Change the Passwords on Everything After a Breakup

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. In the Lucinda Williams song "Changed the Locks"--first released in 1988, then again in 1996 by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as "Change the Locks"--the singer describes a number of things you have to change to insulate yourself from an ex: There's nary a mention of one of the most obvious things you have to change after a messy breakup today: a password. Malicious exes now have access to a world of tech-facilitated stalking methods, and it's important to lock them out of your accounts. Your Netflix, alas, is the least of the worries here. While "passwords" may have once meant simply banking PINs and social media passwords--which can do an awful lot of danger on their own--we now also have to remember to update access information for all sorts of apps and devices.