Staying safe online

If someone controls or monitors your phone or computer, these steps can lower your risk.

In danger right now? Call 911. In emotional crisis or thinking about suicide? Call or text 988, or Birmingham's Crisis Center at 205-323-7777, 24 hours a day.

How Quick exit works

Press the Quick exit button at the top of any page, or tap the Esc key three times, to leave this site immediately and land on a weather site. It also clears the county saved on this device.

Quick exit does not erase your browser history, and someone looking closely at your device may still see that you visited.

Steps that help

• Use a private or incognito window. It does not keep your history on that device.
• If you can, use a device the other person cannot reach, such as a library computer or a trusted friend’s phone.
• Clear your browsing history after you visit, and delete call logs and texts if it is safe to do so.
• Do not use the “remember my county” option on a shared or monitored device.
• Phones, apps and accounts can be tracked. If something feels watched, trust that feeling and call for help from another device.

Talk to someone

The National Domestic Violence Hotline, 1-800-799-7233, is free and open 24 hours a day. You can also text START to 88788, or chat at thehotline.org. In Birmingham, the YWCA Central Alabama line is 205-322-4878.