Manage your data
Me on the Web
Managing what you share
about yourself online is a bit like having people over for dinner. You show them around.
Cook a fantastic meal. But they’ll only see what you want them to see, because you
probably prefer to keep some things to yourself (and will keep those hidden away). The
same thing is true online: you share a few things but you don’t want people to know
everything about you.
An important first step in controlling what people can find about you on the web is knowing what’s published about you online. Your online identity is determined not only by what you post, but also by what others post about you—whether a mention in a blog post, a photo tag or a reply to a public status update. When someone searches for your name on a search engine like Google, the results that appear are probably a combination of information you’ve posted and information published by others.
Our tool, Me on the Web, makes it easier to monitor your identity online. It helps you set up Google Alerts, so you receive notifications when you are mentioned on websites or in news stories, and it automatically suggests some search terms you may want to keep an eye on.
Me on the Web also provides links to resources offering information on how to control what third-party information is posted about you on the web. These include tips like reaching out to the webmaster of a site to ask for the content to be taken down, or publishing additional information on your own to help make less relevant websites appear farther down in search results.
You can find Me on the Web as a section of the Google Dashboard underneath the Account details.
Managing what you share in social media
It’s good to know that you can use Me on the Web to monitor your online identity. Read the next topic: How to browse in private