Digital Footprint Check: What Does the Internet Know About You?
Every time you post a photo, join a game, sign up for an app or comment on a video, you leave a small trace behind. Put all those traces together and you have a digital footprint. Scammers, hackers and people who want to pressure or embarrass others can use that footprint. The good news is that you can check it, shrink it and control it.
Why your footprint matters
A single detail rarely causes harm. But a school name in one profile, a birthday in another and a street photo in a third can be pieced together. Criminals use this to guess passwords, answer security questions, pretend to be someone you trust, or write a convincing scam message with your name in it.
Step 1: Search for yourself
Set aside 15 minutes and try this, ideally with a parent or friend:
Search your full name, usernames and nicknames in a search engine, in quotation marks.
Check the image results as well as the web results.
Search your gaming and social usernames. Many people reuse the same one everywhere, which makes them easy to track.
Log out of your accounts first, or use a private window, to see what strangers see.
Write down anything that shows your address, school, phone number, birthday, live location or private photos.
Step 2: Check your privacy settings
Go through each app you use and look for these options:
Account visibility: choose private or friends-only where possible.
Who can message or tag you: limit it to people you actually know.
Location sharing: turn off live location and remove location tags from posts.
Contact syncing: switch it off if you don't want the app suggesting you to strangers.
Ad personalisation and data sharing: reduce them if the app lets you.
Step 3: Tidy up
Delete old accounts you no longer use. Forgotten accounts are easy targets and often have weak, reused passwords.
Remove personal details from bios, such as school name, phone number and birthday.
Review tagged photos and untag yourself, or ask friends to remove posts you're not comfortable with.
Change your username if it contains your real name, age or town.
Use different passwords for every account, ideally stored in a password manager, and turn on two-factor authentication.
Think before you post: the pause test
Before you share anything, ask yourself:
Would I be fine with a stranger, a future employer or a scammer seeing this?
Does it show where I live, where I am right now or where I'm going to be?
Does it show someone else who hasn't agreed to be posted?
Could it be screenshotted and shared somewhere I can't control?
Remember that "disappearing" messages and stories can still be screenshotted or recorded. Deleting a post helps, but copies may already exist.
Be careful with quizzes and "get to know me" trends
Posts that ask for your first pet, your first school or your mother's maiden name look like harmless fun. These are also common security-question answers. Skip them, or give answers that aren't real.
If something private has been shared
If a private photo, video or personal detail of you has been shared or threatened to be shared, it is not your fault. Do these things:
Don't reply to threats or pay anyone. Take screenshots as evidence.
Tell a trusted adult, such as a parent, teacher or school counsellor.
Report and block the account on the platform.
If the image shows someone under 18, the Take It Down service (takeitdown.ncmec.org) can help get it removed from participating platforms.
Where to learn more
These organisations publish free, up-to-date guides for young people and families. Visit their official websites directly rather than following links in messages:
Thinkuknow (thinkuknow.co.uk): advice on online safety for different age groups.
Internet Matters (internetmatters.org): setup guides for devices, apps and privacy controls.
Stay Safe Online (staysafeonline.org): privacy and security tips for everyone.
NCSC (ncsc.gov.uk): practical guidance on passwords and account security.
Many of these organisations also run official YouTube channels, so you can search for their names there to find short explainer videos. Check that the channel is verified before you trust it.
Your quick action list
Search yourself and note what you find.
Set your main accounts to private.
Turn off location sharing.
Delete accounts you don't use.
Use a unique password and two-factor authentication on the accounts that matter.
You can't erase your footprint entirely, but you can decide what goes into it. Repeat this check every few months.