Your safety online
Internet & browsing safety
If you are living with someone who hurts or controls you, technology can be used to watch what you do. Abusers can check browsing history, recent searches, texts, and phone location to track exactly what you've been looking at. This page explains how to reach us more safely.
The safest option
Use a device the person cannot access at all — a friend's phone, a work or library computer — and call rather than browse. Advocates answer 24 hours a day:
The Quick Exit button
Every page of this website has a red Quick Exit button in the top-right corner. Clicking it — or pressing the Esc key twice — immediately replaces this site with an everyday website (Google and a weather page), so someone glancing at your screen won't see what you were reading.
What Quick Exit cannot do: it can't erase this site from your browsing history, and it can't undo anything your device may already be recording. If you think your device is being monitored, treat everything you do on it as visible.
Browsing more privately
- Use private or incognito mode. Every major browser (Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox) has a private window mode that doesn't save history, cookies, or searches after you close the window. Look for "New Incognito Window" or "New Private Window" in the browser menu.
- Clearing history: you can delete browsing history in your browser's settings ("Clear browsing data" or "Clear history"). Be aware that a suddenly empty history can itself look suspicious to someone who checks it — private mode is usually safer than deleting.
- Watch for shared accounts. If your browser or phone is signed in to an account the other person can also access (a shared Google or Apple account, family sharing), your history and searches may sync to their devices automatically.
- Phone location. If you are preparing to leave, remember that phones can share their location — through settings, family-tracking apps, or apps installed without your knowledge. An advocate can help you think through location safety as part of a safety plan.
- Social media. Check the privacy settings on accounts like Facebook and Instagram, and consider what your posts, check-ins, and friends' posts reveal about where you are.
About this website
This site was built with your privacy in mind. It has no user accounts and no intake or appointment forms, and we keep no record of the services anyone receives. The contact forms on our Contact page are optional and read during business hours only — a phone call is more private, and it is the right choice if you need help now. Some pages embed maps, donation widgets, or the Heritage House chat and analytics; those load from other companies and may set their cookies. The privacy policy lists exactly what is where.
Make a plan with an advocate
A trained advocate can help you build a full safety plan for your home, your children, your pets, your money, and your devices. See the safety planning guide, or call either 24-hour line above.