Notes
Leave Only Footprints = Tips on how to safely research sensitive topics
The Quick Home buttons at the beginning of each section on this page will bring you to the safer, travel facade of this blog.
"Sensitive topics" refers to topics such as abortion, gender-affirming care, domestic abuse, and anything else found in this blog.
This page will contain advice on how to safely conduct the research you need. Why is this important? In situations such as domestic abuse, the victim is very likely to face retaliation by their abuser if they're caught trying to plan an escape. One way an abuser can control their victim is by monitoring that person's search history. For that reason, this page will be structured differently from the other pages. While the other pages have direct links to resources and a brief description of what that resource provides, this page will host the information itself so that it can be read here, thus keeping your search history cleaner.
Jump links:
Click here to jump to: Where to find a safe device, how to clear your history in Chrome (desktop and mobile), Edge, and Safari (desktop and mobile), safety tips for using email, cell phones, and social media. From TheHotline.org
Click here to jump to: How to minimize the chance of someone finding out what you're researching, how to use safety features such as Private Browsing and Do Not Track in Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari. From TechSafety.org
Safety TipsQuick Home
The following information is from TheHotline.org, website of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. They can be contacted directly for assistance by calling 1-800-799-7233, texting "START" to 88788, or chatting with them live on the linked site. They can assist you with ways to stay safe and help you create a plan.
Computers store information about the websites you visit. That means bills you pay and purchases you make are tracked, and messages or emails can be retrieved. You should always consider that a computer might be monitored when you use it and be careful with what you send others or post.
Safe computers can be found at your local library, Internet cafe, shelter, workplace, or computer technology center; avoid using shared computers when researching things like travel plans, housing options, legal issues, and safety plans. Using safe browsing practices (like using a VPN) can help prevent abusive partners from tracking your Internet history.
- Clear your search history after visiting sensitive resources
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| Clear Chrome history by clicking on the dots at the top right of the screen, clicking on History, and selecting which pages you want to remove from your history |
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| Clear mobile Chrome history by clicking on the dots at the top right of the screen, clicking on History, and selecting which pages you want to remove from your history |
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| Clear Edge history by clicking on the dots at the top right of the screen, clicking on Settings, Choose What to Clear, and, after deciding what to clear, click Clear |
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| Clear Safari history by clicking on History at the top of the page and then Clear History |
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| Clear mobile Safari history by going to Settings, clicking on Safari, and going to Clear History |
- Email safety
- Email can be a useful way to keep in touch with trusted friends and family members who may be aware of your situation. An abusive partner is likely to know this and may have access to your email account without your knowledge. To be safe, open an account your partner doesn’t know about on a safe computer and use that email for safety planning and sensitive communications.
Use several different methods of communication when contacting people so that you’ll know if they tried to reach you elsewhere, and keep your monitored account active with non-critical emails in order to maintain appearances. Encrypted email services may offer an extra layer of security.
- Cell phone safety
- As technology has evolved, cell phones have become increasingly embedded in our daily lives. This provides quick access to resources and information, but it can also give other people instant updates on your whereabouts, habits, and activities. Cell phones can be used to track your location and retrieve call and text history.
If you’re in an abusive relationship, consider purchasing a pay-as-you-go phone and keep it in a safe place for private calls. Use a password on your phone and update it regularly. If you are concerned that your partner may be secretly monitoring your phone, consider taking it into a cell phone service center to check for any spyware that may be downloaded.
- Social media safety
- Posts on social media are never truly private, no matter your settings: once it’s online, it’s no longer under your control. Be protective of your personal information and remember that phone numbers, addresses, handles, and personal details (like birth date, schools you attended, employers, and photos with landmarks) may make it easier for someone to reach you.
Set boundaries and limits, and ask people not to post personal information, photos, or check-ins you aren’t comfortable with. Check your social media settings to make sure your privacy settings are strict, and disable the ability for other people to tag you in their photos or posts. Similarly, don’t post information about people without their consent – you could jeopardize their safety or the safety of others.
