Sharing personal info online is like leaving your front door wide open with a neon sign that says, "Come on in, free Wi-Fi and snacks!" Hackers, scammers, and nosy strangers might take a little more than just your Netflix password. From identity theft to cyberstalking, things can go downhill fast. I’ve always been told that “Less is More,” when it comes to my digital legacy. I’ve tried hard to delete my profiles and remove my name, however after taking a deep dive into searching for myself, I realized a lot of info about me is public knowledge.
Most people talk about their “Digital Footprint,” and how it’s hard to erase, but footprints are easily washed away. A slight drizzle of rain or a gust of wind and a footprint is gone. One thing that is not so easily removed is a tattoo. Now think about your Digital Tattoo and what information will be there forever. I recently did a deep Internet dig of myself. More than just a Google Search to see what the Web knows about me. I searched 7 sites with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
Most people talk about their “Digital Footprint,” and how it’s hard to erase, but footprints are easily washed away. A slight drizzle of rain or a gust of wind and a footprint is gone. One thing that is not so easily removed is a tattoo. Now think about your Digital Tattoo and what information will be there forever. I recently did a deep Internet dig of myself. More than just a Google Search to see what the Web knows about me. I searched 7 sites with Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.
Here is what I found …
I first used Intelius, a public records business that provides information, services, including background checks, people and property searches, and reverse phone lookups. After just typing my first and last name I found my full name, age, all of the cities and states I’ve lived in plus my immediate and extended family
members. I did try to get the “Full Report.” After waiting several minutes a warning came up saying, “I WILL NOT STALK THIS PERSON, I WILL NOT USE THIS INFORMATION FOR BLACKMAIL, I WILL NOT HARASS THIS PERSON, I WILL NOT CONFRONT ANYONE DANGEROUS,” (Intelius | People Search, Background Checks & Phone Number Lookup). I had to acknowledge “Yes” before proceeding. However, I had to pay for the Full Report so I went to the next site.
The next site was USA Public Data Search, “One of the largest and most reputable public data search sites on the Internet,” (USA Public Data Search). After putting in my first and last name I didn’t find me! I was very shocked and kinda happy.
The 3rd site was Truthfinder, a people search website that gathers and shares information about individuals in the United States. This was the same information I found from Intelius. I saw my full name,
age, all of the cities and states I’ve lived in plus my immediate and extended family members. This site however said, “Possible Criminal or Traffic Records associated with the name Emily Wolken found!” I have been in a car accident and had had a few traffic tickets (speeding, red light, parking, …oops), but no criminal record. It’s crazy the Click Bait used to get people to pay for records.
Then I went to PeekYou, a free people search engine that indexes people and their online links. Here I found something interesting. The second Emily under “Public Records & Background Search looks like
me but has incorrect information. I clicked on that Emily and it has a mix of correct and incorrect info. It stated I lived in Illinois, which I do, and Nebraska, which I have never lived in. It had my parents listed but also several people I don’t know.
Then I did a good ol’ fashion Google search. On the first search, I started with my full name with quotations. I found my profile at my work. This is me and the link I use in my “About Me” post. The second post is my Instagram. I use Instagram often, however I forgot I used “Emily_Double_You” as my user name. I usually use “Mrs_Wolken.” See below. When I clicked on the Instagram link the profile was private, as it should be, so I can only see my name. However, when I click
on my school profile, I tell a lot about myself. Here, I saw several other Emily Wolkens, however only two were me. The one picture on the bottom right is me however, it links to a page called IDCrawl. It is similar to all the other public searches offering free people searches, however when I clicked on it, it link back to Truthfinder.com.
When I searched for my most common username “MrsWolken,” no links about me came up. However, when I went to the images, I found multiple images of TikTok videos that I have commented on, which is weird. If you look closely, almost all of them are about syllable work.
The next site I went to was MyLife, a data broker and people search website. Here I found my name, age and location. There was also a Reputation Score that is based on a variety of factors that MyLife compiles about a person. A score between 3 and 5 is considered good, and a score of 5 is considered excellent. So
… I’m good? There was also an “ALERT: Court Records Found.” I think this is Clickbait again.
The last site I went to was Nuwber, a service that lets you search for publicly-available information on people including yourself. Here I used my maiden name. I found myself, however, I was the 85% match, not the 100%. Here I can see my name, including my maiden and married name, age, places I’ve lived and
relatives. Zach is my husband, Cody is my dad and Kari is my sister. I used my dad’s middle name sometimes for security questions, so I won’t be doing that again. When I clicked on me, I found the most in depth profile of me. It posts my current phone number, my birthday, my email address, even though it is a former email address, I’ve had all its mail forwarded to my newer one. I can also see relatives.
