On the internet, nobody knows you’re a dog. That modern adage about online anonymity is from 1993, from a New Yorker magazine cartoon, a fact easily discovered online.

Contrary to the anonymity promised in that crack then, to potential employers and clients, your past is just a search away. Your mom posted a pic of you as a toddler, wailing in diapers – they can see it. You got wasted that one time after seeing Justin Bieber in concert – baby, baby, ohhh. They can see it too. You gave the MG Road KFC a two-star review because they were not open at 4am – they see exactly how unfair you can be.Social media managers and brand founders tell you which digital red flags to avoid, and how to clean up your presence online.

First, google yourself. Millennials used to call it Ego Surfing. Now it’s a way to track what’s up for judgement. “Try a few variations — add your middle name, past usernames, or even past job titles and cities,” says Aastha Duggal, freelance social media manager. “Don’t forget to check Google Images and Videos tabs. It will reveal the content that doesn’t appear on the main page.”

Open the archive. Scroll through your own activity logs on Instagram and Facebook. Untag yourself from posts are no longer helpful to your professional persona. Delete the pics that might raise questions at a workplace. Send a message out to friends, requesting them to remove photos of you from their timelines (add links, people are lazy) and offer to do it for them in exchange. “Don’t forget about old usernames on the same platform,” says Duggal. “If you’ve been tagged under those handles, they can pop up even if you’ve changed your username.”

Rewind to a simpler time. Even if you no longer post or comment on Tumblr, YouTube, Reddit, or X, if you haven’t disabled your account, it’s out there and can be traced back to you. That digital diary or blog you started at 13, detailing why Bitcoin will never succeed – it’s too embarrassing to risk going public. “Sites such as JustDelete.Me make it easy to find and delete old accounts,” says Duggal.

No comments. By all means, share your opinions about climate change. Spend six months on Reddit, recapping the great James Charles-Tati Westbrook feud of 2019. But if your comments “veer towards religious, political, or other extremes”, says Nainika Bhadech, a digital marketing strategist and consultant, it’s best to cover your tracks. Use keywords to sift through your own comments. Find your archives in the Profile section, and delete or hide posts that you think employers have no business seeing. When in doubt, delete. If someone has called you out online, try to settle it outside the platform and get them to delete their post too.

Divide and conquer. “Differentiate between a personal presence and a professional presence,” says Sonica Aron, founder of HR advisory firm Marching Sheep. Restrict access to your Insta and FB pages to close friends and family. For public profiles, limit who can tag you and whom you’re following and what posts you’re liking. Employers should not know that you follow 45 Aaradhya Bachchan fan accounts. “I’m a dog lover, and sometimes I end up liking a lot of dog videos from my professional account,” says Aron. “The videos were cute, but they weren’t reflecting my brand’s identity. Even likes leave a trail.” If you have a finsta, pick a username and profile picture that is so different, it can’t be traced back to you.

Control the traffic. Some data is forever – such as your picture on your school’s website. But it’s possible to take over the narrative. Create a People card for yourself with your professional Google account. Then, give your best self a permanent digital home, either as a web site or on a professional network. “Add all the information that people need to know – your work, awards you’ve won, your accomplishments. The worst thing that can pop up when someone googles your name is... nothing. Having no digital trace is just as bad as being splattered all over the internet,” says Bhadech.

Track yourself. “Set up Google Alerts for your name to stay informed of updates, so you can respond promptly if anything negative surfaces,” says S Anand, CEO and co-founder, PaySprint. And clean house regularly, especially if you’re looking to quit, land a big client or have just completed a project at work. “Erase what no longer represents you or that could be misinterpreted.” The internet is changing every day, and so are you. Why let the path you’ve walked tarnish the journey ahead?

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