Reporters Without Borders (RSF) designed this series of exercises aimed at preventing doxxing, which consists of exposing someone’s private information for harassment purposes. The third exercise aims to range sensitive information on social media.
Social media platforms have existed for more than 20 years. At their start, users were not necessarily aware of the potential dangers of sharing personal information online. You may have had social media accounts that you forgot because they have gone out of fashion, but the information is still available online.
These platforms are often targeted by doxxers as they can contain a wealth of sensitive personal information. Scrubbing through multiple social media accounts (past and present) to delete revealing information can be time-consuming, but there are tools that can make it easier.
Objective: To locate all personal social media accounts and look for information that could be exploited by malicious actors.
Time: 30 mins – 1.5 hour (depending on number of accounts)
Process: Use social media searcher “WhatsMyName” (or its alternative Bellingcat Name Variant Search) to inventory all social media accounts. You just need to enter the username(s) in the search box, select any category filters if needed, and start the search. The results will be shown as below. You can review them to assess which photos and posts could be exploited for intimidation or embarrassment, or which content may give away sensitive information, such as geolocation data.
← Read Part 1: Define the perimeter of your online privacy
← Read Part 2: How much of your private life can be found on Google?
→ Read Part 4: How to protect yourself from doxxing
