Protect My Devices
Choose the digital concern you are seeing. The safest first step is often preserving signs and planning changes before resetting everything.
Which statement is closest?
You do not have to select the perfect category. Choose the closest one. Every path gives you a specific next action.
It can reduce the number of decisions in front of you. It is not emergency response, legal advice, therapy, or medical care.
Assistive technology, shared family plans, school devices, medical portals, smart-home systems, benefits accounts, transportation apps, and devices used by children or older adults may all affect safety. Do not disconnect a service until you know what access or evidence could be lost.
Someone may know my location
Location can come from phones, apps, vehicles, photos, family accounts, wearables, and other people.
Unexpected appearances, references to places, or precise timing.
Maps, family accounts, social apps, photo metadata, vehicle apps, and wearables.
Coordinate the change with physical safety planning.
Someone may access my accounts
Check access, recovery routes, forwarding, and connected apps.
Take screenshots before signing them out.
Access can persist after a normal password change.
Do not reuse a password the person may know.
Your next step
Change the most important account first: usually email, because it can reset other accounts.
Review change orderMy device acts strangely
Strange behavior is not proof of monitoring, but it is worth documenting.
Battery drain, overheating, unknown apps, permissions, restarts, messages marked read, or settings changed.
Some are ineffective or unsafe.
A reset can destroy evidence and may not solve account-level access.
Your next step
Use a safer device for planning and preserve the current device if evidence may matter.
Find specialist helpOnline harassment, impersonation, or threats
Preserve the original content and the account information before reporting or blocking.
Do not save only the threatening sentence.
Record the report confirmation.
Review old posts, tagged photos, events, and mutual contacts.
Your next step
If harassment is repeated or includes surveillance, use the Stalking resource page.
Open stalking resourcesChildren’s devices and accounts
Games, school portals, family groups, photos, and location apps can expose contact and routine.
Know who can see location, messages, purchases, and backups.
Confirm authorized pickup, portal access, and emergency contacts.
Children should know what not to share without being made responsible for adult safety.
Your next step
Use the Children and Custody page for school and legal pathways.
Open children and custodyProtect access without locking yourself out
Use a safer device and independent recovery information.
Then move important accounts to the safer email.
Document current access before removing it.
Plan for notifications and service interruptions.
Help them understand what you need quickly
Lead with the clearest facts first
Your emotions matter, and you do not need to hide them. When time is limited, beginning with observable facts can help a hotline, hospital, shelter, attorney, school, or agency understand urgency and route you to the right care faster.
- What happened and when
- Whether the person can reach you now
- Any injuries, threats, weapons, stalking, or forced contact
- Children, dependents, pets, or service animals affected
- Disability, communication, medication, mobility, or sensory needs
- Housing, money, transportation, phone, or identification barriers
- Your name and pronouns, if you want them used
- The specific help you are asking for today
A useful plan can include chosen family, LGBTQ+ safety concerns, older adults, disability-related care, immigration concerns, emotional or psychological abuse, financial control, children, pets, and service animals. Name the barriers that affect what is safe and possible for you.