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What Information About You Is Public Online?

5 min read

Most Australians underestimate how much of their personal information is publicly searchable. Old social profiles, leaked breach data, electoral roll details, data broker entries, and connected family information stack up fast. KNOMI Cyber helps you audit your exposure and reduce it.

What's usually findable

Your full name, suburb, employer, and at least one phone number or email are almost always findable within minutes. Photos from old Facebook accounts, school websites, or sports clubs are usually indexed. Family connections (parents, siblings, partners) and your kids' first names are commonly inferable from public posts.

Run a personal OSINT audit

Search your own name in quotes, your name plus suburb, your email addresses, and your phone number. Reverse-image search a recent profile photo. Pull a free credit report to see what addresses are linked to your file. This 20-minute audit is the single most useful exercise KNOMI Cyber recommends.

Audit checklist

  • Google your name + suburb / employer
  • Reverse-image search profile photos
  • Run a KNOMI breach check on each email
  • Review the privacy settings on every social account
  • Lock down LinkedIn 'contact info' and 'open to work' details

Reducing exposure without going offline

You don't need to disappear. Most risk reduction comes from tightening defaults: locking old accounts, removing real-time location posts, and limiting the personal data on resumes and 'about' pages. KNOMI Cyber's incident team can walk you through it.

Frequently asked questions

Are data brokers active in Australia?

Less than in the US, but yes — and they often re-aggregate breach data. KNOMI Cyber helps with structured removal requests.

Should I delete my social accounts?

Usually no. Lock them down, prune old posts, and remove personal contact info. That gets 80% of the benefit.

What about my kids' exposure?

Audit any school or club sites that name them, and review what older relatives have posted. KNOMI's Family plans include this.