Cheating in a relationship is something that many individuals may experience throughout their lives, and the situation is never a pleasant one to be in. If you suspect your partner of infidelity but don’t know how to prove it, you might be wondering how cheaters hide their tracks so you know what to look for.
Our guide gives you important insight into the methods a cheater might use to cover up suspicious activities so you know what to look out for in your relationship.
How Can I Tell My Partner Is Cheating On Me?
Sometimes, it’s easy to tell when a partner is cheating on you, as they may go through a major personality change, alter their behavior towards you, or shift their priorities to working out, purchasing new clothes, and disappearing at all hours of the day or night. However, these behaviors might also indicate other issues, such as changes in health or mental health problems, which is why it’s important to determine if your partner is cheating on you or not so you know which steps to take.
If you can’t sit down and have a conversation with your partner, keep an eye out for suspicious behaviors or signs, and review the methods cheaters use to hide their tracks so you can better identify when a new behavior is a result of cheating or something else.
Methods Cheaters Use to Hide Their Tracks
The following methods are very common ways to hide suspicious activities, and noticing your partner using one or more of these methods may indicate that they aren’t being honest with you or their activities.
Incognito Browers
Using an incognito browser while web searching is often done by cheaters as they visit websites their partners wouldn’t approve of, log into fake accounts, or create false email addresses and temporary phone numbers. An incognito browser is easily closed and doesn’t save search history, so it’s easy to leave no trace of their actions online.
If you notice your partner uses incognito browsers often or regularly and doesn’t have a computer browsing history from the time you know they are online, they might be hiding something.
Fake Online Accounts
The use of fake online accounts is a common way cheaters hide their real identity and meet people to interact with outside of their relationships. You might notice that your partner suddenly spends more time on social media and seems to have separate social media accounts, or you may notice additional email addresses and phone numbers that are used to create these fake accounts.
Guarding Their Phone
Phones can carry a lot of personal information these days, so some caution may be warranted, but if your partner is guarding their phone and refuses to leave it alone with you for even a second, they might be up to something or trying to hide certain messages. You may also notice apps on your partner’s phone that are used to lock other apps or hide certain messages, a strong sign that something is going on.
Deleting Financial Information
Gaps in financial information, money that disappears from joint accounts, and gifts that appear from nowhere are all signs that your partner might be spending their money on someone else or receiving gifts from another individual. It’s important that if you share a financial account with your partner, you are both informed of the money coming and going from it, so sudden changes in your finances without discussion are a major issue to be concerned about.
Lying About Their Location
Disappearing at all hours of the day or night, turning off location services, or lying about their location may all be signs that your partner is cheating and trying to hide their tracks. Instead of telling you where they really are, your partner might make up lies about spending time with friends or working late when they are somewhere else with people you don’t know.
Can I Catch a Cheating Partner?
It might be possible to catch a cheating partner, but it’s important that you keep your safety in mind when confronting the person. If you think that your partner might become aggressive or violent, always have a backup plan and notify someone of your concerns before engaging in a conversation or presenting evidence.
You can utilize tools like this background check and online social media searches to gain evidence of your partner cheating, or you may need to invest in a private investigator if the situation is more serious.
Figuring Out the Truth
Dealing with a situation where infidelity is present isn’t enjoyable, though figuring out the truth is often necessary if you want to know which next steps to take and why your partner might be behaving so strangely. We recommend looking out for the methods on our list that your partner might be using to hide their activities and having an earnest conversation with them about their behavior as long as it is safe to do so.