Managing an online identity has become a multimedia affair. Not
only can internet searchers type in queries about someone who
has aroused their curiosity, they also can seek pictures,
videos, and real-time status updates online. Location-based
awareness in mobile devices adds another layer of information
that can be searched. Avid users of mobile devices may
voluntarily reveal their identity and location to certain
websites, thereby allowing almost anyone to learn their
whereabouts. Surveillance, even the most benign kind, has moved
out of the realm of private investigators and into the hands of
the general public. Much has changed since our 2007 Digital
Footprints report. At the time, the idea of the then-new facial
recognition technology being touted by photo search services
like Polar Rose seemed radical. Today, facial recognition
technology is standard in many new digital cameras, and
applications like Polar Rose are soon going to be fused with the
cameras and internet connections on users’ phones. Google