What is MyReputation?
MyReputation is the web's first online reputation management solution and enables you to review everything that's available about you online, on both the open Internet and the 'Invisible Web'. If there is unwanted content about you on the Internet, our expert team will work tirelessly to remove that information.
What is MyChild?
MyChild leverages the MyReputation platform but focuses exclusively on references to your child or teen - by name, photography, screen name, or social network profiles - and packages it to you in an easy-to-understand report. It will help you protect your child against bullies, stalkers, and inappropriate content that may inhibit your child’s future. MyChild searches every corner of the Internet for traces of your kids. If you want to help your teen manage their online reputation, but have felt powerless to do so, MyChild is your answer!
How does MyReputation and MyChild work?
As soon as you sign up, your personal search agent will start working on your first Deep Search report of all your references on the web. This can take up to 10 business days to allow for analysis of the results. As we find relevant items about you, we review each item to determine if it can be removed from the Internet using our Destroy service.
After reviewing the results, you will then be able to select Destroy-able items that you would like to have removed from Internet at a cost of $29.95 per item. The length of time it takes to have the item removed varies but in general will be removed within 30-90 days.
What are the prices for the MyReputation and MyChild Search and Destroy services?
We provide a detailed monthly Search report for $14.95/month. You can pay for a year upfront for a 15% savings! If we find an item of online content you don't like, we'll carry out our proprietary Destroy assistance process for you on that item for $29.95.
Why is this a monthly subscription service?
The World Wide Web is a dynamic ecosystem and information is constantly surfacing and being added to it, so it's not good enough just to get a one time report. Our services monitor your name and report to you monthly any changes in order for you to get an up to date and comprehensive understanding of what new information about you is now visible online.
I have one particular item in mind for which I would like your "Destroy" assistance. Do I still have to pay for a subscription?
Yes, unfortunately our service is not set-up for processing one-time-only Destroys.
What if I have a common name (like John Smith)? How does ReputationDefender sort out the others and work only for the "real" me?
Our service allows you to personalize your MyReputation or MyChild account by providing us with basic background information (e.g. professional history, location, academic history, etc). This allows your personal search agent to filter the online content to be relevant only to you. This profile information can be updated, changed, and/or removed at any time.
Are you really better at searching the Internet for content than the typical tech-savvy person?
Yes, we have a proprietary blend of technology and experienced search agents that go beyond what traditional people searches or web searches can find. Most searches will only discover what is on the “surface” of the web, which usually means the page is linked to from another page. The vast majority of web pages are not always visible to those search engines however. These pages are known as the “Deep Web” or “Invisible Web” and include non-indexed pages, pages that are created dynamically, and pages that require a login to view. ReputationDefender will find everything that’s available about you online regardless of whether it shows up in Google or not.
Is the list of social networks listed on your website the only networks you Search on behalf of your clients?
No. Our site lists only a few examples.
How does ReputationDefender secure the information about me or my child?
ReputationDefender uses extensive layered methods to protect any information you provide. Your data is encrypted when being transmitted to ReputationDefender using SSL encryption technology. Our site is routinely audited for security, including daily scans by McAfee. We have security certifications from VeriSign, TRUSTe, and McAfee to ensure your info is protected. We do not and will never sell or give away any information about you or your child. The trust and confidence of our clients is the single most important currency to our team. We will always and only be in your corner.
Is ReputationDefender a background checking service? What prevents someone else from using MyReputation or MyChild to perform a search about me?
We will only conduct searches for our clients about themselves or their children. When you sign up, the search information you provide goes through an extensive review to validate identity.
Can an HR Department, University, other organization, or person hire ReputationDefender to find out about job or college applicants?
No. We do NOT work for Human Resources departments at corporations looking to do research on job applicants. And we do NOT work for university admissions boards seeking information on school applicants. We work only for individuals protecting themselves or their children.
How long does it take to implement the Destroy assistance for a specified piece of content?
The removal event can occur within a day to weeks. However, on average it takes 30-90 days for the content to disappear online.
