Take a few moments to perform these online privacy checks right now.
These online privacy checks can be eye-opening.
Try out these free online privacy checks. The results will give you just a small glimpse into how online tracking and profiling works.
These resources are grouped thematically and are all free. Our favorites are indicated with the ⇒ symbol.
'Online Privacy Checks' Contents (select to expand)
General Online Tracking Privacy Checks
EFF's Panopticlick determines if your browser configuration is rare or unique and thereby easy to track.
MyPermissions shows you which websites and online apps have access to your information, helping shed light on your privacy settings.
Google (& YouTube) Privacy Checks
Account History collects in one place your activities across Google’s wide array of services including what you searched (search history) and even the places where you have been (location history)
⇒ To see how accurately (or not) Google has profiled you check Ad Settings.
To see what apps have access to your Google account (and thus your profile) check apps connected to your account. Select the 'Revoke access' button for any apps you don't use or don't trust.
Visit the Google Dashboard and enable the option "Send me monthly reminders to check my account activity". This will help you stay on top of recent activities on your account.
⇒ YouTube's History features include what YouTube videos you have watched as well as your YouTube search history
Facebook Privacy Checks
⇒ Facebook's Activity Log (https://www.facebook.com/me/allactivity) shows all your recent Facebook activity
Your Facebook Likes (https://www.facebook.com/me/likes) can tell a lot about you (most people keep all their likes public but there is no reason for you to do so especially if you would rather keep some of your likes secret)
Regularly check your Facebook Privacy Settings & Tools.
The site YouAreWhatYouLike analyses your personality based solely on your Facebook likes, giving a small glimpse into how online trackers and profilers may be using the same information
Wolfram Alpha's analytics tool for Facebook (signup required) maps your online relationships
Cambridge’s Apply Magic Sauce examines your Facebook profile presents you with sometimes very interesting results, giving you yet another glimpse into how online tracking and profiling may be utilizing the same techniques
Email Privacy Checks
⇒ MIT’s Immersion analyzes the metadata found in your email often revealing a detailed description of your personal and professional interactions
Sites such as PwnedList Monitoring and HaveIBeenPwned let you check if your email address has been compromised appearing in publicly available hacked databases
Torrent File-sharing Privacy Checks
⇒ ScanEye demonstrates how easily snoops can monitor your torrent file-sharing activities by your IP address
I Know What You Download gave many torrenters quite a scare in its day!
People Search Directories
Search your name and/or telephone number in any number of free databases to see the information about you that might already be widely available, including
- Zabasearch - https://www.zabasearch.com/
- Spokeo - https://www.spokeo.com/
- US Search - https://www.ussearch.com/
- Intelius - https://www.intelius.com/
Conclusion
With the results of these online privacy checks now in hand, explore our site and start your journey on becoming more private and even anonymous online!
A great place to start is our Complete Privacy Guide which walks you through all the steps from basic privacy to ultimate anonymity.