Online Privacy and Safety for Survivors

This year’s national theme for Sexual Assault Awareness Month is “We Can Build Safe Online Spaces,” which brings to mind online privacy and security issues for survivors. Below, our Legal Advocacy team shares some information to help survivors manage tech safety concerns. Disclaimer: This post is not intended to provide legal advice. Please consult an attorney for advice related to your individual situation. 

Cybersecurity and tech safety are issues for almost everyone these days. This is especially true over the past year, as more people have increasingly relied on technology both for socializing and for work. Online privacy and safety can be particularly pressing for survivors of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. Some survivors may want to keep their location hidden or avoid contact with someone. And the ways that social media and technology have become such big parts of our lives can make this harder. Although there is no “one size fits all” tool, below are some easily accessible options for maintaining privacy online. 

Here’s one example of a survivor trying to navigate online privacy and safety:

Jordan is a survivor who reports that they were sexually assaulted by someone they met online through a dating app. Jordan told the person they didn’t want any further contact. After ending contact, Jordan shares that this person continues trying to contact them through social media and text. Jordan also finds out from a friend that this person is back on the dating app. Jordan is thinking about making a public post to their Instagram account naming what this person did and warning people in case they match with this person on a dating app.

At BARCC, we know that safety planning involves more than assessing physical safety needs. Our Legal Advocacy program offers a variety of services that can help survivors deal with these online safety concerns. What are some of the ways BARCC could assist Jordan? We would talk with Jordan and assess for a range of legal options, including criminal options and protective orders, as well additional technology safety needs. We would explain all of the options so that Jordan could decide what they wanted to do. This could include working with Jordan to report this person to the online dating app and assessing their online activity and social media profiles to explore blocking, reporting messages, or documenting messages. Together, we would explore ways that Jordan would feel safer in using social media. 

Our Legal Advocacy program can also provide information about public postings about a survivor’s experience. Increasingly, survivors may turn to social media or other public outlets to share their story or seek accountability. We want to empower survivors with all the information they need to make an informed decision about how or whether they want to do this. Once something is shared online in a public way, the information is often outside of a survivor’s control, and they cannot control who has access to it. These postings can impact other legal actions the survivor may wish to take and can create legal risk for the person making the posting, so it is important to understand possible outcomes before taking this action. Even posts that do not name a person may contain information that is identifying and may also create risk. We encourage folks to review our Sharing Your Story guide, a resource for survivors to help think through their options related to speaking publicly about some or all of their experience.

General “cyber hygiene” tips 

“Cyber hygiene” refers to best practices and other activities that people can undertake to improve their cybersecurity while engaging in common online activities, such as web browsing, e-mailing, and texting. Here are a few ways to do this:

• Update OS, web browser, and app software when the option is available.
• Pick strong passwords that are unique and complex: 12+ characters, combination of lowercase letters, uppercase letters, numbers, and special characters (for example: !@#$%^&*). One tip for remembering long passwords is picking a phrase rather than one word.
• Aim to use a unique password for different accounts, and change passwords regularly.
• Use two-factor authentication (2FA) or multifactor authentication (MFA), which adds an additional layer of security to passwords, when practical, especially to confidential accounts. 
• Consider configuring your web browsers' privacy and security settings to block third-party cookies, not save passwords, not autocomplete, and not save search histories.

Survivor-specific tips 

• Access password security and online anonymity options at abine.com. 
• Consider turning off location sharing to protect your whereabouts if your phone has GPS capabilities.
• If sharing your phone number is a concern, explore options like Google Voice, which creates a virtual number that allows you to screen calls as well as make calls and text from that number. 
• If you have concerns about a private picture being posted somewhere without your consent, you can consider a variety of legal options, which our Legal Advocacy program can explore with you one-on-one. Google has a way to request a photo be removed from its search results. 
• To opt out of receiving telemarketing calls, go to donotcall.gov. 
• Depending on your cell-phone provider, you may be able to change your phone number online.
• Request that friends/family members consult you before tagging you in a post.

Finally, it’s important to be mindful of privacy concerns that family, friends, and coworkers may have. Not everyone wants to be tagged at a certain location or have their recent move, vacation, or new job posted publicly. You can help your friends feel safer online by being thoughtful and asking before posting, listening to your friend’s concerns, and deleting posts when necessary.  

It goes without saying that these options are imperfect. Many professions require that their employees have some form of online exposure. For some survivors, it may feel safer to not block someone completely. And if being on social media is valuable for a survivor, it’s not fair that they have to consider disconnecting online to feel safe. However, a survivor doesn’t need to use all of these tools to manage their concerns, and sometimes just knowing that there are cybersecurity tools out there can make someone feel safer. Depending on each individual situation, some of these short-term, accessible options can empower survivors by helping them control their own safety. 

More on how to manage online privacy and safety concerns 

• “Data Brokers Opt Out List,” World Privacy Forum (updated link)
• “Technology Safety,” National Network to End Domestic Violence
• “Vaccine Registries & Survivor Safety,” National Network to End Domestic Violence