Should spouses have access to each other’s phones and social media accounts?

In any relationship, be it between friends, family members or couples, trust is a vital ingredient that helps to sustain the bond and build new ones.

However because of the want of ‘privacy’, so many people especially couples feel the need to keep certain information to themselves, thereby resorting to the use of passwords such as numbers, patterns, finger prints etc.

What happens if one spouse needs to use the other’s phone but it is locked? Or even if it is accessible, what about his/her social media accounts? 

Shulaxy Excel, who resides in Abuja and is engaged, said, “I’ve always wondered why this topic is up for debate. I have access to his and he has access to mine. We go through each other’s phones and even laugh at some things we’ve posted or some comments or pictures.”

She added “Please, don’t make life too hard on yourself hiding your phones whenever he/she is around and pass wording everything.”

 Ismaeel Aliyu, a student, who said his phone has no password, added “I’ve got nothing to hide; it’s when you’re guilty that you’ll have password. My social media is there for her.”

Chidi C. Chilaka, who resides in Owerri, said, “I think there’s a reason why the police and other law enforcement agencies don’t have this right. Information pertaining to matters of national security or medical confidentiality depending on one’s job may be saved on my phone. My spouse has to sort for my permission, for any reason whatsoever.”

Adamu Usman Garko, a student, who answered with an emphatic YES, told LifeXtra “Your spouse should have access to anything yours, anything you have is not only for you but for both of you. When you agree to build up a family, there’s nothing you should do without consulting each other, even if you’ll text your friend – male or female, you should seek “truelove-proofreading” before replying to any message on any of your chats. She’s yours and your phone is hers, you should even be exchanging phones sometimes to boost honesty between each other.”

Dadson Ibrahim, a Jos resident, added “Mutual respect is the secret sauce of life. Life is finite and fragile. What if one of us gets injured or sick and is hospitalized, and the email has information the other one will need, including payment confirmations?”