Personal Data Monitors
Personal Data Monitors are a feature that allows you to monitor your personal data and search for reports that match your personal information. This feature is useful for individuals who want to keep track of their online presence and respond to reports about themselves.
Values to Monitor
You can monitor various values such as your email address, name, or any other personal information that you want to keep track of. The total number of values you can monitor is 15.
Automated Monitoring vs Manual Searches
Once you set up your personal data monitors, you can run a manual search at the bottom of the "Personal Data Monitors" page. This will show you all reports that match your monitored values.
If you subscribe to Data Monitoring for $6 per year, you will get automated monitoring. When activated, the system will automatically check for new reports that match your monitored values every few minutes. If a new report is detected, you will receive an instant email notification with the details of the report.
You can subscribe to Automated Data Monitoring on the "Personal Data Monitors" page.
Using the feature
Add New Monitor
Click on the "Add New Monitor" button to add a new personal data monitor. You can enter your email address, name, or any other personal information you want to monitor.
The system will automatically hash the value you enter to protect your privacy. The hashed value will be used to search for reports that match your personal information.
You can also submit the hashed value if you want to avoid submitting the raw value to our system. The link to do so is displayed on the "Add New Monitor" page.
Confirm New Monitor
Provide a description for the monitor you are adding. Since the original value is hashed, the description is used to identify the monitor in the future.
Verify Your Email Address
If you want to respond to reports about yourself, you need to verify an email address here. Any reports that match the email address you provide will be shown in the results with a "Respond" button.
Choose the verification option to receive a code in your inbox. You can submit the code on the data monitors index page.
Finding Reports and Responding
Once you have set up your personal data monitors, you can run a manual search at the bottom of the "Personal Data Monitors" page. This will show you all reports that match your monitored values.
If you see a "Submit a Response" button in a report, you can click on it to submit a response to the report. This will allow you to provide your side of the story and explain any misunderstandings or issues related to the report.
Automated Monitoring Settings
If you have subscribed to Automated Data Monitoring, you can choose which email address you want to use for receiving notifications. Add a secondary email address to your profile if you want to receive notifications on a different email address than the one you used for registering.
More Information
There is a recent alerts button on the data monitors page. It lists the most recent alerts you received via email in a convenient place.
If our system recognizes one of your personal data monitors as the primary or secondary email address you have on your profile, it will automatically mark it as verified. Verifying your email address on your profile will also verify the email address on your personal data monitors.