Internet Privacy 101 - Your Safety Guide to Social Networking

Posted 09/30/2010 at 12:51pm | by Adam Berenstain

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Get Off the Net

Manage what comes up in Google searches for your name

Scenario:

A quick search for your name on Google turns up way more personal data than you want any stranger to see. Maybe you had no idea that your Facebook profile, tweets, email addresses, and even pictures were available online. Even worse, what if it’s not you, but somebody with a similar name? How can you keep this information off the web and prevent similar exposure later?

Solution:

Googling yourself to see how you appear to the internet is a smart step in managing online privacy. What you’re likely to find is that most of the information you’ve made public on sites like Facebook, Flickr, or Twitter can make its way into search engines. That leads to a smarter step, limiting the amount of personal data you share with the world on those sites. We can’t stress it enough: sharing information with everyone means anyone--friends, family, corporations, or frenemies--can access it one way or another. But if you must share, rein in your online presence with tips like these.

Privatize

Check this box to tweet to approved contacts only.

First, the low-hanging fruit: make your social media profiles private. In Facebook’s Privacy Settings page, edit your Applications and Websites settings. Next, edit the Public Search setting and uncheck “Enable public search.” In the Global Settings of Flickr’s Privacy & Permissions page, hide both your “stuff” and your profile from public searches to make your pictures and yourself extra private. In the Account section of Twitter’s Settings page, click “Protect my tweets” to keep your tweets out of the public eye. To protect accounts on similar sites, search their help pages or contact customer support.

Request Removals

Google is here for you.

If fiddling with account settings doesn’t get everything you want removed from the Internet, or a site doesn’t give you the option of removing the offending info yourself, it can’t hurt to contact its webmasters and politely ask them to remove your content. Afterward, don’t forget to request that Google remove the page from its cache by logging in here and making a Removal Request with Google’s webmaster tools.

Go Incognito

Now who would possibly know who "seniorita tahoedeo" is?

Think deviously when posting and signing up for websites and services. Use an anonymous alias and a “casual” email account for everyday or nonprofessional activities. Only use your real name and “official” email address--the one you’d include on a résumé--for professional purposes. If you must use your real name online, consider including your middle name or initial to differentiate your blog and messageboard posts from those by anyone with bad habits and a similar name you wouldn’t want friends or coworkers to confuse yours with.

Aggregators Mount Up

Scrubbing yourself from Spokeo doesn't remove your info from wherever Spokeo found it, though.

You may be surprised to find information about yourself on sites like Spokeo, ZoomInfo, and ZabaSearch. These sites get information directly from users or indirectly from public information available online--yellow pages, real estate listings, social networks, and more--which may not present you accurately. Your address may be out of date, or it may be mixed up with that of someone else with a similar name. Contact each site to request removal. Spokeo’s is at spokeo.com/privacy; in general the privacy pages are the best place to start looking.

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