DIGITAL
FOOTPRINTS
What are we really sharing online?
Dan Heath - heath1d@gllm.ac.uk
Grwp Llandrillo-Menai
WHAT ARE DIGITAL
FOOTPRINTS?
• “A digital footprint is a trail of data you create while
using the Internet” (Techterms.com)
• IP Addresses
• Search History
• Profile Pages
• Blog Posts
• Emails
• Photos / status updates
WHAT ARE DIGITAL
FOOTPRINTS?
• Everybody has a digital footprint
• Some can be very small and hard to find
• Some can be huge and can tell us EVERYTHING about
you
• Some are full of embarrassing things you thought long
gone
WHO MIGHT LOOK THROUGH
YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT?
• (Potential) Employers
• Colleges / Universities
• Law Enforcement
• Family Members
• Advertisers
• ID thieves / scammers / unsavoury folk
• Complete Strangers with YouTube prank-shows
INSTA-PSYCHIC
http://youtu.be/5P_0s1TYpJU
Dan’s “Did we really need
to know that?” Gallery
(contents removed)
Newcastle Edition
WHAT APPEARS ON
INSTAGRAM IN
NEWCASTLE?
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Hot Drinks
Food
The weather
Local landmarks
Inspirational / not so inspirational quotes
tattoos
Drinks / drunks
Valuables
Contact details
Holiday schedules / empty houses
Interesting outfit choices
Questionable behaviour
The after-affects of drinking
OVERSHARING
Accidental or Deliberate
Do people know who they are really sharing with?
What information are you giving people unintentionally?
Do you know about LOCATION SETTINGS?
LOCATION SETTINGS
• Most social media platforms ask for this information
• Sometimes it is on by default
• Every Picture has the potential to be searched via the
location it was taken.
• What does this really mean?
• Photo’s tagged in one place can lead to finding all
other tagged locations (home addresses) Maps
removed
Even if we’re careful, there
is so much information
about us online
BBC Video Clip
What would
somebody find if
they Googled
You?
THE USUAL ANSWERS
• Sooooooo many selfies / duck faces
• Passive aggressive posts
• I love this / I hate this
• Memorable information / security questions
• Far too much information about younger relatives
• Birthdays / phone numbers / other personal information
• Stuff I really didn’t need to know
TIDYING UP YOUR FOOTPRINT
TURN OFF LOCATION SETTINGS
• Make sure they are off on all social media
accounts
• If you really want to tag your location you can do
it for individual posts
• Don’t tag location at home
TIDYING UP YOUR FOOTPRINT
Get rid of unused Profiles
• Bebo and Myspace are still out there
• Remove all the information that you can before
closing accounts
TIDYING UP YOUR FOOTPRINT
Review privacy settings regularly
• Remember some only have two options, Private or
Public
• Check who can see the things you post.
• Privacy settings change. Things can default back
to public.
TIDYING UP YOUR FOOTPRINT
Only post something if you are happy for EVERYBODY
to see it
• It’s not always just your friends list
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Bosses
Parents
Grandparents
Younger siblings
Complete Strangers
TIDYING UP YOUR FOOTPRINT
Cull your friends
• Nobody needs 1000+ friends
• Do you really know all of those people
• If you don’t know a SINGLE person, nothing you post
is private!
TIDYING UP YOUR FOOTPRINT
Keep things Positive
• If you don’t have a negative footprint, it can’t be used
against you
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T.H.I.N.K. before you post.
True
Helpful
Inspiring
Necessary
Kind
TIDYING UP YOUR FOOTPRINT
Keep an eye on your footprint
• Google your Name, Usernames, Email Addresses
• Set up search alerts
• Are you happy with what comes up?
TIDYING UP YOUR FOOTPRINT
A few other things to consider
• What email addresses / usernames do you use?
XXsexybeastXX@...... Doesn’t look good on a CV
• What are other people saying about you? (Timeline
Review)
• What are you saying about other people?
• Be aware of the things you are revealing
unintentionally
TO SUMMARISE
• Be aware of your digital footprint
• Know what you are contributing to it
• Watch out for accidental oversharing
• Know your privacy settings
• Check it regularly
• Treat online posts as you would a face to face conversation
FACEBOOK – CIA PROJECT?
THANKYOU
ANY QUESTIONS?
Please feel free to contact me
heath1d@gllm.ac.uk