Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

“We do want to address directly the issues you raised and encourage you to raise awareness of these risks via your well-established advocacy avenues.”

Prepare for a long blog post.

I’m concerned that a resource used in Family Court does not provide effective privacy for litigants, especially around HIPPA, gender identity, and immigration.

For the part four months, I have raised my concerns with various officials. Almost no one responded, much less took action. I reached out to the Court of Common Pleas, Family Division, Allegheny County Council, Allegheny County Controller, many media outlets, several advocacy groups, and family lawyers. I received a bit of advice, but mostly a lot of hemming and hawing. People seemed to understand the context of my concerns, but unwilling to advocate for a resolution.

Finally, I sought help from the Women’s Law Project who gave me advice and encouraged me to raise awareness about privacy and other concerns.

This is the best I can do to raise awareness. No one will advocate for us so we have to make sure our neighbors are safe.

History

I have two active cases in Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, Family Division. One began in September 2023 and the other in August 2024. I am a defendant and a plaintiff. None of this is new information.

When I went to court with my family law attorney for a hearing in September 2023, we worked out an agreement to postpone a decision while things were worked out. Court is not like you see on tv. We were in a crowded waiting room, then crammed into separate little nooks while the attornies haggled. They went back and forth, finally handing me a scribbled up ‘edited’ version of the original court order to appear. We never saw a judge, but the judge signed off on the agreement.

I was literally handed a piece of paper filled with scribbles and notations in multiple handwritings and told this was my official outcome from the chaos. It took days to get a printed version. This is probably a higher end outcome. Sad, right?

One of those agreements was to use a communication app called “AppClose.“

My impression was that the judge had ordered me to use this app. I was crammed into a cramped room, feeling immense pressure from all directions to make snap decisions. I assumed that because the App was court ordered, it carried a degree of privilege and accountability. I made a ton of assumptions, asked no questions, and those were both poor decisions on my part.

Family Court works with multiple communication apps. According to my sources, these apps entered Family Court about a decade ago with vendors literally distributing brochures to lawyers. The idea is to streamline all communication between the parties on an app. Nothing can be erased, a significant way to lessen the “she said/she said” vibe and get the facts.

Of course that sounds great. For the most part it seems like a useful and valuable tool. Until it isn’t.

More on that.

I was not told there were other apps to choose – that choice was made for me and I don’t know by whom. There was no option if I didn’t want to use an app, at least none presented to me. My impression – my assumption was that this was ‘the’ app and I was required to use is to satisfy the judge. I don’t think anyone told me that in specific terms. No one told me anything, just use the app.

So I did. I signed up and found it easy to use. We only used the texting feature. When a disagreement arose over any matter, it was easy to use the search feature to find the original messages. The entire archive could be downloaded at anytime in .pdf format.

The apps allow for texting, phone calls, sharing a schedule for visitation, financial options, and more. I do not use those options.

I felt comfortable texting, knowing there was a permanent record to reduce wasting anyone’s time. I felt confident that it was secure, private, and privileged. So I did not hesitate to share personal information such as health matters, financial issues, etc. We both already knew these things and I made no secret of them to the court so it seemed fine.

Specifically, I shared information related to my mental health diagnosis, the one that falls under a Presidential Executive Order “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets.” I mentioned medical appointments, tests, health insurance all in banal every day way “I’m feeling sick, Could you feed the cats tonight?” “I know you are working from home, I have teletherapy so please don’t turn on the streaming radio from 11-12” (because the wi-fi is weak here.) Run of the mill stuff.

The executive order creates a path to take unhoused/homeless people with mental illness diagnoses into forced institutionalization. I was a homeless person with mental illness for six months. I am likely to be in that situation again based on current rulings for the dissolution of same sex marriages. I’ll be homeless and mentally ill. Will my AppClose information be used against me? Read on …

Everything was fine. Until it wasn’t.