Can you help remove absolutely ANY content from the Internet?
No. Newspaper articles and court records are difficult to impossible to remove, and we do not seek to remove them. We focus on our clients' privacy and reputations. This means we typically focus on content that is slanderous, private, defamatory, invasive, and/or outdated. If we are asked by a client to help with a particularly difficult site through our Destroy assistance process, we may advise that the task could be more difficult than usual.
Can you correct ANY content on the Internet?
We are respectful of First Amendment issues in the United States and will not request newspaper or court records to be removed. For international customers, we are also respectful of your country’s privacy and freedom of speech laws and will not remove any content that is protected by those laws.
Can ReputationDefender remove and/or correct content from cache servers?
We focus on the original web content for removal. Once the original web content is removed or corrected, caches will normally drop or update their content. If they don't, ReputationDefender can usually help effect the removal or updating of their content.
What about the First Amendment and the Freedom of Speech?
Our removal ("Destroy") service is designed to help individuals regain control over unintentionally posted or outdated personal information disclosed to the public Internet, and address potentially libelous, slanderous, defamatory or invasive information about them We do not target news/media articles for removal. Nor do we seek to get government records removed from the Internet. We believe that individuals have the right to express ideas freely, and we support the freedom of the press to inquire fully about issues of legitimate public interest. Given that, we reserve the right to refuse any requests that we believe conflict with these fundamental values. But we also believe that it is the right of individuals to know what others are saying about them, and for private individuals to protect themselves from unintentional, inappropriate, or illegal intrusions of their privacy.
Can ReputationDefender guarantee its Destroy assistance results?
We work very hard for our clients, but we cannot guarantee that content can or will be removed. We are the first and only company in the world that performs the Destroy assistance service.
k very hard for our clients, but we cannot guarantee that content can or will be removed. We are the first and only company in the world that performs the Destroy assistance service.
Who can subscribe on behalf of a child or teen for the MyChild service?
Only parents or legal guardians can subscribe to MyChild on behalf of their child. ReputationDefender takes very seriously the safety, security and privacy of the children and teens for whom we work. We abide by the most current US federal law requirements for child and teen protection on the Internet.
What is MyEdge?
MyEdge is an Internet promotion service that ensures your online brand and reputation is represented how you want it to be. Our MyEdge service is sometimes called “Personal Internet PR” or even “Google Insurance” (an informal name some people give to our products, since they are not actually “insurance”) since we create content that appears in the top of search results and presents you professionally. Whether you are trying to get hired or promoted, promoting your business, or repairing you reputation from negative content, you can take back control of your online reputation with MyEdge.
How does MyEdge work?
MyEdge utilizes organic, proprietary methods to promote your name and professional reputation accurately. Your personal MyEdge Consultant and Publication and Editorial team will help craft your optimal profile based on selected professional and personal information that you provide; then the Internet's most advanced online reputation management (ORM) tools make sure your tailored profile is highly prominent in search engine results.
The indexing process of a search engine (such as Google or Bing) can take hours, days, and even weeks to recognize changes in Internet content. Search engines use different and constantly changing algorithms. We take the dynamic nature of search engine algorithms into account as we continuously design, iterate, and develop services for you.
Why is a positive online reputation important?
The importance of a positive online reputation is increasingly apparent in the Internet era. Job searching, business development, online dating, and even building relationships with incidental friends and acquaintances all affect what appears in search engines. For better or worse, we are routinely being reviewed and judged based on our search engine results, and if you aren’t proactively managing what’s out there, you are leaving your search results to influences out of your control. You have taken the time to develop your personal skills, your resume, your education, and your professional reputation. You put energy into the presentation of your CV and even your outfit when you go to an interview. You can’t afford not to put your best foot forward on the Internet, too.
Whether you have a good start to your online reputation, a less-than-optimal online reputation, or no online reputation at all, ReputationDefender’s MyEdge service will help you establish an online persona that is both accurate and relevant.
How long does the MyEdge process take?
