Digital safety & technology-facilitated abuse

• This page sets out what technology-facilitated abuse looks like, practical steps you can take, and what the law in Ireland says.
  
  
• None of this is a substitute for a conversation with one of our support workers — who can help you decide what's right for you.

You don't have to give up your phone or social media

• Some safety advice suggests switching off devices or coming offline altogether. That won't be the right for everyone.
  
  
• Your phone and social media accounts are often a connection to family, friends, work, and support services. Stepping away from them can cause other difficulties, including feeling more isolated.
  
  
• What's right for you will depend on your own circumstances, so it's worth thinking about how to stay connected in a way that feels safer — rather than assuming that going offline is the only, or the safest, option.

Recognising technology-facilitated abuse

You might be experiencing technology-facilitated abuse if:

• You're being messaged, called or contacted constantly, including late at night. Or contacted from numbers or accounts you don't recognise.
  
  
• A partner or ex-partner seems to know where you are, who you've spoken to, or what you've posted, without you telling them.
  
  
• Someone has demanded your passwords, or has logged into your email, social media or banking without your permission.
  
  
• You've found an app, device or accessory you didn't set up, such as a tracker, in your car, bag or coat — or an app on your phone you don't recognise.
  
  
• Personal information, private images or videos of you have been shared or posted. Or you've been threatened with this.
  
  
• Images or videos have been taken of you without your knowledge or consent.
  
  
• A “family locator” or child-safety app is being used to track your movements rather than a child's.
  
  
• You feel you have to check in constantly, or account for your time online, to avoid conflict.
  

If some of this sounds familiar, it's worth talking it through with a support worker. These actions are often part of a wider pattern of coercive control, and Irish law now recognises that.

Guidance for staying safer online

Keep a record of what's happening

Evidence matters, both for a protection order and for a criminal case. Where it feels safe to do so:

• Don't delete threatening or harassing messages, emails or voicemails, even though it's a natural instinct to want them gone. Screenshot them and, where possible, keep the original too.
  
  
• Note the date, time and platform for anything that happens, and keep a simple written log if you can do this safely.
  
  
• Gardaí can, in some circumstances, retrieve deleted messages, so don't assume something is lost if you have already deleted it.
  
  
• If keeping this record on your own device doesn't feel safe, a support worker can talk you through other ways to keep it somewhere secure.

Your rights under Irish law

• Coco's Law (2020) makes it a criminal offence to record, share, publish or threaten to share an intimate image of someone without their consent, and to send threatening or grossly offensive messages with intent to cause harm.
  
  
• Coercive control has been a specific criminal offence in Ireland since the Domestic Violence Act 2018. Monitoring someone's phone, tracking their location, controlling their access to money or contact with friends and family, and restricting their online communication can all form part of a pattern of coercive control — even where no single incident looks serious on its own.
  
  
• General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you rights over your own personal data — including the right to have it erased or its use restricted. It can be a useful tool for getting content taken down.