On December 17, 2025, I received an official notification from AppClose that there were implementing a fee structure effective January 1, 2026. They mentioned a waiver option. I later learned that AppClose had notified their investors of the fee structure in November. The last one to know …

I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge that my spidey senses were tingling. It was ten days before Christmas – court and the lawyers were shut down except for emergencies. I sent an email to my lawyer for the record, but I knew there would be no response before January 1, 2026.

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To ensure that all users have access to the Services, we grant fee waivers for financial hardship to families who receive certain means-tested government benefits, to survivors of domestic violence and their co-parent, as well as discounts to families with active military and disabled veterans, all as set forth in our Fee Waiver Application.

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I tried to apply for the waiver. My income is $1500/month through Social Security Disability (SSDI). Surely I’d be eligible. Shirley, apparently, did not agree. The online waiver application asked me to select my source of income from a list of ‘means tested form of public benefits.’

SSDI and Medicare were not listed, nor was straight Social Security. Just being poor wasn’t an option regardless of your employment. They misspelled TANF. No option for being unhoused. It was a series of options about the source of income or public supports rather than a number. There was no information on how poor was poor enough. Or what to do if your income wasn’t in those categories. Was it poverty level? 100% of poverty? Did family size matter? What about your housing situation? Age? Court agreed support decisions?

No information on how the decision was made. Was there an appeals process? Could our lawyers weigh in as officers of the court?

I was angry by this almost flippant attempt to accommodate poor folx. Not only were we put into little boxes without any consideration for the context of our lives, we were not given information. Why would I bother completing the form and uploading my personal documents if I knew I was above the income guidelines? Poor people’s time is valuable, too.

I didn’t want to commit fraud on what I thought was a court ordered resource, so I sent an email to the help address. No luck. When my lawyer’s office reopened, they reached out to AppClose and had no luck.

This seemed sketchy. So I went to the County Controller’s website to find the contract. I had no luck, so I contacted someone there and was told there was no contract. Not with AppClose or the other app companies. The contract is between the users and the company. We the user give our lawyers and the judge the right to access our information, but that’s it. No one is monitoring, no one is determining compliance issues, discrimination issues, nothing.

There are no protections for users.

Meanwhile, I’m also reaching out to the Court of Common Pleas answers. I’m assuming there’s a contact person, an administrative person, who monitored or supervised or simply collated information on these apps.

There is not. At least not one I can find. I sent a lot of email to a lot of tipstaffers. I called and left messages. I got nowhere fast.

That’s when I decided to read the Terms of Service. And that’s when it got scary.

The information I share on AppClose belongs to AppClose much like Facebook or TikTok. And they can use that information. They keep that information, there’s no scrubbing. Okay, so I already knew that. But my assumptions about privacy were ill-founded. I expect nothing from Facebook. I expected a helluva lot from a court ordered app.

Here are the Terms of Services (TOS).

There’s no protections from the Courts, no protections from Allegheny County Government. And by signing up for what I thought was a court ordered app, I signed away my Personal Health Information (PHI) and my Personal Financial Information (PFI.) HIPPA would not protect anything I disclosed in the app texts.

Allegheny County, including the courts, have contracts to rent photocopiers, order bottled water, buy bathroom disinfectant, and manage their vehicle fleets among many other tasks. But no contract for communication apps. So the photocopier person has to follow local nondiscrimination law, but the presumably mandated co-parenting app does not.

Wow.

No one is looking out for people in one of the most vulnerable divisions of the court. No one can compel the company to clarify the waiver information because there’s no contract. No one can tell me how many apps the court uses, how many litigants use it, if there have been concerns raised, or if any family lawyer had actually read the terms of service before agreeing to their client using the app.

Now my mind went immediately to worst case scenarios – the company could be compelled by a subpoena to turn over information. Right now, our governments are harassing trans folx, kids and adults, as well as immigrants or anyone perceived to be an immigrant.

It would be so easy to share that information in a casual way under the assumption that there is privacy or security. One parent might tell the other “Jenny has her appointment on Thursday. Please make sure they use the right pronouns.” Or “I’ll be late picking up the kids because Abuela has a doctor’s appointment.”