From TechSafety.org
Adjust Social Media Settings
While online sharing continues to rise in popularity, so do social media security risks. Staying on top of social media account settings can help reduce some of those risks to safety and privacy. By switching your accounts to private mode, you can help prevent other users from viewing your personal information and profile without your permission. Almost all social media platforms also allow you to block people as well; this can be especially helpful if there are people in your life that you don’t want to interact with on social media, or as a remedy to help stop harassment on that platform. A simple “block” can make a big difference. But before blocking someone, consider how this may impact your ability to know if their abusive behavior is escalating, and your ability to document their abusive behavior. Once you block someone, you won’t be able to see what messages and comments they are trying to send you.
If you’re especially concerned about online privacy, you may also want to consider refraining from posting in real-time, or posting anything that may give an indication of your location. For instance, if you’re at a restaurant, you may want to wait to post about it when you get home, or you may decide that posting about it would be putting more information out about your general location than you are comfortable with. These are simple ways to avoid any potential interactions with people who happen to see your social media and will try to show up where you are, or to prevent them from getting any idea about your location. You may also want to avoid tagging specific locations of restaurants, bars, houses, neighborhoods, etc. as these can leave a trail about your daily patterns for someone looking for clues of it on your social media profile.
Protect Your Devices While on The Go
It’s no lie – many of us don’t go anywhere without our phones, and sometimes even our laptops go everywhere we go. They’re in our bags, our pockets, and our hands. Sometimes we're using our own data plan, but other times we need to connect to public WiFi. When we do this, it’s important to understand how vulnerable our devices can be while connected to a public Internet connection. For example, while working in a cafe on your laptop, that free Wi-Fi you’re connected to is not as safe as you think. If you can afford investing in a virtual private network (VPN), it can help give you the security you need while on the go. A VPN creates a private network within a public Internet connection. VPN’s mask your IP address, which helps keep your web browsing hidden.
If a VPN isn’t an option you can currently invest in, making sure to only browse sites that use https: protocol can help increase your privacy. While someone may still be able to snoop and see you are on a specific site, they wouldn’t be able to see the details of what you are doing on that site, or what you are looking at on that site.
For more information about how to navigate social media check out our resources: Privacy & Safety on Facebook and Safety & Privacy on Twitter: A Guide for Survivors of Harassment & Abuse.
Arm Your Home Network
Many people might think to lock their doors and windows at home, but may not know how to keep their Internet connection secure. Secure internet connections start with the router. The router communicates between the Internet and all of the devices in your home to deliver a Wi-Fi connection.
When purchasing and setting up a Wi-Fi router there are several things to keep in mind. Do you have any fireplaces or thick walls that will block a signal or weaken signal strength? These structures can block or intercept your Internet connection. Also, make sure the router you’re going to buy is the right size for your home and the amount of devices that will be connecting to it. Security is another important topic to be mindful of as you choose a router. Routers that aren’t secure are vulnerable to being hacked, and once hacked, someone can potentially install viruses or malware onto any of your devices. Find a router that has network level protection, including automatic updates, signed firmware updates, and device quarantine. Last but not least, find a router that is easy to navigate and control. Look for other features that might be helpful to those who are using it in your home. This includes parental controls, guest networks, and network management. Don’t skimp on a router - it helps more than you think. For more on WiFi security, check out our resource WiFi Safety & Privacy: Tips for Victim Service Agencies & Survivors.
Enable Additional Authentication
When logging into online accounts, or even some phones and devices themselves, there’s often an option for an additional form of authentication. This is known as two-factor authentication, and it allows the user to add an extra layer of protection to their account or device by not only creating a complex and difficult password, but allowing a special code to be sent to their phone every time a login occurs. This means that if someone is trying to login to your account or device and it isn’t you, you’ll know about it and be able to stop them from going any further. This is especially important for email accounts where you might have more personal or financial information that you wouldn’t want others accessing. For more on password security and two factor authentication check out our resource Passwords: Simple Ways to Increase Your Security.
The following advice comes from TechSafety.org's Safety Net, a project created by the National Network to End Domestic Violence:
To minimize the chances of someone knowing that you are researching information about domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, follow these tips.