For a typical client we ask for roughly 6-10 business days to complete the creation of content for you, after you have completed your initial client profile. Publication on the Internet of your content then takes an additional 6-10 days. Once we have published the content, we typically see significant evidence in search results within a few weeks, but it can take a month or two for search engines to fully digest everything that we have published. All told, depending on the level of service you choose, the process can take roughly a couple of weeks to several months.
What MyEdge Package is right for me?
We offer MyEdge packages priced from $99 to $599, and our more sophisticated MyEdge Pro packages start at $1,000 and scale to $10,000 or more. The best package depends on several factors: your current Internet prominence and the existence of 3rd party unwanted content.
- MyEdge Basic is recommended for individuals who have little or no information published on public search engines and wish to embark on the creation of an online presence.
- MyEdge Defender is recommended for individuals who have a web presence and want to manage it. This is ideal for individuals looking to advance their career. Our Publication team creates custom copy designed to establish your presence on the web, and our technology utilizes dynamic web properties in order to provide a strong web presence.
- MyEdge Big Kahuna is the correct entry-level package for professionals looking to establish and actively manage their personal brand on the Internet. MyEdge Big Kahuna is appropriate if you have some existing web presence that you’d like to promote or if there is a specific need to differentiate your name from the crowd.
- MyEdge Pro is a service for businesses, executives, doctors, lawyers, or other individuals who have a significant vested interest in their public image. Our MyEdge Pro managed services are sold through our Reputation Specialists, who tailor a package based on an analysis of existing web content and your desired level of web presence. If you would like to dominate your professional reputation on the Internet, this is the right service for you.
Will the MyEdge service create websites for me?
MyEdge offers the creation of a personalized one-page site as an additional service to clients. A website can be added on to any traditional MyEdge product, and is already included in the purchase price of our Pro packages.
What will I receive from my MyEdge packages in future years?
MyEdge is the most cost-effective way of managing your presence on the Internet. We will keep your web presence fresh, relevant, and prominent in search engine results. Not only will the ongoing service refresh your details and pages in such a way as to eliminate “search engine decay” (if left unmanaged, the prominence of your reputation results will erode over time), our continuing investments in Research and Development allows us to stay abreast on the latest search engine approaches and technologies. Our most satisfied customers tend to be those who manage their online reputation as an ongoing effort, and MyEdge makes it easy.
How do I renew MyEdge?
After your first year, you have the option to do a standard renewal at 33% the price of your first year. This subscription level allows you to keep your properties updated and fresh so that we can maintain your web presence on your behalf.
You also have the option to renew at our Gold level at the same price as your first year. We will provide you an additional year of our web property maintenance, but we will also expand your subscription to additional properties that make your web presence even stronger.
What is MyPrivacy?
MyPrivacy allows you to remove your personal information from people search databases spread all over the Internet - all from one easy dashboard! By removing your private personal data, you gain added protection from credit fraudsters, identity thieves, and Internet stalkers.
How does MyPrivacy protect my privacy?
We take on the time-consuming job of submitting removal and correction requests to databases that house and even sell your detailed personal information. We have exclusive removal agreements with some of the largest people databases on the Web.
Who has access to my personal information after I enter it on your website?
Just us. We don't share or sell your detailed information with any third party, except to ensure that your personal information is removed from people search databases. We may have to verify your identity with some service providers before they will remove your records, but this is done only for verification of your opt-out and not used for marketing or resale.
How do you know it's really me signing up for your service? How do you know someone else isn't trying to stalk me through your service?
We use credit card and other strong data-matching criteria to authenticate our users and verify that you are actually you!
Can I sign up my whole family for the MyPrivacy service?
Yes! You can sign up for yourself and your family members.
Can I sign up my boss or friend for the MyPrivacy service?
No. You can sign up only for yourself or other people for whom you have a legal responsibility (e.g., your children). However, you can easily refer a friend or colleague to our service and receive $25 per referral.
Will MyPrivacy remove my personal data totally from the Internet?
