. If you are being abused or stalked by someone who is misusing technology, it will be important to think through ways to increase your safety and privacy that take that technology into consideration. Since technology is constantly changing and the application of laws in this area are still developing, there could be situations where the current law may not address exactly what is happening. However, most acts of misusing technology for the purposes of harassment, stalking, and abuse are illegal.
Even if you are unable to or choose not to seek protection, damages, or other forms of justice in civil or criminal court, you can still make a plan for your safety and get help to deal with the emotional trauma that you may experience. See our Safety Planning page for more information on ways to increase your safety. You can contact your local domestic violence organization for additional help creating a safety plan or for other assistance. You can also find general safety planning tips and suggestions related to technology on the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s Safety Net project’s Technology Safety page.
What resources are available for advocates or survivors?
There may be some helpful resources available to you if you want to learn more about technology misuse and increasing your privacy and safety online:
- National Network to End Domestic Violence’s Safety Net project - Technology Safety & Privacy toolkit for survivors
- Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center – Resources for Victims
- Cyber Civil Rights Initiative – End Revenge Porn Crisis Line
- Electronic Frontier Foundation - Surveillance Self-Defense toolkit
- Love Is Respect Teen Dating Helpline.
Evidence Issues in Cases Involving Technology
Digital Evidence
What is digital evidence?
Digital evidence is information stored, received, or transmitted in a digital format by an electronic device that can be used in court to help prove your case. Digital evidence is sometimes referred to as electronic evidence. This evidence is often created when abuse involves the use of technology. Here are a few examples:
- When an abusive person sends text messages that contain threats, those texts, or pictures or screenshots of those texts, become digital evidence that can be used in court to help prove the threatening behavior;
- When an abusive person creates harassing posts on social media, those posts, or pictures or screenshots of those posts, become digital evidence that can be used in court to help prove the harassing behavior; or
- When someone uses technology to stalk a victim, in addition to potentially finding a physical GPS or Bluetooth tracking device, there may be evidence in the form of GPS tracking data, account log-in or activity history, video footage, or spyware purchases. Any of these can be used as evidence to help prove surveillance occurred.
How is digital evidence different from other types of evidence?
Digital evidence is different from other types of evidence that you may want to use in court, such as printed pictures, testimony, or official records.
One difference is that the original format of digital evidence is in electronic data files. These files are most commonly found on mobile devices and computers or stored in online accounts. Therefore, you will need to think through how to present it in a format that the judge will be able to examine and keep as part of the court’s record.
Digital evidence can be easily changed, damaged, or destroyed. It is important to protect the data by creating backup copies that are saved to a second device, taking screenshots and emailing them to yourself, and updating account passwords. If you take screenshots or photos, you will want to make sure they include the actual phone number or account information of the sender, not what you have the sender saved as in your contacts, as well as any time and date information. The court will also want to see any other messages that are a part of the same conversation to understand the context of the message. For example, if you have a thread of text messages about an upcoming parenting exchange and one of the texts includes a threat, you want to capture the entire conversation about the parenting exchange so the judge can see the threat within the context of the rest of the conversation.
What should I do to prepare for my case if it involves digital evidence?
What you should do in your individual case will depend on the type of case, your state’s rules of evidence, and the type of digital evidence you have. However, here are some things you may want to consider:
- Consider what is the easiest way to get your evidence. If you can get your evidence directly through your own accounts and devices, that is the easiest way. If you have to request that a third party, such as a cell phone provider, give you the evidence you need, this can be more difficult to accomplish, so it is important to ask for that information as soon as possible. It can take a lot of time for third parties to respond to your request, and many do not keep all their data for very long. If you are looking for the content of messages, such as emails, texts, or direct messages, that you do not have access to through your own accounts, this information may be difficult to get from a third-party company because of privacy laws and company policies. It might be the case that you would need a subpoena signed by the judge to get the evidence, which can also delay how long the process takes.
- Save the evidence in a way that best protects it. You can learn more about what needs to be saved and how best to save it in our Documenting/Saving Evidence section.
- Before your hearing, it’s important to find out from the court how the judge will accept digital evidence so you can plan accordingly. For example, if your evidence is located on your cell phone in a text message, social media post, or video recording, you would want to think about how to get this evidence downloaded or printed from your phone so that the judge doesn’t have to keep your phone. You might download it onto a flash drive or memory stick, or the judge might have another preference.
- Remember that you may also have to provide a copy of the evidence to the opposing party before your hearing. Make sure you find out from the court how many copies of the evidence you will need to provide and if they want you to label your evidence, also called “exhibits,” in a certain way. If your hearing is held remotely, you will want to ask the court if you have to submit your evidence electronically to the court ahead of the online hearing.
