The Australian Government defines your digital reputation as the way others view you based on your behaviour in the online environment, including the content you post about yourself and others. Tagged photos, blog posts and social networking interactions will all shape how you are perceived by others online and offline, now and in the future.
How can I find out about my digital reputation?
Depending on your privacy settings, it can be difficult to know who will see what you post and share online or where your personal content may end up. An easy way to find out about your digital reputation is to search online for yourself.
One simple way you can search is by putting your name into a search engine like Google. It is also useful to search in an image housing search engine such as Google Images, to discover what images of you are publicly available. For a more refined search place your name in inverted commas (“ ”) when using a search engine.
When viewing the search results, it can be useful to consider the following:
- Are you happy with what is presented online about you?
- Is there anything that has surprised you?
- Would you be happy for your parents, grandparents or teachers to see this?
If you have any concerns about your digital reputation, you can go to the eSafety website's complaints and reporting or social media safety centres page for information, advice and support.
Reverse image search
Did you know that you can also search for images of yourself using a picture as your search?
To search for images using reverse image search, click here.