There are countless scenarios where someone could disclose the perceived gender identity and/or perceived immigration status of anyone in their family in the most innocuous conversation. And they wouldn’t know they had just compromised the safety of those family members.

You can’t erase it. Your lawyer can’t erase it. Probably a judge cannot erase it. The information belongs to AppClose or whatever company owns other other apps. Your family lawyer probably isn’t an expert in immigration or SOGI law.

Federal subpoenas? In many cases of criminal investigation, a provider may not tell the customer, meaning personal data may be released without the user’s immediate knowledge.

What prevents the federal government from requesting this information? If local officials aren’t going to address an unfair fee structure, can we rely on them to push back against the federal government?

What to do?

it is important for people to inform themselves about the risks, as with any use of technology, especially those fueled by profit-motivation.

Recommendations for Anyone Using the App (or other co-parenting apps):

• Protect login information and log out after every use (helps to prevent unauthorized access by bad actors in one’s proximity)
• Be extremely careful and selective about what health, mental health, or other sensitive information you upload to the app or share with other users. While information is encrypted, and while privacy breaches have not been reported, it is always better to err on the side of sharing only what is strictly necessary, especially for one’s children.
• Understand that there are inherent risks with exposure/unauthorized access of personal information while using any technology. It is important to understand how your information is stored and protected (encryption, firewalls, etc.)
• Understand that any and all communications and information shared/uploaded to the app (“user content”) can be exported by anyone in your circle and can be submitted to the court or attorneys for review.
• Understand that all user content can be stored on the app’s servers in perpetuity.
• Consider turning off location services if using the mobile app. AppClose has a feature to log GPS coordinates. They state location is never shared with anyone, but location tracking is a general privacy concern for any app.

That’s good advice. I wish someone had told me this while I was crammed into a corner of the Family Court waiting room trying to make decisions about my entire life without information. And I would say I’m above average when it comes to understanding apps, privacy, the value of reading a TOS, etc. But I still walked away with the wrong impression, one that lasted over two years.

Personally, I think it should be on the Court and the lawyers to do all that notifying. They have time and resources to learn, to consolidate, and to be sure their clients understand. And they have the influence to address the problems, including the perception that the judge said you have to use this.

Family lawyers and others who rely on this app to make their work and their client’s lives easier are the ones most culpable for ensuring it is used fairly.

A decade ago some marketing person walked into a courtroom with a brochure to make life easier for lawyers and judges with almost no risk to them. Easier for families, but with a lot more risk than anyone knew.

If you say, “oh we can definitely trust a tech company to do right by average people” … well, just don’t.

What about the waiver?

It is late March. I have had zero luck getting information on the waiver so I keep paying a monthly fee to share my personal life with some faceless company, a texting void where all of my rights and privileges are forsaken. I can’t ask the court to release me from that requirement without potentially compromising my cases.

It is important to note that saying “it is just $9/month” is insensitive. We are paying for lawyers, taking time from work to go to court, paying parking, plus all of the financial stress of creating new family structures. For a lot of people, $9/month is a strain.

Plus, the app requires both parents and all third parties to have paid subscriptions. So if Nana is in there as a caretaker, Aunt Renda is in their, and a lawyer – you have to pay for your lawyer’s account – it can easily be $50/month. The goal of the app is to facilitate communication and strengthen support systems, not price them out.

No one can help me with the waiver. Not my lawyer, not advocacy groups, not the Court. This app implemented a slimy process to a group of vulnerable people and no one seems to care enough to take action.

Note – ‘take action’ doesn’t mean make a call on my behalf. It means addressing the larger issues.

There’s a bit of sad irony that all these lawyers can’t find a way to sue the bastards to help their clients. To put a stop to this before it begins. Surely a contract lawyer could resolve this. I hope.

This is a horrible experience and I’m resentful that I’ve spent hundreds of hours investigating this while watching the rights and safety of my trans and immigrant neighbors dissolve. Frankly, I’m not even sure the extent of who is at risk here. If you apply for a waiver and disclose your unhoused status, does that compromise your safety? What about disability? Gig economy jobs? Do you have to be receiving Section 8 or just on the 19807 month waiting list? Have a last name that might sound Asian or Indigenous? Transracialtransnational adoptees?

