Protecting Your Digital Privacy
During High-Stakes Divorce
Shared accounts, cloud backups, location history, and cryptocurrency can create privacy and evidence questions during divorce. Chicago family law attorney Jonathan D. Steele brings cybersecurity training to legal strategy and coordinates with qualified technical professionals when needed.
Discuss privacy and preservation before sharing sensitive records
A consultation after conflict clearance can address shared accounts, suspected monitoring, digital assets, and records that may matter to the case. Jonathan’s role is legal representation; specialized device or account analysis may require a qualified technical professional.
Use the initial callback form for names and contact details only. Do not send passwords, private messages, device backups, or financial files. The intake team can first confirm a safe way to contact you and explain the next step.
For related financial issues, see complex-asset divorce and business valuation.
Request a callback from the intake teamRepresentation is subject to a conflict check, availability, and case acceptance through Beermann LLP. Requesting a callback does not create an attorney-client relationship.
The Digital Evidence Problem in Chicago Divorce Cases
Your Digital Life Can Become Evidence
Divorce disputes can involve a wide range of electronically stored information. Relevant electronic communications, location data, and digital-asset records may be available through lawful discovery.
Records a party may seek through appropriate discovery include:
- iCloud/Google backup contents
- Location history from phone and car
- Ring/Nest doorbell footage
- Amazon Alexa voice recordings
- Financial app transaction history
- Social media posts (even deleted ones)
Illinois BIPA Warning
The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act regulates how private entities collect, store, and disclose biometric identifiers such as fingerprints, face scans, and voiceprints. BIPA applies to private entities rather than to individual spouses, so it will rarely control a dispute between parties to a divorce, though biometric data held by an employer or vendor can raise separate compliance questions in discovery.
Types of Digital Evidence Used Against You
Device Forensics
Deleted texts, photos, and app data may remain in device storage or backups, depending on the system and whether data was overwritten. A qualified forensic examiner can assess whether lawful preservation or recovery is feasible.
Cryptocurrency & Hidden Assets
Digital assets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and tokens held in self-custody wallets can be difficult to trace and are sometimes omitted from financial disclosures. Qualified blockchain analysis can help investigate transfers and wallet activity alongside conventional financial discovery.
Social Media Intelligence
Posts, check-ins, photos, and account connections may corroborate or challenge custody and income claims. Relevant private-account records may be sought through proper legal channels.
Location & GPS Data
Google Timeline, Apple Significant Locations, car GPS, and fitness trackers may contain location history that can corroborate or challenge claims about whereabouts during key events.
Smart Home Devices
Ring doorbells, Nest cameras, smart locks, and voice assistants may create logs or recordings. Relevant smart-home records may be requested through lawful discovery when preservation, privacy, and authentication requirements are addressed.
Email & Cloud Storage
Gmail, Outlook, Dropbox, and iCloud contain years of communications and documents. Shared family accounts may give one spouse technical access to the other's data, but having access is not the same as having authorization to retrieve or use it.
Real-World Digital Scenarios
Scenario 1: The Hidden Crypto Wallet
"My husband says he lost all his crypto in the crash, but his lifestyle hasn't changed."
The Discovery Plan: Unexplained bank transfers are often the starting point for discovery directed at exchange accounts, and a court decides whether that discovery is relevant and proportionate to the needs of the case. Public-ledger information may help an examiner evaluate whether transaction activity corresponds to disclosed wallets or exchange accounts.
Scenario 2: The Spyware Spouse
"He always knows where I am, even when I turn off my phone's location."
The Response: If stalkerware or tracking is suspected, the safest step is to avoid altering the device and to discuss the situation with counsel, since safety planning and evidence preservation can point in different directions. Where appropriate, a forensic examination can be arranged and the findings documented for use in the case.
How I Handle Digital Evidence Issues
Background I Bring to These Issues
In addition to practicing family law, I hold the cybersecurity certifications listed below. I hold professional cybersecurity certifications including CompTIA Security+, ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC), and the Google Cybersecurity Professional Certificate.
This means I understand:
- How forensic imaging works—and why authorization, scope, and chain of custody matter
- Cryptocurrency discovery—financial records and qualified blockchain analysis used to investigate wallet and transaction activity
- Device security audits—checking for spyware, compromised accounts, and data leaks
- Evidence preservation—procedures designed to support later authentication and admissibility arguments
Credentials
Common Questions
Can my spouse read my deleted text messages?
Sometimes. Recovery depends on the device, backups, retention periods, access rights, and whether the data has been overwritten. A qualified examiner can assess the device, while provider records may be pursued through lawful discovery when available.
Is it illegal for my spouse to install a GPS tracker?
Generally, yes. Under Illinois law, placing a tracking device on a vehicle you do not own or exclusively drive without consent can be a criminal offense (720 ILCS 5/21-2.5). Whether a statutory exception applies to a jointly titled vehicle depends on the specific statute and the facts, and a court may still treat covert tracking as relevant conduct in a parenting or order-of-protection dispute.
How do I secure my devices before filing for divorce?
Before changing passwords or altering account access, confirm whether a preservation obligation or a court order applies to the accounts or devices involved, because altering them can create its own problems in the case. Two-factor authentication through an authenticator application is generally more secure than codes sent by text message, particularly where another person administers the mobile account.
Protect Your Digital Privacy Today
A brief introductory call to discuss whether the firm can assist and what the next steps would be. No fee for the introductory call.