Today I was contacted by someone at work. She graduated school with me and our 20 year reunion was coming up. Why did she contact me at work? It was the only way they were able to track me down. I was included in promotional material by name. She told me I "was the hardest to track down"and I had to smile.
This is just a small anecdote about privacy practices and their real life impact (and how your employer can undo all of it, I guess)
In terms of online presence I think one has to be careful about becoming too private - at what point do you become so untrackable that even people you would like to find you (I.e. old friends) can’t anymore.
i really don’t want old friends or distant family finding me though
Agreed. If I am not in contact with you there is a reason.
I would fully like to erase my online presence. I dont want people seeking me out.
I have a website that shows up when someone searches my name on the internet and an email there. This way people are able to contact me and I don’t have to use any spyware like Facebook.
But whether that works for you depends on your threat model, I guess.