The Internet is a big place, so no one can guarantee that, but we are regularly adding databases to our Removal and Correction pipeline, so we will make it harder and harder for third parties to find and abuse your detailed or incorrect information. Our mission is to give you the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your online exposure and risk are diminished as soon as you sign up with us.
I have a record that doesn't show up in MyPrivacy, but I know it's out there, and I want your help in protecting it. How can I make that happen?
If you add your name and that address to your profile, MyPrivacy will then start searching for that record and give you the option to protect it.
What does MyPrivacy cost?
We offer the standard MyPrivacy search and protection services for just $9.95/month! Pay in advance for a yearlong subscription for only $7.95/month, or two years for $4.95/month! We also offer MyPrivacy Plus, our premium online privacy management product. MyPrivacy Plus is $12.95 per month for monthly MyPrivacy subscribers, and $19.95 as a one-time upgrade fee for yearly and two-year subscribers.
What is MyPrivacy Plus?
MyPrivacy Plus extends the privacy protection that MyPrivacy provides by allowing you to protect an unlimited number of personal records.
In addition, with MyPrivacy Plus, you gain access to the Control Your Mail module. This allows you to control and manage the direct mail that is sent to your home mailbox. The type of direct mail that you can reduce includes: retail catalogs, donation requests, newsletters, periodicals, cable, phone, bank, credit, insurance, and magazine subscription offers, and other promotional mailings.
I just signed up and I don’t have any results!
It might take a few minutes, but your results are on the way! Our data-matching algorithm might take up to 10 minutes to find your personal data on the Web. “Control Your Online Privacy” will automatically reload once all of your data has been found.
What happens when I Protect My Records?
When you protect your records, we request the suppression of your personal data from the largest personal data providers on the Web. In some cases it may take a few weeks before you see these records removed, but in others it will take as little as 24 hours. After your personal information is removed, over time these providers may attempt to add your information to their databases again. We won’t let that happen. With your continued MyPrivacy membership, we get your personal information out of these online databases and we keep it out.
How long does it take for MyPrivacy to process the records I request for removal?
That depends on the processes used by the databases to which we submit the removal requests. We typically make the submissions immediately. Record removals through MyPrivacy therefore often happen immediately. However, removal of other records can take between 10 and 60 days.
How often are you looking for my information?
MyPrivacy is constantly on the lookout for new information about you on the Web. If we find a record that is different from your current MyPrivacy records, we’ll notify you via email.
What does MyPrivacy’s Control Your Mail feature do for me?
MyPrivacy’s Control Your Mail feature allows you to control and manage the direct mail that is sent to your mailbox as well as email that is sent to your email inbox. With Control Your Mail, you can control most direct mail solicitations, reducing mail volume by more than 80%.
What types of direct mail can I manage?
The type of direct mail that you can manage includes:
Retail Catalogs
Magazine Offers: mail from magazine publishers such as subscription offers, newsletters, periodicals, and other promotional mailings
Credit and Insurance Offers
Other Mail Offers: mail from companies and charitable organizations such as donation requests, cable and phone offers, and bank offers, and other retail promotions.
How does MyPrivacy’s Control Your Mail work?
ReputationDefender has partnered with the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) to help control and manage your mail. The DMA is the leading trade association for business and non-profit organizations that send direct mail. The DMA requires all of its members who send mail offers to consumers to adhere to the mailing preferences that are specified within MyPrivacy. The DMA represents nearly 3,600 organizations, including most of the leaders in the direct marketing community. The DMA membership represents over 80% of the total volume of marketing mail in the United States.
What if I want to start or stop receiving mail from a certain company, but they are not on your list?
It is possible that the company or brand name that you are looking for is listed under a parent company’s name. Another possibility is that the company is not a DMA member. If that is the case, you may contact the un-listed company directly via their website, email, phone, or by sending a formal letter.
What types of mail can I NOT stop?
