Career Workbook InTech

Online Privacy Guide
Privacy Check-Up
The first step to taking control is a privacy check-up.
Follow these instructions now, and don’t panic if you
find something online you didn’t expect:
FF
Google your name using quotation marks,
like “Anna Jones” and be sure to check the
Images tab
FF
Google your phone number
FF
Do a Google reverse image search of your
most-recently shared photos
FF
Search your name on Spokeo, USSearch,
or Intelius
Don’t panic if you see something you didn’t realize was public: what’s online doesn’t have to stay visible
forever. Along with how to prevent a privacy disaster, this guide will show you how to fix some of the
worst things you’ll find about yourself online.
How to Keep Your Private Information Safe
Every six months, do a privacy check-up like the one above to ensure your employers or other agencies
aren’t seeing something you don’t want them too. In addition, check the privacy settings on your social
media accounts are set to “private” or “friends only” to maintain an incognito social life. Remember, not
everything you try to hide on social media stays hidden.
Some additional steps you can take are:
1. Use different email addresses for different online accounts. You can set them up to forward to your
main email account if you don’t want to monitor several accounts.
2. Use incognito mode on Google Chrome or InPrivate on Microsoft edge when logging onto a
computer that doesn’t belong to you.
3. View your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google+ profiles as someone else, and then adjust the privacy
settings for content.
4. Install two or three anti-tracking plug-ins and extensions in your browser, such as Disconnect,
AdBlock Plus, Abine’s Blur, or Ghostery.
5. If you want to be extra vigilant or have known enemies online, you can also set up a Google Custom
Alert at: http://www.google.com/alerts.
35