How to browse this site safely

Legal accuracy check

Chris Schroeder, Esq.

Florida Bar #520381 · D.C. Bar

First published October 5, 2026 · Last checked October 5, 2026

How pages are checked

Open a private window first

Every major browser has a mode that does not save the pages you visit once you close the window. It is the simplest protection on a shared device, and it works before anything is recorded rather than after.

On a phone, the same mode is in the browser’s tab menu: a new Incognito tab in Chrome, or the Private tab group in Safari on an iPhone.

Two limits matter. A private window does not hide your visit from the network you are on: Google’s own help page says an employer, a school or an internet provider may still be able to see activity in Incognito. And it does nothing against software someone has installed to watch the device. Files you download, and bookmarks you save, stay on the device too.

Clearing your history afterwards

If you have already visited this site in a normal window, you can remove the record from that browser. The steps below are the ones each browser maker publishes; menus move between versions, so the help pages in the sources list are the place to check if a step looks different.

• Chrome on a computer. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Mac: ⌘ + Shift + Delete) to open the delete browsing data panel, choose a time range, and delete.
• Safari on an iPhone. Go to Settings, tap Apps, then Safari, scroll down and tap Clear History and Website Data, then choose the time range.
• Firefox. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Mac: ⌘ + Shift + Delete), choose the time range and what to clear.
• Microsoft Edge. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete, choose a time range, and clear.

Clearing everything can itself be noticed: an empty history, or being signed out of every site at once, can look unusual to someone who checks. Clearing only the last hour, or only the entries for this site, draws less attention. Chrome, Firefox and Edge all let you delete single entries from the history list.

What the Quick exit button does

The Quick exit button at the top of every page, or pressing Escape twice quickly, replaces this site with a weather search straight away. Because it replaces the page rather than opening a new one, pressing Back does not bring this site up again.

It does not erase anything. The pages you opened before you pressed it are still in the browser’s history. Use it together with a private window, or clear the history afterwards.

Shared devices and accounts

History is not the only trace. A browser signed in to a shared Google, Apple or Microsoft account can sync history to every other device on that account. Search suggestions can show what was typed before. A phone’s recent apps screen can show the last page that was open. Close the tab when you finish, and if the browser is signed in to an account someone else can see, a private window avoids the sync.

If you think the device is being watched

Monitoring software can record what is typed and shown on screen whatever browser mode is in use. If you believe someone has put it on your phone or computer, use a device they cannot get to: a library or work computer, or a friend’s phone. Deleting history or changing settings on a monitored device can alert the person watching it.

The Safety Net Project at the National Network to End Domestic Violence publishes plain guides on phone and computer safety for survivors, linked in the sources below. RAINN’s hotline, 800-656-4673, can also talk a safety plan through with you.

Contacting us safely

A call shows in the call log, an email sits in a sent folder, and a text stays in the thread. When you ask for a free case review, the form asks which way of reaching you is safe, the times that are safe, and whether we may leave a message. We follow what you choose, and you can tell us at any point that a channel is no longer safe. How we store what you send is set out in our privacy policy.

Questions we are asked most