New iPhone Features Help Protect Your Privacy in Family Law Cases
If you or a loved one is a victim of domestic violence or contemplating a divorce from your spouse, you may want to utilize the new Apple iOS 16 “Safety Check.”
“Safety Check” allows a user to check “whom you’re sharing information with, restrict[s] Messages and Facetime to your iPhone, reset[s] privacy permissions for apps, change[s] your passcode, change[s] your Apple ID password” among other things.
This new feature is useful not only for victims of domestic violence but also for divorcing spouses. Many spouses don’t know or don’t remember what permissions they have granted to their partner over the years. Spouses can now, with this feature, review and edit their permissions more easily.
There is also now an “Emergency Reset” option, which immediately stops sharing information from a user’s iPhone with the click of a button. This is designed to help users that are victims of domestic violence.
A previous Apple update now sends a user an update if this user is moving from place to place with an unknown AirTag not associated with your device. Additionally, AirTags now make a beep if they are out of range from the paired iPhone for more than three days. Even given these updates, victims of domestic violence and divorcing spouses should check their clothing, purses, and cars for AirTags to make sure they are not unknowingly being stalked.
These updates are in addition to the new iOS 16 features.
If you are in a situation where you feel the need to utilize this new “Safety Check” update or if you find that your partner is surveilling you with an Apple AirTag, contact a family law attorney immediately to determine the best next steps to take to protect yourself moving forward.
Emily C. Baker is a family law attorney and partner at Tucker PLLC. For more information, contact Emily at ebaker@tuckerfamilylaw.com or schedule a consultation.
