Keeping your personal information private is important at all times, but it is especially desirable during divorce or marital strife. You will be emailing or making purchases that may pertain to your situation that you wish to keep private. And, you will want to prevent applications, especially tracking applications from being installed on your iPhone without your knowledge — this is especially important if you are a victim of domestic violence.
Here are six tips and instructions for use with your iPhone. And when you are done, check out our six tips for personal computer and web privacy.
1. Update your iPhone Password: the more complex, the better. Avoid birthday, wedding anniversary, address or familiar combinations
- Tap Settings > Touch ID & Passcode
- Enter your current passcode
- Tap Change Passcode
- Enter your old Passcode
- Enter new Password twice
2. Enable Touch ID (iPhone 5s or later)
- Tap Settings > Touch ID & Passcode
- Tap to enable “ iPhone Unlock and iTunes & App Store
- Tap on “Add a Fingerprint” and follow the instructions. Add at least two fingerprints
3. Stop Family Sharing (iOS 8 or later)
If you’re the organizer:
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- Tap Settings > iCloud > Family, tap the name of the family member you want to remove, then tap Remove.
OR
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- Tap Settings > iCloud > Family, tap your name as the organizer, then tap Stop Family Sharing.
If you’re a member:
- Tap Settings > iCloud > Family, tap your name, then tap Leave Family.
- BE AWARE: You’ll keep any purchases you initiated while part of the family group. However, if the organizer was paying for your iCloud storage or any other ongoing subscriptions, you’ll need to start paying for them yourself using a valid payment method on your account.
4. Stop Notifications: Prevent private email and text message notification from being displayed on your iPhone screen when it’s locked:
- Tap Settings > Notifications
- Tap on the App you want to stop notifications
- Tap to Disable “Show on Lock Screen”
5. Be aware of signs that could indicate your iPhone could have tracking apps installed:
- Look for installed jailbraking apps such, Cydia, Icy, Installer, Installous, SBSettings
- The battery runs down way quicker than it should and stays warm when idle
- Your phone lights up when you turn off the screen or lights up when idle
- Your phone runs apps slower than normal
- Your takes a long time to shut down
- You have received text message full of what might look like computer code
If you are experiencing these issues, make an appointment with your local Apple Genius Bar and they will show you how to remove those apps. If they suggest restoring from your most recent back up, be sure to discuss your data (photos, emails etc) with your Apple Genius and how to restore them from your back up without re-installing any tracking software.
6. Update your Apple ID Password (which is used to access all your Apple services, including iTunes)
- Go to https://appleid.apple.com/
- Login with your current ID and Password
- Click on “Change Password” and follow the steps
- Remove any email associated with this account what was shared with your spouse
TIPS FOR STRONG PASS:
- Have at least one letter
- Have at least one capital letter
- Have at least one number
- Not contain multiple identical consecutive characters
- Not be the same as the account name
- Be at least 8 characters