- If you think your devices or internet search activities are being monitored, access this information from a device that isn’t being monitored. That should be a device that the person do not or has not had physical or remote access. This is the safest thing to do if you don’t want someone to know that you are visiting these websites.
- Sign out of other accounts, such as Google or Facebook, before visiting these sites.
- Use your internet browser settings to increase your privacy, such as turning off browsing history or using the browser in-private mode.
- If it is safe to do so, delete the websites URLs that you don't want stored from the browser history.
- Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to increase the security of your internet browsing and activity.
Private browsing allows users to surf the internet without the browser collecting history. This is helpful if a survivor is concerned that someone may be monitoring their internet activity by going through the browser history. However, private browsing will not prevent someone from knowing what you’re doing online if they are looking over your shoulder or are monitoring your device with spyware.
Do not track is a setting that allows users to opt-out of third-party tracking, such as advertisers or sites on a website that you’re visiting. This feature is only for third-party tracking, which often tracks users for behavioral advertising purposes; it doesn’t prevent the website that you’re visiting to collect information about you.
All the browsers in this handout allow users to delete their bowser history. Keep in mind that if someone is monitoring your computer use, deleting your browser history may appear suspicious. However, regularly deleting your browsing history can increase privacy.
Google Chrome:
1. Private Browsing: Incognito Mode:
In a new window, click on the Chrome menu icon.
- Choose “New incognito window.”
- A new window will open with a message explaining incognito mode. You will remain in incognito mode until you close this browser window.
2. Do Not Track: Click on the Menu icon in the top right corner and choose “Settings.”
- Click on “Show advanced settings” at the bottom of the page. Check the box to “Send a ‘Do Not Track’ request with your browsing traffic.”
- Additionally, Google uses “Protect My Choices,” which installs opt-out, site-specific cookies on your computer. This requires installation of an extension instead of just a change in settings. It also doesn’t stop websites from collecting information about your activity, it just stops them from showing you targeted ads.
- Visit Chrome webstore and install "Protect My Choices."
- You'll see a pop-up confirming that it has been added to Chrome.
3. History:
- Click on the Menu icon in the top right corner and choose “History.”
- You can choose to “Clear browsing data” to delete the entire browsing history or you can choose certain pages and select “Remove selected items.”
4. Additional Privacy Options:
- Click on the Menu icon in the top right corner and choose “Settings.” (You can also navigate to the “Settings” section from the History page.)
- Click on “Show advanced settings” at the bottom of the page. Here you can determine whether Chrome can (1) enable phishing and malware protection, (2) use a prediction service to help complete searches and URLs typed, (3) offer to save your passwords, and (4) use Autofill for webforms.
Internet Explorer:
1. Private Browsing: InPrivate:
- In a new window, click on the Tools icon (gear) at the top right corner under the red exit icon.
- Click on “Safety” and then choose “InPrivate Browsing."
- A new window will open with an explanation of InPrivate Browsing. You will remain in this mode until you close this browser window.
2. Do Not Track:
- In a new window, click the Tools icon in the top right corner.
- Click on “Safety” and then select to “Turn on Tracking Protection” and “Turn on Doo Not Track Requests.”
3. Additional Privacy Options:
- Click on the Tools icon in the top right corner (round gear). Choose “Internet Options."
- Under “General” you can choose to have browser history delete on exit or you can delete your current history.
- Under “Privacy” you can:
- Choose the level of privacy you want for your browser. This ranges from “Block All Cookies” to “Medium” (blocks cookies from sites that do not have a compact privacy policy) to “Accept All Cookies.” Read all the options and choose what you prefer.
- Check the box to never let websites request your physical location.
Mozilla Firefox:
1. Private Browsing:
- In a new window, click the menu icon in the top right corner and choose “New Private Window.”
- A new window will appear explaining Firefox’s Private Browsing option. You will remain in this mode until you close this browser window.
2. Do Not Track:
- In a new window, click the “Options” icon (round gear, which may appear in middle of the pop up box).
- In the box that opens, choose the “Privacy” tab.
- Under “Tracking,” choose “Tell sites that I do not want to be tracked.”
