If someone is monitoring your phone, computer, or internet activity, it's important to know how to browse our website safely. Below are steps you can take to reduce the chance that someone could see you were here.
If you're in immediate danger, please call 911. If you need to leave this page quickly, use the Quick Exit button in the top right corner of any page. It will take you instantly to weather.gov.
Use a Safer Device When You Can
If it's available to you, consider using a device your partner doesn't have access to such as a computer at a library, a friend's phone, or a trusted family member's device. This is often the safest way to search for help.
Mobile Users
Phones can be trickier to browse safely on than computers, since so much stays connected and synced. Here are a few things to be aware of:
Turn Off Notification Previews
If your phone shows message or app previews on the lock screen, someone glancing at your phone could see them without unlocking it. Consider turning off preview text for messages and browser notifications while you're seeking support.
- iPhone: Settings → Notifications → Show Previews → "When Unlocked" or "Never"
- Android: Settings → Notifications → Turn off "Sensitive notifications" or set previews to hidden
Watch for Autofill and Search Suggestions
Your phone's keyboard may remember and suggest what you've typed before, even after you delete a search. Clearing your browser history doesn't always clear this. Be mindful when typing sensitive searches, and consider clearing keyboard suggestions in your phone's settings if you're concerned.
Check for Screen Time or Activity Reports
Some phones and family-sharing plans generate weekly screen time or app usage reports, which can show which apps or websites you've visited, even in private browsing. If your partner has access to a shared Apple ID, Google Family Link, or a phone carrier account, this data may be visible to them.
Be Careful with Voice Assistants
Voice assistants like Siri or Google Assistant may keep a history of voice searches or read search suggestions aloud through connected speakers. If your partner has access to these devices or accounts, consider using text search instead.
Close the App Fully, Not Just the Tab
On mobile browsers, simply closing a tab may not remove it from your recently used apps. Swipe the browser app closed from your phone's app switcher as well, in case someone scrolls through recent activity.
Use Our Quick Exit Button
Every page on this site has a Quick Exit button in the top right corner. If you need to leave this site immediately — because someone walked in, or you feel unsafe — click it, and you'll be taken instantly to weather.gov. Don’t forget to come back later and clear it from your history.
Desktop or Laptop Users
Browse in Private/Incognito Mode
Most browsers have a private browsing mode that doesn't save your history, cookies, or search terms after you close the window.
- Chrome: Menu → New Incognito Window (or Ctrl+Shift+N / Cmd+Shift+N)
- Safari: File → New Private Window (or Cmd+Shift+N)
- Firefox: Menu → New Private Window (or Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
- Edge: Menu → New InPrivate Window (or Ctrl+Shift+N)
Keep in mind: private browsing hides your activity from someone else using the same device later, but it does not hide your activity from an employer, internet provider, or someone who has installed monitoring software (sometimes called "stalkerware") directly on the device.
Clear Your Browser History and Cache
If you're not able to browse privately, you can manually delete your history after visiting this site:
- Chrome: Menu → History → Clear Browsing Data → select "Browsing history," "Cookies," and "Cached images and files" → Clear Data
- Safari: History → Clear History → choose a time range → Clear History
- Firefox: Menu → History → Clear Recent History → select what to clear → OK
- Edge: Menu → Settings → Privacy, Search, and Services → Clear Browsing Data
Be Aware of Other Digital Footprints
Clearing your browser is a good step, but it's not the only way activity can be tracked. Consider whether your partner has access to:
- Shared email, cloud storage, or photo accounts
- Location sharing features (like Find My iPhone or Google Location Sharing)
- Call and text logs, including deleted messages that may still sync to shared devices
- Shared passwords or accounts that could show recent activity
If your partner has installed monitoring software on your device, clearing your history may not remove all traces. If you're concerned about this, it may be safest to use a device they don't have access to.
Use Our Quick Exit Feature
Every page on this site has a Quick Exit button in the top right corner. If you need to leave this site immediately — because someone walked in, or you feel unsafe — click it, and you'll be taken instantly to weather.gov. Don’t forget to come back later and clear it from your history.
How This Website Protects Your Privacy
- This website does not use advertising or tracking cookies, and it does not run analytics that follow you from page to page.
- Our contact forms do not save what you type on the website. Your message goes to our team by email. If an email ever fails to send, a private copy is kept only until it can be delivered, and it is deleted after 30 days. Forms are cleared when you use Quick Exit or leave the page.
- When you use Quick Exit, the site clears the cookies, cached files and other data this website stored in your browser, and it replaces this site in your browser's Back history with a weather page.
- Videos inside our pages only connect to YouTube when you press play. The moving background at the top of the home page is streamed from YouTube. Our podcast player does not keep a listening history.
- Our hosting provider may set a short-lived security cookie that protects the site from attacks. It does not identify you.
No website can remove itself from your browser's History list or from monitoring software, so the steps above still matter.
You Deserve to Feel Safe
Taking steps to protect your privacy online is smart, but your digital footprint is just one part of staying safe. If you'd like help thinking through a safety plan — for your home, your children, your finances, or your day-to-day routine — our advocates are here to help, any time.