The prevalence of social media has made divorce proceedings far more complicated than they once were. The arrival of the Cloud and other comparable wireless storage implies that your “private” data may not be as concealed as you might believe. Even if you save your private photos, videos and documents to your phone, they may still be discovered if your phone has a connection to the Cloud. And if they are saved to the Cloud, they will also be saved to any other connected devices.
You may think that viewing the private documents of another person constitutes an invasion of privacy. However, if your spouse looks at the data using a device with access to the Cloud, it does not matter on which device the data was first saved. Spouses should be aware that such legally shareable information also includes internet web browsing history.
It was not so long ago that you proved infidelity on the part of your spouse by discovering an incriminating text or email, or hiring a private investigator to follow your spouse. Currently, you can conduct your own investigation by viewing their Facebook account, where you might notice a suspicious post. These and other forms of communication, including text, GPS, email, internet searches and other social media sites can provide an attorney with potentially damaging evidence. For instance, photos of a costly vacation can be used to question your reasons for applying to reduce your maintenance payments.
Thus, be wary of your use of social media, especially when involved in a divorce proceeding. While most of your posts are innocuous, they could be misconstrued, and may present you in an unfavorable light to the judge.
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