- Think about the testimony you plan to tell the judge and how your evidence fits with your testimony. In order to enter (“admit”) evidence in court, you will likely have to testify (“lay a foundation”) about:
- what the evidence is; for example, “This is a screenshot of a text message conversation between me and my spouse from June 13, 2024;”
- how you came upon that evidence or are familiar with what it is showing; for example, “I received this text message on my phone and took a screenshot of it;”
- how the copy of the evidence you are offering in court is a “fair and accurate” representation of the evidence as you originally saw it; and
- how you know that it is the abuser who sent the messages, posted the social media posts, etc. You can find more information about entering evidence in Is there a process to admit evidence other than testimony?
If you made a video or audio recording without the other party’s consent, please consult with a lawyer before trying to use that in court. In some states, it may not be legal for you to record a conversation if the other person doesn’t agree to the recording. You can also read more about recording laws on our website.
Will I be able to get my digital evidence into the court record during my hearing?
Each state is governed by what are called “rules of evidence.” Your state can have its own rules or follow the Federal Rules of Evidence. The rules generally address what is allowed as evidence in court and deal with issues such as:
- exceptions to the rule against “hearsay;”
- what types of documents may have to be certified for them to be admitted into court during a trial;
- what types of questions a witness can answer when testifying; and
- other topics.
Whether you can have your digital evidence admitted into the court record during your hearing may depend on what your state’s rules of evidence say and what the judge decides. You can ask the court clerk or legal self-help center what format they accept digital evidence in, such as a printed screenshot of a text message or a flash drive with a video on it. You can also find lawyers in your state on our Finding a Lawyer page if you want to get legal advice about presenting evidence in your case.
Documenting/Saving Evidence
What does it mean to document my evidence?
Any evidence can be documented so that you can access it later. For purposes of this section, documenting your evidence means that you are taking steps to:
- keep (preserve) evidence of abuse; or
- accurately record incidents of abuse as they happen, by writing the incidents in a log, for example.
Part of documenting technological evidence means that you are not changing the evidence at all – so, for example, if the abuser sends a threatening email that is unsigned, you cannot add his/her name to the email just because you know that s/he wrote it. You also want to document your evidence in a format that contains the most reliable information for the judge or law enforcement to consider. This means documenting the phone number, email address, username, or other account information associated with the evidence. For instance, if you wanted to document a text message from your employer who is saved under your phone contacts as “Boss,” you would want to save the text message with your boss’s phone number displayed instead of “Boss.” You would also want to display the date and time stamps to show when the message was received. If you do not know how to find the sender information or date and time stamps for your messages on your device or account, a simple Internet search can help.
Why is documenting evidence important in cases involving technology abuse?
If an abuser is using technology to abuse you, often the evidence of that abuse is located on the Internet or on a device like a cell phone, tablet, computer, or video camera. Documenting this evidence can be very helpful if, at some point, you want to try to have the legal system hold the abuser accountable. It is important to document the evidence as soon as possible because if an abuser has access to your accounts or your devices, s/he may be able to access and delete it. You may have to take extra precautions to make sure your evidence isn’t deleted by accident or through your account/device settings. For instance, your phone may be set to delete text messages after a certain time period to save storage space on your device. You will want to make sure that such features are turned off or that the particular evidence you are documenting is saved in a safe place.
It may be your first instinct to delete threatening messages from an abuser or to “block” the abuser if s/he is harassing you on social media. This is a completely understandable response. However, before you do this, it’s important to understand and think through how this will impact your ability to document evidence. If you delete the messages, there may no longer be evidence that you can access, and it may be difficult or impossible to access them from the abuser’s accounts or devices.
There are ways you can minimize having to see the abusive material while still being able to collect and document evidence of the abuser’s crimes and behaviors. For instance, you can silence message notifications from that particular person or set up a folder in your email account and create a rule for messages from that sender to go straight to a separate folder. Filtering the abuser’s communications will allow you to have access to the information when you want to without constantly having to see it. If your device is not accessible to the abuser, you can also save screenshots of abusive or threatening messages in folders or hidden photo albums on your devices so that you do not have to see them until you need to access them. You should be careful, however, not to save any evidence to cloud storage if the abuser may have access to your cloud account.
Documenting this evidence is so important because you may later need it in a court hearing. In an order of protection trial, for example, the judge is making decisions about whether to grant an order and what protections to include in the order. Having your evidence documented in a form that you can bring to court allows you to present it to the judge to support your testimony. It can also help you show the judge why you need a particular protection to be included in the order. You may also need to show the evidence to law enforcement in certain situations or to your lawyer so that s/he can prepare for court.
How should I document the abuse?
