Keeping your Internet activities private
If the person who has abused you has access to a computer that you use, you can keep your abuser from finding out which websites you visit by following these instructions.  There is also additional information on how to protect against others spying on your computer.

Protecting your e-mail privacy
To keep your abuser from being able to read your e-mail without your knowledge, you may want to:

• Consider using a free web-based e-mail account such as hotmail or yahoo. Your messages are not downloaded to your computer so there is no record for someone else to find. Do not write down your password. Do not ask the system to remember your password.
  
• If you keep your Internet Service Provider (such as AOL):
  
  • change your e-mail password to one that your abuser will not know
    
  • make sure that you log out of your e-mail account fully every time you use it
    
  • make sure that you are required to enter your password every time you try to access your e-mail. Do not ask the system to remember your password. Make sure all auto-login settings are off
    
    

Protecting your home telephone privacy
Some abusers may try to find out what telephone numbers you have used by pressing “redial” after the you have made a telephone call. If you call a shelter or any other place that you don’t want your abuser to know about, here is what you can do to keep your abuser from finding out where you called:

• after your phone call, hang up and then dial a “harmless” phone number, such as time and temperature. (Before you make your first phone call, think of a phone number that you could call afterwards that would probably not upset your abuser if s/he were to find out that you called it—for most people, time and temperature is probably a safe number to call.
  
• If your abuser is jealous, you might not want to call any number (such as a grocery store or restaurant) where a live person may respond, in case your abuser thinks that you’re calling someone you’re involved with that works at that number. After you do that, if your abuser uses the “redial” feature on your telephone, s/he will only find out that you called the “harmless” number for time and temperature, and not the number of a shelter or a friend.

Here are the phone numbers for time and temperature in some Maryland areas:

Baltimore: (410) 936-1212
Frederick: (301) 844-1212
Hagerstown: (301) 293-3939
Bethesda: (301) 961-2020

Protecting your cell phone privacy
If you have a cell phone and want to keep the records of who you call private, you may want to make those calls from another phone and not from your cell phone. If your abuser has access to your cell phone bill, s/he could easily find out the phone numbers of the people you have called. If your abuser does not have access to your cell phone bill but has access to your cell phone itself, then you could take the same steps discussed above (for protecting your home telephone privacy) when you make a call using your cell phone.

Finding People Using the Internet
If you are finding a new place to live or are seeking refuge with a friend/relative, keep in mind that the Internet offers a number of ways in which an abuser can find an address if they have minimal information. See our section on finding people for an overview of options. Keep these in mind. The abuser may have some of this information. You may want to consider a domestic violence shelter.