I’m not sure why seeing my phone number and email address were more revealing than just home locations and relatives. I also searched “EmilyWolkenfiletype:doc” and found nothing. I have Googled myself before but never used these websites. I’m not sure if this exact skill should be taught to students. If so at a much higher grade like highschool. Any younger and I think parental permission should be asked.
I first used Intelius, a public records business that provides information, services, including background checks, people and property searches, and reverse phone lookups. After just typing my first and last name I found my full name, age, all of the cities and states I’ve lived in plus my immediate and extended family
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| Image source: Intelius.com |
members. I did try to get the “Full Report.” After waiting several minutes a warning came up saying, “I WILL NOT STALK THIS PERSON, I WILL NOT USE THIS INFORMATION FOR BLACKMAIL, I WILL NOT HARASS THIS PERSON, I WILL NOT CONFRONT ANYONE DANGEROUS,” (Intelius | People Search, Background Checks & Phone Number Lookup). I had to acknowledge “Yes” before proceeding. However, I had to pay for the Full Report so I went to the next site.
The next site was USA Public Data Search, “One of the largest and most reputable public data search sites on the Internet,” (USA Public Data Search). After putting in my first and last name I didn’t find me! I was very shocked and kinda happy.
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| Image source: USA-official.com |
The 3rd site was Truthfinder, a people search website that gathers and shares information about individuals in the United States. This was the same information I found from Intelius. I saw my full name,
 |
| Image source: Truthfinder.com |
age, all of the cities and states I’ve lived in plus my immediate and extended family members. This site however said, “Possible Criminal or Traffic Records associated with the name Emily Wolken found!” I have been in a car accident and had had a few traffic tickets (speeding, red light, parking, …oops), but no criminal record. It’s crazy the Click Bait used to get people to pay for records.
Then I went to PeekYou, a free people search engine that indexes people and their online links. Here I found something interesting. The second Emily under “Public Records & Background Search looks like
 |
| Image source: PeekYou.com |
me but has incorrect information. I clicked on that Emily and it has a mix of correct and incorrect info. It stated I lived in Illinois, which I do, and Nebraska, which I have never lived in. It had my parents listed but also several people I don’t know.
Then I did a good ol’ fashion Google search. On the first search, I started with my full name with quotations. I found my profile at my work. This is me and the link I use in my “About Me” post. The second post is my Instagram. I use Instagram often, however I forgot I used “Emily_Double_You” as my user name. I usually use “Mrs_Wolken.” See below. When I clicked on the Instagram link the profile was private, as it should be, so I can only see my name. However, when I click
 |
| Image source: Google.com |
on my school profile, I tell a lot about myself. Here, I saw several other Emily Wolkens, however only two were me. The one picture on the bottom right is me however, it links to a page called IDCrawl. It is similar to all the other public searches offering free people searches, however when I clicked on it, it link back to Truthfinder.com.
When I searched for my most common username “MrsWolken,” no links about me came up. However, when I went to the images, I found multiple images of TikTok videos that I have commented on, which is weird. If you look closely, almost all of them are about syllable work.
 |
| Image source: Google.com |
The next site I went to was MyLife, a data broker and people search website. Here I found my name, age and location. There was also a Reputation Score that is based on a variety of factors that MyLife compiles about a person. A score between 3 and 5 is considered good, and a score of 5 is considered excellent. So
 |
| Image source: MyLife.com |
… I’m good? There was also an “ALERT: Court Records Found.” I think this is Clickbait again.
The last site I went to was Nuwber, a service that lets you search for publicly-available information on people including yourself. Here I used my maiden name. I found myself, however, I was the 85% match, not the 100%. Here I can see my name, including my maiden and married name, age, places I’ve lived and
 |
| Image source: Newber.com |
relatives. Zach is my husband, Cody is my dad and Kari is my sister. I used my dad’s middle name sometimes for security questions, so I won’t be doing that again. When I clicked on me, I found the most in depth profile of me. It posts my current phone number, my birthday, my email address, even though it is a former email address, I’ve had all its mail forwarded to my newer one. I can also see relatives.
 |
| Image source: Newber.com |
I’m not sure why seeing my phone number and email address were more revealing than just home locations and relatives. I also searched “EmilyWolkenfiletype:doc” and found nothing. I have Googled myself before but never used these websites. I’m not sure if this exact skill should be taught to students. If so at a much higher grade like highschool. Any younger and I think parental permission should be asked.
Thanks for the organized chart and the in-depth explanation of what you found. I like the idea of asking parental permission if discussing these skills with students in K-8 classrooms. I can't imagine any would say no!
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