Securing your broadband after domestic abuse

GOV.UK lists a partner, ex-partner or someone you live with monitoring or limiting your use of technology among the signs of domestic abuse, and says domestic abuse includes coercive control, economic abuse and online abuse. Women's Aid says online abuse can include monitoring emails or social media and using GPS locators or spyware.

Three parts of a home connection matter:

• The router. The router (many providers call it a hub) has two passwords: the Wi-Fi password that lets a device join, and an admin password that opens its settings page. Refuge's wireless guide shows that this page lists the devices connected to your network, and BT, for example, says its Wi-Fi name and password can be changed there, in what it calls Hub Manager. Whoever controls it controls the network.
• The account. Ofcom notes that most telephone contracts are between the provider and one named individual, and that person gives the instructions. It also warns that if your mobile number is on an account in the abuser's name, they can see information such as itemised bills showing the numbers you've called. If a landline comes with your broadband, it's worth knowing whose account its bills go to.
• The accounts around it. The account's email address, shared app logins and location apps can give someone a view of your life without touching the router.

When you share a home, obvious changes are the riskiest. Virgin Media, EE and TalkTalk all say that after the Wi-Fi name or password changes, every device has to reconnect with the new details, including theirs. Plan changes like this with an adviser.

Less visible things to know:

• Look for help on a device they can't see. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline's website has a quick exit button. Women's Aid's guide to covering your tracks online warns that private browsing doesn't stop online services seeing what you do and that a search engine may keep its own record of your searches; it says a library, a friend's house or work is the safest place to look for information. GOV.UK says to download the Bright Sky support app only if it's safe and you're sure your phone isn't being monitored.
• What a bill can and can't show. Ofcom's rules for phone providers (General Condition C3.10) require phone providers to make sure that calls to numbers designated as free to the caller, including helplines on those numbers, aren't identified in itemised bills or any other call records they make available to the account holder. GOV.UK lists both 0800 and 0808 numbers as freephone, so every helpline in the table at the end of this guide is covered. Ofcom's guidance for customers makes the same point: a call to a helpline on an 0800 number won't appear on your bill.
• The gaps. Ofcom notes that some landline handsets keep their own list of recent calls, and the user manual may explain how to delete it. The freephone rule also doesn't cover ordinary numbers, such as a provider's 03 customer line, so a call like that could appear on a bill the other person sees.

Locking the router doesn't change who owns the account; that depends on whose name is on the contract.

Broadband is only one route in. Ofcom suggests logging out of messaging and social media accounts on all devices, and logging out of or turning off devices and apps that use your location: Bluetooth trackers, smart watches, fitness trackers, and location-sharing or "find my" apps. It notes apps such as Snapchat and Strava can share location.

Refuge's location guide adds:

• Anyone with access to your Apple or Google account can see where your phone is through its lost-phone features, and family sharing is another route.
• Emergency services and mobile providers can still access a phone's location whenever it's switched on, even if you turn off some sharing.
• Small trackers can be hidden in bags or in gifts given to children, and someone with access to your phone could install spyware.
• Removing tracking can cause escalation and remove evidence; Refuge suggests reporting it to the police and asking them to check the device.

If you've moved, Refuge warns that an ex-partner who can log in to your mobile account may see your new address there, and that shared delivery and shopping accounts keep a history of addresses, so remove addresses or secure or delete the account rather than just uninstalling the app. It also suggests redirecting your post with Royal Mail and asking your phone provider to make your number ex-directory; our guide to keeping your landline number private explains how directory listings work.

General Condition C5 of Ofcom's rules requires phone and broadband providers to publish and follow clear policies for treating customers whose circumstances may make them vulnerable, including how their needs are recorded and the different ways they can get in touch. Ofcom's guide for providers says you shouldn't have to repeat yourself, and that providers should offer to record your preferred way of being contacted and refer you to specialist trained staff.

Ofcom says it expects providers to treat victims of harassment or abuse fairly and sympathetically, and its guidance for customers (published in May 2025) lists things you can ask for:

• A different correspondence address or a new number, to help keep you safe.
• Closing the account or cancelling the contract if you were forced to take out an unsuitable contract or run up debt. Providers aren't obliged to agree, but you can ask.
• Closing an account without a penalty if the broadband or landline is in your name but you've left because of violence. Ofcom says the provider might be willing to do this.

Pick a safe way to get in touch. A provider's customer line isn't necessarily freephone: BT's extra-help line below, for example, starts 0330, and GOV.UK lists 03 numbers as charged UK-wide numbers, so the bill rule for helplines doesn't protect a call like that. If the phone you'd use is on an account the other person can see, call from a trusted person's phone, or use the provider's webchat on a safer device.

Decide what you want first. Work out which number, email or address the provider should use and which it must not, and whether you want your circumstances noted. Ask to be put through to specialist staff, which Ofcom's guide says providers should do as soon as possible.

What providers offer varies, so ask for your provider's policy. Two examples (checked October 2026):

• BT's vulnerability policy lists relationship breakdown among the life events that can make someone vulnerable. Its extra-help line is 0330 123 4150 (Monday to Friday 8am to 9pm, weekends 8am to 8pm), an 03 number, and with your consent an adviser notes your circumstances on the account.
• Vodafone's vulnerable customer policy has a domestic and economic abuse section: it says it can remove a named contact, change your contact details, change passwords and logins, or arrange a number change. You can add an optional flag so you don't have to repeat yourself, in your online account settings or by calling 191, and it lists webchat as a written option.

Our guide on telling your provider you're vulnerable covers what to say and what records providers keep. Policies change, so confirm anything important with your provider when you get in touch.

If you're in a refuge or temporary accommodation and don't want a one- or two-year broadband contract, Ofcom suggests a mobile contract, including SIM-only, with a large or unlimited data allowance. Many allow tethering (sharing your phone's data with a laptop or tablet), but check your provider's policy. Ofcom adds that 4G and 5G routers can be rented or bought without a fixed broadband contract, and can give a better signal than tethering. Our guide to using a SIM-only data plan in a home router explains how that works.

When you're settled, a broadband contract in your own name means you decide who has the passwords:

• If you aren't sure how long you'll stay, rolling monthly broadband contracts avoid a long minimum term; check the notice period before you sign.
• On a low income or certain benefits, a broadband social tariff may be cheaper, and our cheap broadband deals page shows lower-cost packages.
• Compare broadband deals at your postcode. The deals come from our comparison partner; we don't switch you or set up the account, so you order directly with the provider and set your own contact details from the start.
• Browse all UK broadband providers, or a provider such as BT broadband deals or Vodafone broadband deals, and read its vulnerability policy before you order.

On the new router, change the admin and Wi-Fi passwords from the defaults on its label straight away.

These helplines are listed on GOV.UK, which says free, confidential support is available for victims and for worried family and friends. Not every line is open around the clock: the hours below come from GOV.UK or each service's own website (checked October 2026).

All five are 0800 or 0808 freephone numbers, covered by the bill rule explained earlier. The National Domestic Abuse Helpline's website also offers live chat (Monday to Friday 10am to 10pm, weekends 10am to 6pm, according to the helpline's website) and British Sign Language support (10am to 6pm, Monday to Friday).

For technology in particular, Refuge Tech Safety has step-by-step guides for phones, accounts, location, email, smart devices and wireless routers. Women's Aid has a guide to covering your tracks online.

We're a broadband comparison site, not a support service: specialist advisers can help you decide which steps are safe for you.