- Under the same Privacy menu as the Tracking option, you can choose for Firefox to “Never Remember History.”
- You can also clear all previous History in this window.
4. Additional Privacy Options:
- Click on the Options icon (round gear).
- Choose “Advanced.” Under “Data Choices,” you can choose what information Mozilla is allowed to collect about your browser usage.
- Choose “Security.” In this section, you can select to receive warnings when sites are trying to install add-ons. You can also manage passwords (including choosing to not have them be remembered).
Safari 8 (Yosemite):
1. Private Browsing:
- Click File, and choose “New Private Window.”
- When in Private Browsing mode, your address and search field will have a dark background with white text.
- To stop using Private Browsing, close the Private Browsing window or switch to another Safari window that isn’t using Private Browsing.
2. Do Not Track
- Go to Preferences, and select the Privacy Tab.
- Select “Website tracking: Ask websites not to track me.”
3. History
- Go to History, and select “Clear History and Website Data…”
- Select from the drop down menu the time period you would like your history data to be deleted.
- Click “Clear History.”
4. Additional Privacy
- Go to Preferences, and select the Privacy Tab.
- You can limit or block websites cookies and website data. You can also “Remove All Website Data.”
- You can also limit a website’s use of your location to provide services and features. You can choose to be prompted before a website uses your location or deny it without prompting you first.
While online sharing continues to rise in popularity, so do social media security risks. Staying on top of social media account settings can help reduce some of those risks to safety and privacy. By switching your accounts to private mode, you can help prevent other users from viewing your personal information and profile without your permission. Almost all social media platforms also allow you to block people as well; this can be especially helpful if there are people in your life that you don’t want to interact with on social media, or as a remedy to help stop harassment on that platform. A simple “block” can make a big difference. But before blocking someone, consider how this may impact your ability to know if their abusive behavior is escalating, and your ability to document their abusive behavior. Once you block someone, you won’t be able to see what messages and comments they are trying to send you.
If a VPN isn’t an option you can currently invest in, making sure to only browse sites that use https: protocol can help increase your privacy. While someone may still be able to snoop and see you are on a specific site, they wouldn’t be able to see the details of what you are doing on that site, or what you are looking at on that site.
For more information about how to navigate social media check out our resources: Privacy & Safety on Facebook and Safety & Privacy on Twitter: A Guide for Survivors of Harassment & Abuse.
Many people might think to lock their doors and windows at home, but may not know how to keep their Internet connection secure. Secure internet connections start with the router. The router communicates between the Internet and all of the devices in your home to deliver a Wi-Fi connection.
When purchasing and setting up a Wi-Fi router there are several things to keep in mind. Do you have any fireplaces or thick walls that will block a signal or weaken signal strength? These structures can block or intercept your Internet connection. Also, make sure the router you’re going to buy is the right size for your home and the amount of devices that will be connecting to it. Security is another important topic to be mindful of as you choose a router. Routers that aren’t secure are vulnerable to being hacked, and once hacked, someone can potentially install viruses or malware onto any of your devices. Find a router that has network level protection, including automatic updates, signed firmware updates, and device quarantine. Last but not least, find a router that is easy to navigate and control. Look for other features that might be helpful to those who are using it in your home. This includes parental controls, guest networks, and network management. Don’t skimp on a router - it helps more than you think. For more on WiFi security, check out our resource WiFi Safety & Privacy: Tips for Victim Service Agencies & Survivors.
When logging into online accounts, or even some phones and devices themselves, there’s often an option for an additional form of authentication. This is known as two-factor authentication, and it allows the user to add an extra layer of protection to their account or device by not only creating a complex and difficult password, but allowing a special code to be sent to their phone every time a login occurs. This means that if someone is trying to login to your account or device and it isn’t you, you’ll know about it and be able to stop them from going any further. This is especially important for email accounts where you might have more personal or financial information that you wouldn’t want others accessing. For more on password security and two factor authentication check out our resource Passwords: Simple Ways to Increase Your Security.
Acknowledgements
Please note that the vast majority of this page is NOT original content written by this blog, but rather belongs to the sites credited.
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