Someone you know is looking you up
Four short lessons on what a person can piece together about you from what is already public, and what to change first.
- Who this is for
- You have a specific person in mind — an ex, a colleague, someone from a dating app, a stranger who got your name — and you want to know what they can already find, and what to do about it.
- What it protects against
- Somebody with no special access searching for you the way anyone can: your name, your photos, your old accounts, the things you have posted without thinking about them together.
- What it does not protect against
- This will not help you against someone who already has your passwords, has had physical access to your phone or laptop, or is on your accounts now — that is a different and more urgent problem, and this material is not it. It also does nothing about a government, a police request, or anyone who can compel a company to hand over records.
- Threat ModellingStart here even though you already know who you are worried about — naming them precisely changes which of the rest matters.3 min
- What They Can Already FindWhat the search actually turns up, and in what order.4 min
- What You Leak Without Saying AnythingThe part people miss: what your photos and files say about where you were and when.4 min
- Keeping the Walls Between Your LivesWhy the same name in two places is what joins the two together.3 min
Do this first
Search for your own name in a browser you are not signed in to, and write down the three results that surprised you. Deal with those three before anything else on this list.
Not yet reviewed