Fat Secret is no secret: Google your name. I just found me on the Internet

I am furious. I googled my name, and it came up as a member of Fat Secret. It says, "Look at XXX XXX's weight history/diet progress." I am LIVID. Secret my ass!

Oh no.....I just looked and yep its all there clear as day for full viewing. Think I will remove my piccie! Cheers

I don't think the point was for it to be secret.

Maybe it's about accountability... or something silly like that.

::edit::
Oh, and I am immune. Google has not found me out. I'm like a ninja... but overweight and without any ninja skills.

What did you expect? I don't say that to be unkind, but realistic. Nothing we do online is ever secret. We might feel like it is, but everything is ultimately public. Private e-mails are not private, nothing is. Search engines and websites like http://archive.org/wayback have cached copies of webpages going back years.

Beyond that, all it takes is for someone to copy and paste something we've said in an e-mail or online and it can take on a life of its own.

That said, you can take steps to make your information more private here. It won't help what may have already been cached by Google and other search engines, but it will protect future information as much as anything can be protected online.

1. Go to MY FATSECRET
2. Click MY ACCOUNT.
3. Scroll down to SHARE MY WEIGHT JOURNAL & CALENDAR,
4. Select KEEP PRIVATE option
5. Scroll down and click the SAVE button.

It probably won't keep your profile completely private, but it will at least hide the details.

But before you throw the baby out with the bathwater, think about this...

The downside is, you lose accountability with others, and that is an integral part of weight loss. We each need a support system, and if you don't have one at home or in your community, this is a good place to find it.

And if we're truthful with ourselves, is it really a secret we're fat? I say it's time to lose the pride and just worry about doing all that we can to make ourselves healthier. If taking part in an online community helps us do that, then take full advantage of that community.

My husband and I have always been open books, both in our real lives and online; it's no secret what we weigh, and we share our struggles. We know we've helped others by doing so, and that motivates us.

Just some things to think about.

Yes it is like Facebook you can share with the world or set it to private. I for one like having it open to everyone. It helps me and might help others as my wife said above. The last part of the name of the site does say the secret is out. Sorry if you were embarrassed.

OH MY GOSH! I just googled my name too & worst of all!! Some website has COPIED my journal to poke fun at me!!!

at: http://www.weightlossfool.com/diary/took-a-long-time-to-get-my-appetite-back

The horror! THE HORROR!!! I am really DISGUSTED!! I shouldn't even promote these idiots by giving their link but I want others to know what happens when your journal is public like mine WAS.

A lot of sites pull content from others in order to up their search engine rankings. My guess is, this person wants to bring traffic so s/he can make money with the ads that are posted there. It doesn't make it any easier when it's you they've quoted, but at least know it probably isn't anything personal.

Ebivr, I can understand your upset. I think things that are posted on this web site should stay here. That site is really weird. It is too bad that you have to make things private because your weight loss is such an inspiration. Keep up the good work.

I think that weight loss is an inspiration. There may be someone out there going through the same thing that you are. Unconsciously, your experience may be motivating. I constantly look at journals, pics and posts when online. Everyone that works hard and is succeeding is motivation for me to keep fighting.

I do understand the feeling of invasion of privacy, but the knowledge that you may be inspiring is FANTASTIC!!

I guess I'm just out there for people to see me for what I am. Someone who is trying to better themselves. I was happy to see that others could view my stats. I even posted it on my website so people could see what I eat. As for being made fun of, I have dealt with that all my life and if people have nothing better to do then to make fun of my diet or post then have at it.

As far as I can tell that website that you posted above is just someone trying to lose weight. It looks like they give you credit as a contributor and I don't believe is they are making fun of you at all.

This is precisely why I never put my full name when signing up for websites. Most sites will allow you to enter your first name and then just a full stop into the last name field. It is the best way to keep your privacy when online.