The best way to document evidence of abuse will depend on the exact circumstances of your case and the way that the abuser is using technology to commit the abuse. You may wish to speak with a lawyer or domestic violence advocate in your state about what records you should keep. If you aren’t sure what could be useful, it is generally better to keep more evidence rather than less.
These are some ways in which you could consider documenting evidence of abuse:
- Keep a log or a record of the details of each incident as the incidents occur. The log could include:
- a list of the date and time of each incident;
- what the abuser did or said;
- what actions, if any, you took; and
- what witnesses or evidence you have related to the incident.
You can download a sample technology abuse log to help with this.
- Save any voicemails, call logs, emails, or text messages and take screenshots or photographs of the phone or computer screen and store them in a safe location separate from the device on which you originally accessed them. When taking screenshots or photographs, be sure to include as much information as possible. For instance, you will want to show the phone number of the person who is sending harassing messages, not just the contact name you assigned to that person in your phone.
- Print out emails with the full header information included so that details such as the date and time of the email and the IP address it was sent from can be easily identified. It is important to document this from the original email. If the email has been forwarded, you will no longer have the information related to the original sender. If you do not know how to find the full header information, a simple Internet search can help explain the specific steps based on whether you use Outlook, Gmail, or another email service provider.
- Take screenshots of any posts made on social media by the abuser to preserve them in case s/he later deletes them. When you do this, be sure to include the full URL from the bar at the top of the window and take screenshots of the abuser’s profile page as well as any time and date information for the posts.
- Download the data on your social media account in case your account later gets hacked or deleted. You may need to be able to explain to the judge how you downloaded your account information and whether it accurately reflects what you saw on the social media site or app. If you have filed criminal charges, law enforcement may be able to send a letter or subpoena to the social media company or website asking them to keep the account information but it can’t hurt to also download it yourself.
- Note: Some apps, such as Snapchat, notify the sender of a snap or chat if a screenshot is taken of it. A safer way to document an abusive or threatening snap or chat is to take a picture of it with another device. Since snaps and chats in Snapchat are set up to disappear from your device after a certain amount of time set by the sender, have a separate camera ready before you open the snap or chat.
- Document any suspicious account activity or login history if the abuser is accessing your accounts. You can do this by taking screenshots of user logs or logins by unknown devices. While this won’t prove that it was the abuser accessing your accounts, if you can provide additional evidence or testimony in court, the judge might believe that the abuser was more likely than not the person accessing your accounts.
- Save anonymous messages or messages from unknown senders that you receive via email, text, an app, or on social media. While you may not be able to tie the messages to the abuser directly, other information, such as the content of the message, the actions of the abuser, or another piece of information may be enough to convince the judge why you believe they came from the abuser.
- Consider the impact of removing or interfering with any hidden cameras, recording devices, air tags, or GPS trackers you find. Removing it could not only affect your safety if the abuser knows that you found it, but also it could impact your ability to document their existence. You could take a picture of the monitoring device or tracker where you found it and even consider asking the police to document the evidence before removing it. You may want to work with a domestic violence advocate to think about how removing the equipment may impact your safety and create a safety plan accordingly. Additionally, if you believe the abuser has remote or physical access to your device, you will want to be careful how you collect evidence from the device and not do any Internet searches on the device regarding documenting evidence or presenting it in court. Those types of searches could instead be done on a computer at a public library, community center, legal help center, or domestic violence advocacy program. Domestic violence programs may also be able to help you set up safe accounts for court-related communication and to safety plan around the abuser’s access.
Ways Courts Use Technology
Remote or Virtual Court Hearings
What are some pros and cons of a remote hearing?
Many courts use virtual platforms like Zoom or WebEx to hold court hearings remotely. Remote hearings can have some advantages, like not having to find childcare or pay for transportation and parking, and not needing to take as much time off from work as you would if you had to travel to court. Some people also find it less scary to testify when they aren’t in the same physical space as the abuser.
However, presenting evidence might be more difficult with remote hearings since it may require you to send evidence electronically ahead of the hearing. If your hearing is going to be virtual, make sure you find out from the court:
- what technology or platform the court uses;
- how you will join the hearing; and
- what to do/who you should contact if you have any technical difficulties during the hearing.
If you prefer an in-person hearing, you could ask the court whether you have the option to choose between a virtual or in-person hearing.
You can read more information about virtual hearings in our Quick Guide and the Virtual Hearings section of our Preparing for Court – By Yourself section.
GPS Monitoring of Offenders
How do courts use GPS technology to track offenders?
