marry 09.01.2025, 11:30 AM
When relationships end, grief isn’t the only problem – in the digital age, shared devices, passwords and online accounts are increasingly a problem.
According to research by a cyber security firm Sure Softwaremost people who shared their passwords or devices with their former partners later regretted it. More than half of respondents said they shouldn’t, and with good reason.
The survey surveyed 1,000 US men and women, ages 25 to 55, who had gone through a breakup in the past 10 years, and the researchers sought to determine how people felt about digital security before, during, and after a breakup. The results were fascinating, and in some cases alarming.
As many as 42% of respondents said their ex accessed their online accounts without their permission after the breakup. Every fourth respondent (24%) admitted that they had tried it themselves. More than half (58%) who shared passwords or devices with their ex later regretted it because they suspected that their ex-partners had accessed their accounts or devices after the breakup, and 73% of them confirmed that this had happened. Most have learned their lesson, with 68% of respondents saying they would never share passwords again in a new relationship. As many as 45% of respondents did not check whether they were still sharing their location after a breakup, and 56% experienced negative effects on emotional or mental health due to digital privacy concerns after a breakup.
“Breakups no longer just end relationships; they expose people to significant digital risks,” said Simon Lewis, co-founder of Certo Software.
What ex-partners most often spy on are social media accounts (27%), email accounts (20%) and location (18%). Little is said about this, although this digital security trend is “alarming”.
“Our research shows how common it is for people to neglect to protect their online lives after a breakup, leaving them open to unauthorized access, emotional distress and even potential tracking,” Lewis said.
Parents appear to be more aware of potential threats and are more likely to consider their digital security after a breakup than others, research has found. As many as 71% of parents protected their devices and online accounts after a split, while only 57% of non-parents did.
If you suspect that your ex might still have access to your accounts, you’re probably right. Changing passwords and enabling two-factor authentication are necessary steps to take immediately after a breakup. Cybersecurity experts advise turning off location sharing after a breakup and revoking shared account permissions to prevent unauthorized access.
“Breakups are chaos enough without the added worry of digital vulnerabilities,” Luis concluded.
Photo: Kelly Sikkema | Unsplash
Source: www.informacija.rs
