Guides
Guides
How people find personal information online, where it comes from, and what you can do about it. Written for anyone who wants to understand their own exposure, whether or not you use Oko.
OSINT basics
What open-source intelligence is, and how people use it to find someone.
- What is OSINT? Open-source intelligence, explained
OSINT means finding things out from information anyone can get to. Here's what it covers, who uses it, and why it matters for your own privacy.
- How someone gets from your username to your home address
Finding someone online is rarely one big discovery. It's a chain of small steps. Here's how that chain usually works, and where you can break it.
- How to look yourself up online, the way a stranger would
A step-by-step way to search for yourself and see what turns up, using free tools and a bit of time. Plus what to do with what you find.
Where your details come from
The sites, records and old accounts that put your information online.
- How people-search sites get your information
People-search sites build a profile of you from public records and data they buy. Here's where it comes from, why it's legal, and what you can do.
- How old accounts and usernames give you away
The account you forgot about can be the one that links your online name to your real one. Here's how to find old accounts and what to do with them.
- Your email was in a data breach. What now?
If your email was in a data breach, here's what that means, what to do first, and why breaches matter for more than just passwords.
- What your photos can give away
A photo can show where you live without you meaning it to. Here's what people look for in pictures, and simple habits that keep your location private.
Protecting yourself
Practical steps to make yourself harder to find, and what to do if it goes wrong.
- How to keep your home address private
Your address ends up online through records, deliveries and people-search sites. Here's what you can take down, what you can't, and what to do instead.
- Why people-search listings come back after you opt out
You opted out, the listing went away, and now it's back. Here's why that happens, and how to keep on top of it without it taking over your life.
- Data removal services vs. doing it yourself
Opt out yourself, pay a service to send requests for you, or start from a report that shows what to fix first. What each gives you, and how Oko fits.
- What to do if you've been doxxed
If someone has posted your personal details online, here's what to do first, who to tell, and how to make the rest of your information harder to find.
- Keeping your real identity separate from your channel
If you stream, post videos or write under a handle, here's how to keep your audience from finding your real name, your address and your family.
For organizations
Looking after staff who face doxxing and harassment because of their work.
- How to protect your staff from doxxing
A practical guide for security and operations leads at courts, newsrooms, hospitals and companies whose people are at risk because of their work.
- Privacy protections for judges, election officials and other public servants
Many public servants have extra legal rights to keep their home address private. Here's what those protections usually cover, and their limits.
Using Oko and need a hand with your report? Go to the help center.