Guide
How to use the digital footprint check
This is a short walkthrough of the digital footprint check itself: what to type, what the results mean, and where to go next. For the full method, including emails, phone numbers and people-search sites, read how to check your digital footprint. The screenshots use the public handle torvalds as an example; run it on your own names.
1. List the handles you have used
Before you search, write down every username you remember: your current handle, old gamer tags, school nicknames, and versions with numbers or underscores. Old names matter most, because they are the ones you forgot about.2. Enter one handle in the footprint check
Open the digital footprint check, type a handle and press Check my footprint. It runs the same username search as the home page. You can also put up to 5 handles in the main search box, separated by commas.
3. Look at the totals
When the scan ends, the Found counter tells you how many sites seem to have a profile with that name. Some of them may belong to other people who picked the same name, so the number is a starting point, not a list of your accounts.
4. Sort the Found results by category
Use the category chips to go through the results in groups: Social, Coding, Gaming, Blogs and so on. Type a site name in the filter box to jump to it. Open each Found profile and note which ones are really yours.
5. Check the matching domains
Above the results, a row shows whether the handle is registered as a .com, .net, .org, .io and other domain endings. A taken domain with your name is not always yours, but it is worth a look if you once had a personal site.
6. Export a list, then clean up
Download the results as CSV and add a column for what you will do with each account: keep, lock down, or delete. Then work through it. Our post on finding old accounts walks through deleting and locking them, site by site.
What to do with each account you find
- Delete accounts you no longer use. Log in, look for account or privacy settings, and use the delete option. Find and delete old accounts has the details.
- Lock down the ones you keep: hide your birthday, phone and location, and turn on two-step sign-in.
- Can't log in? Use the site's account recovery, or contact its support and ask for the account to be removed.
- Searching several old names at once is quicker. See how to search several usernames.
FAQ
Does the footprint check show everything about me online?
No. It finds public profiles that use a given username. Email addresses, phone numbers, photos and data broker listings need other checks, which our blog guide covers.
Why does it find accounts that are not mine?
Many people pick the same username. Open each result and only act on the ones you can log into.
Can I check someone else's footprint?
It is built for your own names. FreeUsername is not a consumer reporting agency, so results must never be used for hiring, housing, credit or insurance decisions.
How often should I run it?
Once to build your list, then every few months, or after a data breach notice, to catch new accounts.
Is my search stored?
No. The username is used only to run the check and is not logged. Recent searches stay in your own browser.
More guides
Ready? It is free and needs no account.
Check my footprint