They have access to our financials. Could they plant or remove something?

Remember when I pointed out that I was/might be homeless with a mental illness and thus subject for an Executive Order? Should my use of the app for Family Court ‘offset’ the risk I’m taking with this personal information?

Two years ago, I would have even myself found myself ridiculous. As our democracy crumbles, unthinkable things happen to our neighbors, a war has started, and we use the word ‘Nazi’ on a daily basis, can we really say my fears are unwarranted?

I dearly wish that were the case.

What’s next?

What I’d like to see happen

• The court should assign someone from their administrative team to look into this. Review all of the Terms of Services to ensure they are compliant with applicable laws and specifically identify the sticking points. This would be a designated point person to help litigants and lawyers.
• As part of this review, the designated person should find out if anyone’s privacy has been violated – was a subpoena issues? Did the person get notification? What can be done about information already disclosed?
• The court should set guidelines about the use of apps and publish those that are recommended. Sort of like how the Bar Association recommends some judicial candidates and not others. If its good enough for judges, why not the judicial tools?
• Every litigant should be provided a clear explanation of the privacy issues so we can all make informed decisions about what we share.
• Every litigant should be given a list of all of the apps to consider.
• There must be an alternative for people who don’t want to sign over their PHI and PFI to make things easier in court for other people.
• Get the waiver process fixed.
• All family lawyers should be familiarized with all of this. A great big Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courtesy of maybe the ACLU or a fancy lawyer organization.
• Invite me and other users to talk with some Family Court judges and lawyers about our experiences. Invite us into the process.

I realize this will require time and money. Thinking back to the day in September 2023 when I had to make the decision, I’m unsure how it could have played out differently. I didn’t have enough time to read all the TOS or ask about alternatives. The key was my belief that the judge/court ordered me to do this and that refusing would hurt my case. I wanted to be compliant in a moment where I was terrified and traumatized and struggling to understand this imposing system that operated by rules that made no sense to me. I was intimidated.

The solution is two-fold. First, disabuse me of the fear that the court demands I do this. I should not be afraid to push back to get my family’s needs met. Second, give me all the information.

I realize every lawyer and social worker reading this is rolling their eyes because none of this will happen. Family Court is fast paced and ridiculously overwhelmed. And frankly, this problems exists in each county of Pennsylvania, so really the State should enact comprehensive looks at all of this. Imagine if the State created an app for each court to use. If the State paid for the server storage fees. If the State offered privacy and privilege. If the app complied with each County’s requirements. One app to rule them all.

Note – it is not clear to me if the new Allegheny County law prohibiting cooperation with ICE would impact this whole app situation. If the federal government subpoenas the information, is the County involved? I don’t know, but I sure wish there was someone I could ask.

Am I dissenting?

I was and continue to be afraid I’ll experience fallout for speaking out. I’m taking that risk because if it saves one trans kid or one immigrant neighbor from a fate we see play out every day on the news, I’ll be okay with the consequences I experience.

I’m not afraid of a particular person. But I’ve learned that everyone is always too busy to do anything. No one like to look bad, so either they will downplay my concerns because I’m an overwraught mentally ill woman OR they will simply say there is no evidence any of these fears have manifested so nothing to see here.

But you shouldn’t be okay with any of this.

If you’ve had negative experiences like these with any of these apps, please reach out to the ACLU of PA. They are aware and monitoring this situation. There is no evidence of any actionable realized harms, especially to vulnerable populations such as immigrants and trans youth, that have resulted from privacy breaches connected with the use of these apps. Yes, I did cut and paste that sentence from an email.

** I am pointing out a systemic issue, not the actions of any one specific person. The reference to the pamphlets being handed out in the Family Court waiting room is real, but I have no dates or names. No one judge decided to do this. I’m still unclear if the judge’s signature extending a PFA or on a co-habitation agreement is the same as a court order. I don’t think a certain judge created this mes.

I do think the current ones can fix it. I hope they will.