How a Flaw in Apple’s Family Sharing Can Be Weaponized in Custody Disputes

The Hidden Risk Behind a Convenient Feature

Apple’s Family Sharing system promises simplicity: one organizer manages purchases, subscriptions, and parental controls for the whole family. But that simplicity hides a troubling flaw — one that can be exploited when relationships turn toxic.

Under the current design, only the designated organizer has full administrative control. The other parent — even if marked as a “guardian” — cannot remove children, delete the family group, or transfer them to a new one. That means when a marriage or partnership ends, the organizer keeps the power, even if they no longer have legal custody.

💔 When Technology Enables Control

Wired recently profiled Kate (a pseudonym), a mother who experienced this firsthand. When her marriage ended, her ex-husband, still listed as the organizer, refused to disband their family group. From there, he:

Monitored the children’s locations Set strict screen time limits during Kate’s custody days Lifted those limits during his own

Despite having a court order naming her the custodial parent, Apple told Kate it could not intervene. Only the organizer could release the accounts. The alternative — abandoning existing Apple IDs and starting over — would mean losing years of data, photos, and app purchases.

⚠️ A Design Flaw with Real-World Consequences

What seems like a small technical limitation has major implications for survivors of domestic abuse and coercive control. Experts argue Apple must introduce:

Dual-organizer roles, allowing both parents equal authority A verified custody transfer process, especially in family court cases Safety-mode protocols for survivors exiting shared digital systems

Without such changes, Apple’s convenience feature risks becoming a digital weapon in abusive dynamics.

💬 The Broader Lesson

Technology isn’t neutral when power is uneven. Tools like Family Sharing, built for harmony, can unintentionally entrench control in the wrong hands. Until companies design for these realities, victims will continue to pay the price — not just emotionally, but digitally.

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Here is a link to the Source Article on 9To5Mac

#Apple #CustodyRights #DigitalSafety #FamilySharing #News #Privacy #TechAbuse #Technology

🚨 Our Tech Abuse Conference is coming up! 🚨

📢 Call for Papers/Contributions and registration are now open.

Join researchers, advocates, and technologists tackling tech-facilitated abuse and online safety.

🔗 https://www.genderandtech.net/conference

#TechAbuse #DigitalSafety #CFP #Conference

ICE to Buy Tool that Tracks Locations of Hundreds of Millions of Phones Every Day

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (#ICE) has bought access to a surveillance tool that is updated every day with billions of pieces of location data from hundreds of millions of mobile #phones, according to ICE documents reviewed by 404 Media.

#Surveillance contractors around the world create massive datasets of phones’, and by extension people’s movements, and then sell access to the data to government agencies. In turn, U.S. agencies have used these tools without a warrant or court order.

In October 2023, the Department of Homeland Security (#DHS) Inspector General published a report that found ICE, #CBP, and the Secret Service all broke the law when using location data harvested from phones. The oversight body found that those DHS components did not have sufficient policies and procedures in place to ensure that the location data was used appropriately.

In one case, a #CBP official used the #technology to track the location of #coworkers, the report said.

🌐 https://archive.ph/WFsNN

🌐https://www.404media.co/ice-to-buy-tool-that-tracks-locations-of-hundreds-of-millions-of-phones-every-day/

#stalking #techabuse #4a #technology #digitalabuse

🚨 @Reddit suspended my account without reason. No rules broken. No support response. Even @RedditHelp account is suspended!

This is how you treat your users?

I demand a clear explanation.

#Reddit #RedditBan #Shadowban #RedditSupport #RedditHelp #TechAbuse

I just signed the petition “Revise Legal Frameworks to Address Tech-Abuse and Stalking in Domestic Violence Cases” and wanted to see if you could help by adding your name.

Our goal is to reach 35,000 signatures and we need more support. You can read more and sign the petition here:

https://chng.it/5PPCmkdYtJ

Thanks!
Jules
#petition #uk #stalking #techabuse #domesticviolence

Revise Legal Frameworks to Address Tech-Abuse and Stalking in Domestic Violence Cases
"As victim of tech-abuse and post-separation stalking, I have lived the reality of our legislatively flawed legal system firsthand. Despite thorough reporting to the police, my perpetrator remains at large due to current legislation: a three-month repetition clause within reporting limitations."

https://chng.it/HrPQGJGYTF

#WomensRights #DomesticAbuse #StalkingAwareness #TechAbuse