Online & Privacy

A passcode is treated like testimony — under the Fifth Amendment, most courts say they can't force you to type it in. Face ID and fingerprint unlock are weaker: in many states, courts have let police compel a face or finger because it's something you 'are,' not something you 'know.' If you sense any chance of an encounter, switch to passcode-only before they ask. On iPhone: side button x5. On Android: hold power + volume up. Even if they have a warrant for the phone, you can still refuse to type the code — make them go to a judge again to compel you.

Customs (CBP) has way more power than regular police. They can demand to look at your phone without a warrant, and refusing can get the device seized for weeks. For U.S. citizens they can't deny you entry for refusing, but non-citizens can be turned away. Best move: travel with as little on the device as possible (sign out of cloud accounts, delete apps you don't need that trip), use a strong passcode, and power the phone fully off before landing — first-unlock-after-boot is the most encrypted state.

Almost always yes. School-issued devices and school Google/Microsoft accounts are covered by the district's acceptable-use policy, which usually says all activity can be monitored — including private tabs, Google Docs, deleted files, and webcam in some cases. Software like Gaggle, GoGuardian, Securly, and Bark scans messages and flags keywords (self-harm, drugs, sexual content, slurs) and sends alerts to admins. Treat the school laptop as a public computer. Personal stuff goes on your personal device, on your own network.

They can see metadata — which sites you connected to, how long, and how much data. They generally can't see the contents of encrypted apps (iMessage, Signal, WhatsApp, HTTPS websites). They can block sites and log your device's MAC address. If you don't want them seeing what you're browsing, use cellular data, not school WiFi.

To police: yes, with a subpoena or warrant. Basic account info (name, email, IP) needs only a subpoena. Actual message content needs a warrant in most cases. To schools: not directly — schools have to go through police, except for school-issued accounts (your school Google account, school Microsoft 365) where admins already have access. Snapchat keeps deleted snaps on their servers for at least 30 days. Nothing is truly deleted from the platform's side.

Almost every state now has a 'non-consensual intimate imagery' law (sometimes called 'revenge porn'). If you're under 18, the image is also legally child sexual abuse material — federal law applies and the FBI takes it seriously. Steps in order: (1) Screenshot evidence — URLs, usernames, timestamps. Don't crop or edit the image itself. (2) File a Take It Down report at takeitdown.ncmec.org — it creates a hash that participating platforms use to block re-uploads. (3) Report to the platform. (4) Tell a trusted adult and consider a police report. (5) Don't reply to the person spreading it. Civil lawsuits are also possible — keep evidence.

As of 2024–2025, federal law (the Take It Down Act) and most state laws now cover AI-generated and deepfake intimate images the same as real ones — especially for minors. Take It Down (NCMEC) handles deepfakes. Schools have a federal duty under Title IX to respond if it's a classmate. Save the image file plus metadata; tools can sometimes trace which AI service generated it.

Don't pay. Don't send more. Sextortion of minors is a federal crime and the FBI has a dedicated unit; call 1-800-CALL-FBI or report at tips.fbi.gov. Also report to NCMEC's CyberTipline (1-800-843-5678) and Take It Down. Most sextortion scammers move on fast once you stop responding — they're running scripts on hundreds of people at once. Tell one trusted adult immediately; the shame is the leverage and it dies the second another person knows.

Screenshot first (whole page, URL, timestamp). Report to the platform under 'sharing private information' — every major platform has a specific form for this. Lock down: make accounts private, remove your school and city from bios, search your own name + address and request removal from people-search sites (Spokeo, BeenVerified, Whitepages — most have opt-out forms). If there are direct threats, save them and file a police report. Tell your school so they can flag any in-person follow-up.

If you're under 18 and on their phone plan, yes — almost always legally. Parental monitoring apps (Bark, Life360, Family Link) are legal for minors. Once you turn 18, that changes: continuing to access your accounts without permission can violate federal computer-fraud and wiretap laws. Until then, the practical protection is using apps with end-to-end encryption (Signal especially) and a passcode they don't know.

More than you'd think: precise location (even with 'while using' permission, in many cases), every app you open and for how long, ad identifier tied to a profile of you, mic and camera when apps are foregrounded, and on Android, often Bluetooth/WiFi scan results even with location off. To audit: iOS → Settings → Privacy & Security → App Privacy Report. Android → Settings → Security & privacy → Privacy dashboard. Turn off what you don't need; delete apps you haven't opened in a month.

Not illegal under any state or federal law for a student. It may violate your school's acceptable-use policy and get you disciplined under that policy — that's a school rule, not a crime. On a school-issued device, the VPN often doesn't help anyway because monitoring software runs above the network layer.