Bills, statements, notices, and political mailings will not be stopped. Mail from organizations that are not members of the DMA will not be stopped. In addition, if you've purchased from, subscribed to or donated to an organization in the past, you will need to directly contact them to be removed from their mailing list. Contact our privacy expert hotline for assistance: 877-720-6488.
How long does it take for my changes to take effect?
Because some mailings are prepared far in advance of when you receive them, please allow 90 days for your request to take effect.
What types of email can I stop?
You can stop unsolicited commercial emails that originate from DMA members. DMA members who wish to send unsolicited commercial email must remove from their email prospecting lists the MyPrivacy users who have chosen to stop receiving such emails.
If you’ve purchased from, subscribed to, or donated to an organization in the past, you will need to directly contact them to be removed from their email list. Often times, at the bottom of the email that is sent to you, there are instructions on how to unsubscribe from the email list.
How long will my mail choices remain in effect?
Your mail choices will remain in effect as long as you are a MyPrivacy Plus customer.
What if I have different name variations (e.g. maiden name, short form of your first name) that mail is sent to?
You can specify alternate name variations in your profile, and your mail preferences will take them into account.
What if I have more than one mailing address or more than one email address that I want to control mail for?
You can specify multiple addresses in your profile, and your mail preferences will take them into account.
What does the MyPrivacy ad tracking opt out do for me?
Companies such as advertising networks can track and observe your browsing behavior and activities. With our NEW opt out tool, you can prevent over 100 of these companies from collecting this information and invading your privacy.
How do I access the MyPrivacy ad tracking opt out tool?
After logging into your ReputationDefender account, go to your MyPrivacy dashboard. Then click on either the "Manage Online Privacy" item in the left hand navigation, or on the “Details” button for Ad Network Tracking Protection.
How does the ad tracking opt out tool work?
The opt out tool uses cookies, to signal to the advertising networks that you have opted out of sharing information about your activities across websites. The cookie tells their systems not to record your behavior when your browser communicates with their servers.
Rather than having to visit all of the individual networks sites (over 100 sites) to opt-out, you can use our tool to easily opt out of all of them.
What kinds of companies use cookies to track behavior across websites?
Advertising networks track you to provide advertising that they believe aligns with you interests.
Research and analytics companies may use tracking for research about overall user behavior or to estimate how many people are using certain websites or viewing certain content.
Content delivery firms may use tracking to recommend content to you based on what you've watched and how you've rated it.
How long will my ad tracking opt out settings remain?
Your opt out settings are stored in browser cookies. If you clear your cookies on your browser, you will need to re-run the opt out tool. If you use multiple computers or multiple browsers, you should run the opt out tool on each computer or browser.
What is online behavioral advertising?
Many of the advertisements displayed on Web pages are not selected and delivered by the website visited by a consumer, but instead by network advertising companies that manage and provide advertising for numerous unrelated websites.
These companies collect information about users’ online activities and use it for behavioral advertising. Online behavioral advertising is the practice of tracking an individual’s online activities in order to deliver
advertising tailored to the individual’s interests.
I get a security warning when I try to use the ad tracking opt out tool. What’s that about?
If you use Internet Explorer as your browser, you may see a security warning popup that can prevent usage of the opt out tool.
IE8: "Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely?" To be able to use this tool, you should respond "No".
IE7: “Do you want to display the nonsecure items?” To be able to use this tool, you should respond "Yes".
Part of the opt out process involves receiving information about the advertiser networks that will be opted out of. That is what the warning message is about. We assure you that your ReputationDefender account
is secure.
Nothing shows up when I try to access the Manage Online Privacy page. What’s wrong?
If you use Internet Explorer as your browser, you may see a security warning popup that can prevent usage of the opt out tool.
IE8: "Do you want to view only the webpage content that was delivered securely?" To be able to use this tool, you should respond "No".
IE7: “Do you want to display the nonsecure items?” To be able to use this tool, you should respond "Yes".
Part of the opt out process involves receiving information about the advertiser networks that will be opted out of. That is what the warning message is about. We assure you that your ReputationDefender account is secure.