John Wisniewski

You probably already know what you're getting into if you clicked on this page, but I figured I better introduce myself just in case. Soon you'll know enough about me that I'd consider you a friend. So hello, my name is John Wisniewski. However, I know you probably want to get right into my essay, so buckle up and get ready to read. If there's one thing I've learned (and that I hope to convey), it's that I live under the illusion of data privacy.

Public Information

Not a whole lot of my information is public, and I have worked very hard to achieve this. When you look me up ("John Wisniewski") no results appear, and this is because there is a prominent politician that shares my name. He looks a bit like Joe Biden and appears to have served in the New Jersey legislature .

In order to actually find information about me, you have to look up my name in addition to other parameters. For instance, if you look up "John Wisniewski Umich" the first result is actually about me! This page is my LinkedIn page, which I will talk about soon. And if you look up my name and my home city you can access my voting records and information, which contain my address.

Many public results illustrate my past involvement with sports. If you look up my name and my highschool you can access articles in the newspaper about my performances in swim meets . You can also access my 5k splits and my mile time .

A photo of my linkedin

You can't access my best 5k time though, as my coach mistakenly thought my name was "Jon" the entire time I ran cross country.

LinkedIn

As promised, I felt it was important to address the premier online source of information about me: My LinkedIn profile. My profile is pretty standard, showing my educational and professional history. Honestly, I'm glad this is one of the first results, mainly because it's a situation where I control the narrative. I have added all the information and can verify it to make sure that it is correct and portrays me in an accurate manner.

A photo of my LinkedIn privacy settings

Even though I curate the information, I don't fully control how my data is used. When I created my account I didn't look into the privacy settings. Now, when researching this project I have noticed lots of areas where LinkedIn was using my data in ways I didn't want. I noticed they were using my location and demographic information to present more relevant ads. Personally, I don't understand why anyone would have this turned on. I have since revised these settings, as I often do on any platform, in an attempt to limit the amount of data on me that is collected.

Is my Public Identity Accurate?

Despite the rather surprising amount of correct information online about me, I like to believe that the answer to this question is no. Both my first name and last name are very popular (my mom says our last name is like the Polish version of "smith"). Accordingly, much of the data that appeared during my searches didn't pertain to me. Even when you use more detailed parameters, results come up that still aren't relevant. This is a trend I saw a lot: if you didn't know anything about me, you would have a very hard time looking me up. I often wonder how other people interpret the information they find when they search for me. Do they realize the information is from someone else? Do they think the other Wisniewskis that come up are related to me? I will never know.

Beyond simply the lack of online information, not a lot of what is presented portrays me in an accurate manner. No one reading the 2014 edition of the school paper I linked earlier will be surprised by this. Much of the data is old and reflects who I was in the past. I was a very different person back then: I no longer swim or run competitively and I'm definitely not 14. My beliefs and interests have changed. Despite this, and as much as I hate to admit it, my past is an important part of my identity today. In this way, my online identity slightly alludes to my current identity.

Perhaps the most telling part of my online identity is my public LinkedIn profile. I really wish that I could make this profile private. Every day I think about the trade-offs involved: keep my profile public and potentially receive a job, or protect my information from other people online. Personally, I feel there is a lot of pressure from society to continually look for a job. Even though I have an internship lined up for the summer, I always wonder if I could be offered something better.

The rest of my outdated information doesn't really bother me though. What really scares me about my online identity is that my address is so readily accessible, and it is tied to a public institution that I have a legal right to engage in. I'm not at high risk here: if someone finds my address it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. However, I'm very worried about people who need to protect this information (domestic abuse victims immediately come to mind). Despite legally being public, I feel this information can pose a (not insignificant) threat to our electoral system. If you knew that your address would be displayed online after you voted, and you feared your abuser would act on this information, would you vote? How many people do you think can't vote or express their democratic voice out of fear for their safety?

Private Information

A photo of the Instagram search screen. My name is entered and none of the results are me (I promise)

Beyond my LinkedIn account, I don't really appear much online. However, this isn't to say that I'm not online: I have public accounts on Tik Tok, Snapchat, and Twitter. I'm also active on Discord, Slack, YouTube, and GroupMe, but it is much harder to search for individual users on these platforms.

I have attempted to look up these profiles in their respective apps, and it was hard to find them. Most of my profiles are anonymous or not associated directly with me. My "professional" Instagram, and other social media profiles, didn't even show up when you search my name. This was interesting because I figured even if my account was private, people would still be able to see it: however, this is most likely not the case unless you know my exact username. I can only assume this is because I don't have a lot of followers, and I imagine if you were somewhat associated with me It might be more likely to show up.

This realization pleasantly surprised me. I always worry that my activity on private accounts will come back to haunt me. However, I feel even if it did, I would have a hard time abandoning my private accounts. I have joined online communities and made friends, and leaving these people behinds would take a large toll on my mental health. I think that being able to keep your information private plays a very important role in the creation of online communities, as I can't imagine making friends on my LinkedIn.

Privacy Policy

Despite all this, I'm more than positive my data is still being collected. I have investigated Instagram's privacy policy, and know they are collecting data on me. This contains (and is probably not limited to) how I use the platform and also data based on my device and location .

The error when I attempted to research how my data is used

Instagram appears to collect a lot more information for services I haven't heard of and won't ever use (which seems like a front to collect more data). It also appears my data is used to provide "insights for social good," which you can't turn off . Even has a much better privacy policy. When they generate insights, you aren't identified, which is a major step towards data privacy.

Concluding Thoughts

While researching this project, I was continually surprised at what information about my life was presented. It appears that many aspects of where I present myself online don't appear on Google, while there is a lot of information that I haven't directly consented to display. Even my private data is still being used in ways I'm not comfortable with. I thought it was interesting how I have taken such efforts to protect my information, only to have my home address readily accessible in Google.

One of my major goals in life is to feel comfortable in both real and online environments. Privacy and Data collection plays a major role in this. However, in attempting to have no digital footprint, I have left other people to create my identity for me. Despite having more privacy, I lose control of how I am presented. Maybe in the future, I will not have to choose between privacy and accuracy.