I get a lot of parents asking me how they can see their child’s digital footprint. I teach a class for law enforcement personnel on how to use the Internet’s free open source search engines to learn information about people. These same techniques are used by colleges and employers to learn a little more about their applicants. I tell students, you can say anything you want on your application, but there is no hiding or lying about who you are online. It is a good idea to see what is available about your child (or you) online.

If you are looking for information about your child, the first place you should look on the web is Google. You can use Google to find background information, phone numbers, addresses, maps, even news items. Google is free to search, but you might run into ads that offer background information for a fee. I don’t recommend using these services for doing a digital footprint check on your child.

1. Use Quotes When You are Looking for Something on Google

I am sorry to say this, but you have been using Google all wrong. Google Internet search returns are a very big haystack. When you are looking for a specific person, out of the 3.5 billion people using the Internet, you want to make the haystack as small as possible. You do this by using quotes around the name of the person you are looking for. Try it. Search for your name without quotes, and then with quotes. My search went from 240,000+ to 1,400. Also, try typing in the person’s full name plus their zip code, for example, “”john smith 97204″”.

2. Use Google to Find a Phone Number

You can use Google to find both business and residential phone numbers on the Web. Simply type in the name of the person with quotation marks around the name, and if the phone number has been entered somewhere on the Web, then it will come up in your search results.

I recommend parents to look for additional phone numbers asso ...