Privacy Handbook

Safe Shepherd Privacy Handbook (safeshepherd.com/handbook) is an educational guide to online privacy and personal information management that covers how personal data is collected, where it appears on the internet, and practical steps for reducing digital exposure. It provides accessible privacy guidance for individuals managing their online presence.

For OSINT investigators, the Privacy Handbook provides conceptual frameworks for understanding the data broker ecosystem, how personal information flows between sources, and what data is typically publicly available about US individuals. This understanding directly informs people investigation methodology — knowing what categories of data are typically exposed in public records helps investigators structure comprehensive research plans.

The handbook's coverage of specific data broker categories (people search sites, social media, professional directories, court records, voter registration) maps the investigation landscape for US people research. Each category represents a distinct research vector that investigators should systematically cover.

For victim support contexts — when helping individuals reduce their public data exposure after doxing, stalking, or privacy incidents — the handbook provides practical opt-out guidance and explains the underlying mechanisms of commercial data aggregation that investigators need to help clients navigate.

Understanding how data brokers obtain and share data helps investigators trace the provenance of information found during research. Data found on one broker was likely sourced from specific upstream records — understanding these source relationships helps investigators find authoritative primary sources rather than relying on potentially outdated or inaccurate aggregated data.

The privacy concepts in the handbook are also directly applicable to assessing a subject's likely data exposure during investigation planning: certain categories of subjects (celebrities, executives, individuals with legal issues) have more extensive public records exposure than private individuals, which affects investigation scope and resource allocation.

Use the handbook as an educational reference for understanding US data broker ecosystems and public records availability.