Keeping evidence of harassment: what to save, and how to do it safely

If someone is harassing, threatening or stalking you, you may be looking for ways to keep a record. You haven’t done anything wrong. This page is about the practical side, and it isn’t legal advice. Rules about what counts as evidence differ by country and by case, so a local advocate or lawyer is the best guide.

What to do now

Keep everything as it is. Don’t delete messages, emails, voicemails, photos or call logs, and don’t edit, crop or rename the originals. Keep the original files, not only copies of them. Originals carry dates and details that matter.

Don’t reply, and don’t confront. You don’t have to prove anything to the person, and replying can make things worse. If you must respond, an advocate can help you decide how. Don’t try to catch them out.

Write a log with dates. A simple notebook or a document works: date, time, what happened, where, who else saw it. Add each entry soon after it happens, in your own words, and don’t go back and tidy it later.

Take extra copies, not replacements. Screenshots and screen recordings help, especially if a post may be removed. Keep the originals too, and note the address and the time you captured something.

Save extra copies somewhere the other person can’t reach. Think about who can get into your phone, your cloud account, your email and your computer. If you think someone may be watching any of them, start from a different device, such as a friend’s phone or a library computer, and a new email account that only you know about.

Use a safer device when you can. If you think your phone is monitored, changing settings or deleting a suspicious app on it may alert the person. A trusted advocate can help you plan this. Our page on signs someone went through your phone lists things to look for.

Tell someone you trust. A friend, relative, colleague or advocate who can hold a copy or just know what’s happening.

Use platform reporting tools. Social and messaging services usually have a way to report abuse. Report first, and keep the content until you’re told what is needed.

Ask about your options. A helpline can talk through reporting to the police, a protective order or workplace routes, without pressure. You choose.

What doesn’t help

• Deleting to make it stop. Removing the evidence removes your record, and the person can simply carry on.
• Editing or cropping a screenshot to look tidier. It can raise questions about the original.
• Posting it publicly to shame the person. It may harm your own case, and may escalate things.
• Counting on a lock screen alone. A person who knows your PIN, or who has installed monitoring on your phone, sees what you see.

Where a vault helps

A vault can keep your own copies of photos and files out of sight of anyone who borrows or browses your phone. Silo encrypts what you import on the phone, and opens only with its own PIN, passphrase or face or fingerprint unlock. If you import evidence, keep the originals where they are; don’t let Silo remove them, and don’t replace them. You can export copies out of the vault at any time, to hand to an advocate or a lawyer.

That’s the limit. Silo can’t tell whether your phone is being monitored. Someone with spyware, or with your Silo PIN, can see what you can see, and Silo is an ordinary app on the phone. If you think your phone is not private, use another device first. Our page on keeping your PIN private from a partner covers privacy in everyday relationships, which is different from what’s on this page.

When to get help

If you are in danger now, call your local emergency number. For support, a domestic violence or harassment helpline can listen and explain your options at any hour. A lawyer or a victim advocate can tell you what counts as evidence where you live, and how to keep it so it can be used.