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# Privacy footprint
## Identity
### Google Search
Upon searching *Jessica Weiss*, I did not find any sites, images or videos associated with me.
In order to narrow my results, I searched *Jessica Weiss Northeastern University*, and found the following:
- my [LinkedIn page](https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-weiss-b2641710b)
- the [Northeastern University Panhellic Council website](http://www.nupanhellenic.org/alphaepsilonphi) (I am the President of my sorority), along with this picture: ![neu-aephi pic](https://i.imgur.com/8QitT8n.jpg)
- [Northeastern CAMD website](https://camd.northeastern.edu/communication-studies/department-awards/) (I'm a former Sophomore and Junior scholar)
I also searched *Jessica Weiss aephi* and found another picture of myself:
![exec board aephi pic](https://i.imgur.com/OXEhXIG.jpg)
Finally, I searched *Jessica Weiss Friends Central School* (the name of my high school), and found:
* this [local news article](https://patch.com/pennsylvania/ardmore/friends-central-celebrates-student-achievements) about an award I had won during my senior year
### Intelius Search
Next, I did an **Intelius** search of my name, as well as my phone number and my parents' names. For my name, I did not find any results. Upon searching my phone number, there was a result tracking the number to Philadelphia, PA (my hometown), but I was unable to view the result without paying a fee.
When I searched my mother's name, she was the first search result to appear. However, some of her information was incorrect. Her age, location and relatives were accurate, but her previous work and education was wrong. In order to make sure this search result was correct, I clicked on my father's name, listed as the first relative.
My father's information was completely accurate. Given that he is a federal employee, I know that a significant amount of his information is public. Through my father's result, I was actually able to find my own Intelius page. On my page, though my sister and father are listed as relatives, my mother strangely is not.
Lastly, I checked my sister's name, which was similar to my mother's page in that her age and location was accurate. However, her past work places and relatives were incorrect. For example, another woman with the same name as my mother was listed incorrectly as her relative.
## Browser
Although webkay may not always be correct, a browser's ability to track the websites an individual has visited can produce suprisingly accurate information about that individual. Additionally, the use of Google Geolocation API allows a browser to track your exact location. In order to prevent a browser from discovering this information through social networks, it is recommended that users logout, utilize incognito tabs, or download NoScript which also secures hardware and software information. The article, [*What every browser knows about you*](https://webkay.robinlinus.com/), provides additional tips for safeguarding against having your browser leak personal information.
## Google MyActivity
My **search activity** reflected recent searches I had conducted, including:
- a cauliflower gnocchi recipe
- information about bacteria called, Wolbachia for my biology assignment
- directions to a friend's apartment
- directions to a yoga studio
- correct APA style formatting (for my favorite class, Online Communities!)
My **GoogleMaps timeline** did not reflect any location history.
My **GoogleAds Preferences** reflected personal characteristics about me such as my age and gender, as well as certain interests that are relevant to my hobbies and daily life. Below are screenshots of some of my listed preferences:
![](https://i.imgur.com/66mG3Fx.png)
![](https://i.imgur.com/AccOZ8H.png)
## Google Dashboard
Under *Popular Google Services*, my Google Dashboard shows 22,374 conversations on Gmail, and only my former address is listed on GoogleMaps.
My other *Google services* reflect the following:
![](https://i.imgur.com/3N91zxF.png)
## Reading Response
Picture a time when your belongings, whereabouts, interests, friends, opinions, memories and thoughts were your own. Now picture our current reality, where every private bit of information about you is shared, if not with other people than with your technology.
The more individuals become reliant on their devices, the more information is being revealed, tracked and stored by our browsers. Though our browser history might only know the last few websites we visited for a homemade casserole recipe, or directions to a popular nightclub, these searches, known as *metadata*, craft a narrative about us. In his research, [Brian Kernighan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Kernighan), exemplifies the significance of metadata through "Facebook likes," which can predict one's gender, ethnic background, sexual orientation, political leaning and so forth. He writes, "[b]efore sending mail, posting or tweeting, pause a moment and ask whether you would be comfortable if your words or pictures appeared on the front page of the *New York Times* or as the lead story on a TV news program." Because our information is more accessible than ever through our browser history, even deleted content will never truly disappear.
Kernighan goes on to explain how other technological advances, such as *cloud computing* -- "using a browser or a phone to access and manipulate information that is stored on Internet servers" -- hinders our privacy online. While other countries have developed solutions to removing truly private information from Google search results, such as the European Union's ["Right to be Forgotten,"](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_to_be_forgotten) the United States still collects arguably more private information than any other country, as further demonstrated by [Edward Snowden's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden) leak of classified information from the NSA in 2013.
In her writing, Cara McGoogan echoes the fear that many Americans have felt in response to the amount of private information collected by our government. For instance, though McGoogan never confirmed her cell phone number on Facebook and even saved her number under a different name on a separate phone, the same number still appeared in her Facebook settings. While Facebook defends its data collection by claiming it aims to ensure users can connect with their contacts easily, this realization is quite disturbing. In response to such troubling information, Kernighan urges us to ask ourselves whether we really even need to use social networks. Is it still possible to return to a reality where your privacy is truly your own?