How to See Everything That Is Online About You: A Complete Self-Search Checklist

Why a full self-search matters

Most people search their name once, see the first page, and stop. But what a stranger finds depends on what they search. A landlord might search your name and city. A scammer might search your phone number. A former classmate might search an old username. Each search can surface something different.

A full self-search shows you the whole picture before you start removing things. It also helps you avoid wasted effort. If your biggest exposure is a people-search site, polishing your LinkedIn will not fix it. If your biggest issue is an old forum account, opt-out forms will not help. Once you can see everything, you can pick the right tool for each problem.

Step 1: Set up a clean search

Open a private or incognito window. If you can, sign out of your Google account. Search results can be personalized based on your location and history, and you want to see what a stranger sees. If results look different from what a friend sees, our guide to why your Google results look different explains why.

Keep a document or spreadsheet open to record findings as you go.

Step 2: Search your name, many ways

Run each of these searches and look at the first two pages:

If you share a name with someone else, you will see results that are not yours. Note them anyway, because a stranger will not know the difference. Our guide on someone with the same name as you explains how to handle that.

• Your full name in quotes, such as "Jordan A. Smith."
• Your name without the middle initial, and with your full middle name.
• Your name plus your current city and state.
• Your name plus each city you have lived in.
• Your name plus your employer, profession, or school.
• Any former names, such as a maiden name.
• Nicknames you use professionally.

Step 3: Search your contact details

Phone numbers and email addresses are often more revealing than your name, because they are unique. Search:

Results here often point straight to people-search listings or old accounts. If you find your phone or email in results, see removing your phone number and email from Google.

• Each phone number you use or used, written with dashes, with dots, and with no punctuation.
• Each personal email address, in quotes.
• Your home address in quotes, and your previous addresses.

Step 4: Check images and news

Click the Images tab for your name and look for photos of you, your home, or your family. Check whether any image links to a page you did not expect. Then click the News tab. Old local news, press releases, and community announcements show up here even when they are not on the main results page.

For a deeper look at these tabs, see how to check images and news for your name.

Step 5: Review people-search listings

Open each people-search site that appeared in your searches. Note what each listing shows: current address, past addresses, phone numbers, age, relatives, and associates. Do not pay for a "full report." The teaser usually tells you enough to know whether you need to opt out.

When you are ready to remove them, follow how to remove yourself from people-search sites.

Step 6: Use Google's Results about you

Google's Results about you tool can search for results that show your phone number, home address, or email address. It lists what it finds and lets you request removal. It can also alert you to new results. Setting it up during your audit gives you a head start on cleanup. See Google's results about you.

Step 7: Audit your own accounts

Your own accounts are often the easiest wins, because you control them. Make a list of every account you can remember:

Search your old usernames and handles in quotes. People often reuse the same handle for years, and a search can turn up accounts you forgot. Check your email for old welcome messages by searching for words like "welcome," "verify your account," or "confirm your email." If you use Google, its download-your-data tool shows which Google services hold your information, which can jog your memory about old profiles and photo albums. For cleanup steps, see finding and cleaning up old social accounts.

• Social media, including platforms you no longer use.
• Old blogs, photo sites, and video channels.
• Forums, review sites, and comment accounts.
• Dating apps and profiles.
• Shopping wish lists and public profiles.
• Fitness apps that share routes or locations.

Step 8: Check for data breaches

Some exposure never shows up in search results. Have I Been Pwned is a long-running service that lets you check whether your email address appeared in known data breaches. If it did, change the password for that account and anywhere you reused it, and turn on two-step verification.

If you suspect someone is using your identity, the FTC's IdentityTheft.gov site walks you through reporting and recovery.

Step 9: Check your credit reports

Your credit reports list accounts opened in your name. Federal law lets you get your reports from each of the three nationwide credit bureaus, and AnnualCreditReport.com is the official site for requesting them. Look for accounts, addresses, or inquiries you do not recognize. This is not about search results, but it is part of knowing what is out there about you.

Step 10: Record and rank what you found

Put everything in one list with these columns:

Then rank. Fix the items that are both highly visible and highly sensitive first. A first-page result with your home address matters more than a second-page listing with only your city.

• Where it appears, with a link.
• What it shows.
• Whether it is accurate, outdated, or wrong.
• How visible it is, such as first page for your name or buried.
• How sensitive it is, such as home address versus a city name.
• The fix, such as opt-out, Google removal, account deletion, or correction request.

How often to repeat this

A full audit like this is worth doing once a year, and before big moments like a job search, a move, or a new relationship. Between full audits, a shorter check every three months catches most new problems. See the quarterly privacy recheck.

What to do with the results

Once you have your list, the rest of this guide covers each fix. Start with how to remove yourself from people-search sites if listings are your biggest issue, or jump straight to the guide that matches your top item. If your audit turned up something negative rather than private, such as a bad review or an old article, see how to deal with a negative result about you.

Common questions

Sources

1. Results about you (Google Search Help)
2. Have I Been Pwned (Have I Been Pwned)
3. IdentityTheft.gov (Federal Trade Commission)
4. AnnualCreditReport.com (Central Source LLC)
5. How to download your Google data (Google Account Help)