From concerns over Facebook security to questions about how advertisers use your personal information online, the subject of Internet privacy has never been more hotly debated, both in the media and around the water cooler. In a recent article for Newsweek, journalist Jessica Bennett took a deep look at how private information ends up on the Web and how it ends up being packaged and sold to online advertisers.
To help figure out just how much information there is about an individual online, Bennett turned to Reputation.com to scour the web and create a complete reputation report using nothing but her name and e-mail address. The results, which Bennett partially shared in her Newsweek article, included her social security number, previous home addresses, and multiple references to drug use (which, thankfully, came from Bennett’s reporting on a California marijuana farm).
To check out Bennett’s entire online reputation report, with the most sensitive data redacted of course, click the image below.
As Bennett explains in the article, one’s online reputation is rapidly becoming a “credit score of the future,” which will affect every life transaction from an individual’s healthcare coverage to their romantic relationships. The potential consequences of a bad online reputation are endless, which is why protecting your personal data online and proactively building a positive online image have become critical for everyone living in the new digital age. (See Reputation.com CEO Michael Fertik’s 10 tips for protecting your privacy, also in Newsweek.)
Here at Reputation.com, we are proud to lead the charge in offering solutions for owning and controlling your name on the Web. For more information about how Reputation.com can help you control your online reputation and protect your privacy, contact us today.
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