How to find out what the internet actually publishes about you

Most people have a vague sense that they are 'out there' without knowing specifically what is exposed. Forty-five minutes of systematic searching replaces that with a list, and a list is something you can act on.

Difficulty

✓Easy

Time

45 minutes

Cost

Free

Steps

7

1. 01Open a private window and stay logged outLogged in, Google personalises your results and you will not see what a stranger sees. Everything below should be done logged out.
2. 02Search your name in quotes, then with your city"Firstname Lastname", then "Firstname Lastname" plus your city, then plus your previous city. Note every people-search domain that appears.
3. 03Search every name variationMaiden name, married name, middle initial, nicknames, misspellings. Brokers keep separate records per variation and a removal for one does not touch another.
4. 04Search your phone number and email in quotesIn every format. Reverse-lookup listings are the most commonly missed exposure.
5. 05Search your street address in quotesAddress-indexed sites like ClustrMaps publish who lives at a property. Those pages survive a name-based removal entirely.
6. 06Check whether you are in a breachSearch your email address on Have I Been Pwned. Breach data is a separate problem from broker data, and it needs password changes rather than removal requests.
7. 07Write the list down and prioritise itFree unpaywalled sites first, then reverse-phone, then address-indexed, then paid-report sites. Not everything carries the same risk and treating it as one undifferentiated pile is how people give up.