5 Easy Ways to Track Mentions and Find Personal Information Online

There’s a real chance that someone is searching for information about you online right now. The internet is full of websites and services where personal data can be found—some free, some paid. It’s not a pleasant feeling to suspect that someone is trying to gather details about you. Most likely, the person typing your name into Google doesn’t mean any harm, but it’s still useful to know who might be interested in you.

People who might look you up include potential employers, former partners, or even distant relatives you haven’t seen in years. In this article, we’ll cover five of the most common ways to track mentions and find personal information about yourself online.

How Can You Tell Who’s Looking for Information About You?

If you’re worried that someone might be searching for information about you, unfortunately, there’s no surefire way to identify who they are. In most cases, friendly acquaintances might reach out via Facebook, but others may use different methods.

While it’s nearly impossible to know exactly who is gathering information about you, you can at least use the same tools they might use. For example, you can’t see who’s searching for you on Google, but you can set up alerts to notify you when your name appears on a website, forum, or social network. From there, you can track who posted the mention and get a general idea of where the interest is coming from.

1. Google Alerts

The first step is to set up notifications with Google Alerts. While it might seem a bit self-centered, it’s actually a smart way to stay informed about what’s being said about you online. Just don’t go around telling everyone you’re using it to monitor your online reputation.

Sign in to Google and go to google.com/alerts. Enter your name in the field at the top of the page and click Create Alert. Additional options are available by clicking Show Options, where you can set the frequency of alerts and the email address for notifications. You’ll also see a preview of what the alert will look like.

Now, whenever Google finds your name on websites, news articles, social networks, forums, or blogs, you’ll get an email notification.

2. Mention.com

This web service works similarly to Google Alerts but focuses more on social media. There are apps for Windows 10, macOS, Android, and iPhone. Registration is free, and there’s a 14-day free trial to explore all the features.

After signing up, you can immediately start creating alerts. The Starter plan allows up to four additional alerts, which you can use to track information about family members, for example.

Once you click Get Started, the service will begin scanning resources including blogs, forums, and social networks like Facebook and Twitter. To change the list of sources being scanned, click the edit alerts button on the toolbar.

All events related to your alerts are displayed on the dashboard and are sent to your email by default. When you receive an email, click the notification to see the context in which your name was mentioned.

3. LinkedIn Profile

Your LinkedIn profile is a great way to find new job opportunities for freelancers, experts, and anyone looking to change careers. On the flip side, your profile can also be used to find you.

LinkedIn lets you track the total number of profile views over a certain period. Paid accounts provide full information about who viewed your profile, while free accounts only show a limited amount. LinkedIn is mainly used for recruiting, but if you want to know exactly who’s viewing your profile and why, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid plan.

4. Family Search Services

Heartwarming reunions of long-lost relatives are a staple of TV shows, and the creators of these programs often help people reconnect after many years apart. There are various services for tracking family members, often under the banner of “family research.”

For example, websites for finding adopted children, such as adopteeconnect.com, can be used to track you or your close relatives with whom you’ve lost contact. While no agency would allow contact with potential adoptees without permission, registering on these sites implies consent.

You can also use the massive database at ancestry.com to trace your current location. This is just one of many genealogy research sites. As with the other tools mentioned above, these sites can also be misused.

As an Ancestry member, you’ll get a notification if you’re added to someone else’s family tree. However, you can’t know for sure if someone has checked your or your relatives’ data. You can also hide your information from unauthorized access.

5. Obituaries and Death Notices

It’s worth noting that death notices can also provide clues about your whereabouts. For example, if your spouse passes away and you’re mentioned in an obituary published in the local press and shared online, that information could be enough for someone to figure out where you are.

Many people share the same names, both common and uncommon. While this may not always matter, it’s still something to keep in mind. In some cases, this kind of information could be the final piece of the puzzle for someone trying to track you down.

Additionally, announcements about birthdays and weddings in the press can also help others find your location.

Conclusion

Someone will inevitably look for information about you—if not now, then in the future. It could be friends, family members, fans, debt collectors, potential employers, or even criminals.

We can’t know exactly who’s searching, but we can track general interest in ourselves. Here are the five main ways to monitor mentions and find personal data:

• Google Alerts
• Social media monitoring services: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.
• Professional social networks like LinkedIn
• Public databases and genealogy research sites
• Obituaries and death notices of relatives