Some states have specific laws that allow judges and law enforcement to use technology in ways that are intended to protect victims of domestic violence. For example, law enforcement and courts can use global positioning systems (GPS) technology to track offenders who have committed domestic violence and stalking. Depending on your state, a judge may be able to order GPS tracking in a criminal or civil court case.
There are two types of GPS tracking – active and passive. With an active GPS tracking device, you would be notified if the abuser physically goes to a location where s/he is prohibited from entering. It is possible that additional notifications would go to law enforcement or any court-ordered supervision agency that is monitoring the offender.
With a passive GPS tracking device, the abuser may only be required to upload his/her location history once a day or even less frequently. The location history may then be reviewed from time to time by a probation officer, or it may be used as a tool by law enforcement if you allege that the abuser violated the order.
Are there any risks to having an offender’s location tracked?
Tracking abusers with GPS technology can have risks if the victim relies solely upon GPS tracking to stay safe. For example, passive GPS monitoring cannot be relied upon as a way to protect or warn you or law enforcement of the abuser’s location to prevent possible further abuse. Active GPS monitoring is only effective if there are enough well-trained law enforcement officers to monitor and quickly respond when an abuser enters a prohibited location near you. In addition, the court must have proper procedures in place to hold offenders accountable for violating court orders. Also, if you do not have access to the required technology to alert you if the offender comes near you, or if you have the technology but it fails, active GPS monitoring may not provide enough warning to protect yourself.
If the judge gives you the option to have GPS tracking, you may want to consult with a domestic violence advocate to make this decision and to safety plan.
Virtual Visitation
What is virtual visitation?
Virtual visitation is when parents use video conferencing, Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, and other technology to “visit” with their children. Virtual visitation might be included in a custody order if the judge believes in-person visitation is not safe or it might be included in addition to in-person visits. Often it is ordered when the custodial parent has relocated to allow frequent contact between the child and the non-custodial parent.
How can virtual visitation help me?
The custodial parent may use virtual visitation to allow contact with the non-custodial parent if in-person visitation is not practical or unsafe for the child or parent. Depending on what type of technology is used for a virtual visit, it could provide a log of the length of visits, missed visits, etc. If recording the visits is permitted, there could also be a record of what is said during visits. However, before recording a visit without the other parent’s knowledge, you may want to get advice from a lawyer to be sure this couldn’t negatively affect your custody case. In addition, recording conversations without the other party’s permission or knowledge may be illegal. You could read about recording laws on our Electronic Surveillance (“Spying”) page to learn more about one-party recording in your state.
What are the safety risks when using virtual visitation?
If you have moved to a safe location unknown to the abuser, you will want to make sure that nothing about your surroundings can alert the abuser to where you are. For instance, you may want to keep cameras pointed away from windows that may show a sign with the street’s name or other clues to your location.
Additionally, it’s possible that an abuser who wants to gain access to your computer to track you or steal your information could trick you into downloading spyware or malware by, for example, sending a link that looks like it’s related to the virtual visit app. You can read more about technology monitoring on our GPS Monitoring page and Computer Crimes page. You may also consider talking to a domestic violence advocate to safety plan around using technology with an abusive co-parent.
Co-parenting Technology Tools
How is technology used in co-parenting situations?
Electronic apps or programs designed for co-parenting situations can facilitate communication between parties and coordinate custody and visitation schedules. They are often used when there is domestic violence and the parents cannot safely communicate by phone, text, or in person with the other parent.
These tools can be especially useful when there is a dispute between you and the co-parent about what was said since there is a record of the communications. If the co-parent is abusive, having a record of the conversation in one place and available to court professionals and your lawyer may deter him/her from using custody and visitation communications to harass you. Additionally, having clear visitation schedules that clarify the custody arrangement can be helpful when parents need to plan vacations or other activities. Using co-parenting tools could also eliminate the child’s exposure to certain high-conflict communications that may otherwise happen in person or over the phone in the child’s earshot.
Are there any risks or limitations with using technology to help with co-parenting communications?
Although your state’s laws may not require the judge to order how parents communicate while co-parenting, the judge might order a co-parenting app if there’s a restraining order in place or if you convince him/her that it’s necessary. However, some judges may be reluctant to issue an order requiring that parents use technology to co-parent for various reasons, including:
- judges may:
- not be familiar with technology;
- not believe they have the power to make that type of order; or
- find it inappropriate for some other reason, including if the subscription cost to use it is unaffordable for one or both parents. Note: Some companies might have fee waiver programs for those who cannot afford the cost or you might search for a free co-parenting app so that cost isn’t a barrier.
To think through whether or not using these types of apps may work for your situation, you may want to talk to a domestic violence advocate or a lawyer who specializes in custody and domestic violence issues.
You can learn about general custody laws in your state on our Custody page by selecting your state from the drop-down menu.