You don't need to be a cybersecurity expert to check your digital footprint. A systematic search can help you discover information you may have forgotten about or may not realize is publicly available.
Search your full name, email addresses, usernames and phone number. Review social profiles, old accounts, people-search websites and data broker listings. Record what you find, check whether it can be removed, and periodically repeat the process because information can reappear or change over time.
What Is a Digital Footprint?
A digital footprint is the information and activity associated with you online. Some of it is created directly by you, such as social media profiles, comments and accounts. Other information may be published or collected by websites, directories, data brokers and other organizations.
Your digital footprint can therefore extend beyond the information you knowingly share. Searching for your own information is one practical way to understand what may be publicly visible.
What Can Be Part of Your Digital Footprint?
Your online footprint can contain many different types of information.
- Your full name and variations of your name
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Social media profiles
- Usernames and online accounts
- Photos and other publicly available content
- Old websites, forum posts and comments
- Public records and directory listings
- Information published by data brokers
How to Check Your Digital Footprint
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Search your name.
Search your full name in quotation marks and try variations such as your name with your city, employer or other non-sensitive identifying terms. Review several pages of results rather than stopping at the first page.
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Search your email addresses.
Search each email address you have used publicly. Look for old profiles, forum accounts, business listings and websites where the address appears.
You can also perform a dedicated email exposure check to investigate where your email address may appear online.
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Check your usernames.
If you regularly use the same username, search for it. Older accounts and profiles can remain visible long after you stop using them.
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Check your phone number.
Search for your phone number using different formats. Public directory and people-search websites may associate numbers with names or other information.
For a more focused investigation, see our phone number exposure check.
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Review social media visibility.
Check what an individual who is not connected to you can see on your profiles. Review old posts, profile information, photos and public contact details.
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Look for people-search and data broker listings.
Some websites collect information from public and commercial sources and make profiles searchable. These listings can sometimes contain names, approximate locations, relatives, phone numbers and other information.
Learn more about people-search sites and how data broker removal works.
Check for Personal Information Exposed Online
Your name, contact details and other identifying information can appear across many different websites. Search engines can reveal some of this information, while directories, people-search sites and data brokers may contain additional records.
Our guide to personal information exposure explains what types of information may be visible online and where to look for it.
Why Checking Manually Can Be Difficult
Searching Google and social networks is useful, but it does not provide a complete picture of your online exposure. Information can exist on websites that don't rank prominently in search engines, and data brokers may maintain profiles that are difficult to find manually.
This is one reason people sometimes use dedicated privacy services. These services can search multiple data sources and, depending on the provider, help submit removal requests on a user's behalf.
Scan My Shadow provides a basic digital exposure report and a customised removal kit for a one-time fee of $9.99. It can help you identify broader exposure before deciding what you want to remove or whether you need a more comprehensive removal service.
Get the $9.99 digital exposure scan →What to Do If You Find Your Information
Don't panic. First record where the information appears and determine whether the website provides a privacy, opt-out or removal process.
You can often request removal directly from individual websites. For people-search and data broker listings, however, there may be many different sites to check.
If you find information on data broker websites, learn more about data broker removal options and the different approaches available.
If you want a broader removal process, see our guide to removing personal information from the internet.
Can a Digital Footprint Be Completely Removed?
Not necessarily. Removing information from one website does not guarantee that the same information does not exist somewhere else. New information can also appear over time.
A more realistic goal is to reduce unnecessary public exposure, remove information where possible, secure old accounts and periodically review what is publicly available.
How Often Should You Check Your Digital Footprint?
There is no single schedule that works for everyone. A periodic review can help you notice new public information, old accounts or listings that have appeared since your previous check.
If you have a large online presence or frequently create new accounts, checking more regularly may make sense. The important point is to treat digital-footprint checking as an ongoing privacy habit rather than a one-time task.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the easiest way to check my digital footprint?
Start by searching your full name, email addresses, usernames and phone number. Then review social media profiles, old accounts, people-search sites and data broker listings for information connected to you.
Can I check my digital footprint for free?
Yes. You can perform many basic checks yourself using search engines, social networks and publicly available websites. More comprehensive monitoring or removal services may charge a fee.
What information should I search for?
Start with your name, email addresses, usernames and phone number. You can also look for old profiles, photos, forum posts, public directory listings, people-search profiles and data broker records.
Can someone else see my digital footprint?
Potentially. Some information may be publicly searchable, while other information is restricted by account privacy settings or website access controls. What another person can see depends on the information and the site's visibility settings.
Does checking my digital footprint remove information?
No. Checking helps you discover what may be publicly available. Removing information is a separate process that may require contacting individual websites or using privacy services.