What to change on your phone after a breakup
After a breakup, change the passwords and passcodes your ex might know, starting with email, then remove them from location sharing, family plans, shared cloud albums, streaming and smart home accounts. Check the list of devices signed in to your accounts and the phone number used for two-factor codes. If you fear their reaction, plan these changes with a domestic violence hotline first.
Why it matters: Shared passwords, family plans and cloud albums keep an ex connected for months.
Steps
- If you fear how your ex will react, talk to a domestic violence hotline before changing anything below.
- Change your phone passcode if your ex knew it.
- Change your email password, then banking, cloud storage and social media passwords.
- Check each account's list of signed-in devices and sign out any you do not recognize or that belong to your ex.
- Make sure two-factor codes go to your phone number or app, not theirs.
- Remove them from location sharing, family plans and shared payment methods.
- Leave or stop shared photo albums and folders, and download what you want to keep first.
- Change passwords and remove users on streaming, delivery and smart home accounts.
Stop and call a professional if
- you fear how your ex will react, or you think they are monitoring you: contact a domestic violence hotline to plan first
Common mistakes
- Changing the social media password but not the email that can reset it.
- Forgetting the smart speaker, doorbell camera or thermostat account.
- Leaving a shared card saved in apps they still use.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: What to change on your phone after a breakup
What to say
After a breakup, change the passwords and passcodes your ex might know, starting with email, then remove them from location sharing, family plans, shared cloud albums, streaming and smart home accounts. Check the list of devices signed in to your accounts and the phone number used for two-factor codes. If you fear their reaction, plan these changes with a domestic violence hotline first.
What to show
- If you fear how your ex will react, talk to a domestic violence hotline before changing anything below.
- Change your phone passcode if your ex knew it.
- Change your email password, then banking, cloud storage and social media passwords.
- Check each account's list of signed-in devices and sign out any you do not recognize or that belong to your ex.
- Make sure two-factor codes go to your phone number or app, not theirs.
- Remove them from location sharing, family plans and shared payment methods.
- Leave or stop shared photo albums and folders, and download what you want to keep first.
- Change passwords and remove users on streaming, delivery and smart home accounts.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if you fear how your ex will react, or you think they are monitoring you: contact a domestic violence hotline to plan first.
Check question
Which password should change first after a breakup?
Answer: Email. Email can reset your other accounts.
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Related skills
Sources
- US national cybersecurity guidance for individuals, 2026. Reviewed September 28, 2026.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .