How to Check My Internet Profile
By Moira Sullivan
Parts of our lives are available on the Internet, primarily through our names, date of birth and place of residence. Our work is public if we are listed on the official sites for where we work. What we post on social media or blogs is traceable. The easiest way to check your Internet profile is to do a search for your first and last name. Search engines can be used to bring up information about yourself.
Step 1
Select an Internet search engine such as Google or Yahoo. There may be several people with your name. Type your name in the search section. Use quotation marks around your name. Use different versions of your name: your full or shortened name including nicknames, suffixes or your maiden name. It will be clear what information is about you when you read the abstracts from the search selections. Narrow your search with details about yourself such as where you live, attend school, work, and any group or organization you have joined.
Step 2
Utilize a search engine to discover images of yourselves by typing your name, again using quotation marks around your name and different versions of your name. Google provides image resources that may be associated with your name. You can easily scroll down and find yourself with your picture to see if there are any public records. Click on the images to go to the websites to find out what information is published about yourself.
Step 3
Perform a search for social media sites that you belong to and discover what information is public. If you have joined any groups or organizations sometimes your name will turn up in a search. This information will be limited if you have privacy controls for these sites.
Step 4
Use the white pages to discover if there is any information about yourself. Use quotation marks around your name, and enter your full name and any nicknames, prefixes or maiden name. Type in your phone number with area code to see if it comes up with your name and address. If your number is unlisted the information will not turn up. There are other sites which provide information about telephone numbers that will turn up in a search with your name, where you live, your age, and your phone number.
Step 5
Search for your name through anything you have published such as a blog, or review or article. Provide the name you use when you publish material.
Writer Bio
Moira Sullivan is a San Francisco-based freelance writer with a Ph.D. and over 20 years of journalism experience. She is published online for a prominent San Francisco website and is a staff writer for Movie Magazine International, San Francisco.