Frequently Asked Questions
What is QDOS?
How is my QDOS represented?
Why is my QDOS important?
How can I find my QDOS?
How can I influence my QDOS?
How can I compare my QDOS to other people?
Where does QDOS get its information from?
Will my QDOS change over time?
Is QDOS secure?
Is QDOS free?
Who is behind QDOS?
Why did Garlik decide to launch QDOS?
How will QDOS make Garlik money?
Why is it called QDOS?
How is my QDOS calculated?
What is my initial QDOS?
Why does it say QDOS beta?
Is a bigger QDOS better?
Is QDOS available worldwide?
Why can’t you find my QDOS?
What happens if someone else has claimed my score?
My QDOS already appears with certain categories and a list of links associated with me. How can I claim this?
Does QDOS jeapordise peoples online identity by making their QDOS public?
Who can I contact about QDOS?
What is QDOS?
We all have a presence in the online world whether we use the internet or not and protecting yourself from identity fraud is just one side of the story. Our digital presence also increasingly opens up new opportunities and influences real world decisions made about us. We now have a means of measuring and therefore managing the way we look online, we call it digital status. QDOS is how we measure it. QDOS is a mirror that reflects your presence in the digital world. It's designed to give you a starting point to manage and take control of your online status and be seen how you want to be seen. Welcome to QDOS.
How is my QDOS represented?
Your QDOS is brought to life in your own iconic QDOS mark of 4 overlapping colours, from largest to smallest, each one representing the different dimensions of your digital status: popularity, impact, activity and individuality. You can then take steps to change your digital status to match how you want to be seen.QDOS shows you that you really do have a presence in the digital world. Your digital status is valuable and it belongs to you. We think it’s extremely important that you understand it and protect it so that it reflects the way you want others to see you.
Why is my QDOS important?
Your status in the digital world is important and valuable because nowadays people make real world decisions about all of us based on what we look like online. You may decide you need a digital make-over and want to enhance your digital status to make yourself as attractive as possible to those who might want to meet, work for or do any business with you. Or, you may just want to compare yourself to other people. It's a bit of fun but it's serious too. Your digital status can increasingly open up new opportunities and influences real world decisions made about each of us. So it's important to make sure you're seen the way you want to be seen.
How can I find my QDOS?
To find your QDOS all you need to do is enter your name and postcode - we’ll then calculate and display your initial score, which you can claim and make more accurate by clicking ‘claim my QDOS’. Your QDOS is the starting point for taking control of your online identity.
How can I influence my QDOS?
To influence your QDOS and make it more accurate all you need to do is claim your QDOS. We'll then ask you for a few more details that will allow us to refine your QDOS over time and accurately reflect who you are in the online world. You can also add links and tie your QDOS account to profiles like facebook - this will help us to refine and boost your QDOS and make it more accurate.
How can I compare my QDOS to other people?
You can compare anyone, including yourself, to other people in the public eye. From ‘famous tv chefs’ and ‘miss world contestants’ to ‘politicians’ and ‘musicians’, you’ll be able to see how you compare to these people, or how one famous celebrity compares to another online.
Simply find the QDOS you’d like to compare, then at the bottom of the screen you’ll see, for instance, ‘Where does Joe Smith fit in?’ with different lists of well known people. Navigate between these lists to see how you compare, or select ‘All’ from the dropdown to see how your QDOS compares to the full list of QDOS celebrities in the UK.
Where does QDOS get its information from?
We use a variety of public sources to bring you your QDOS. The internet is a key source, as are public databases, plus our own proprietary research. We scan as widely as possible to bring you a reflection of your online presence. However, it is when you point us at your information online by claiming your QDOS and telling us more about you, that QDOS can refine its calculations.
Will my QDOS change over time?
Yes. Your QDOS will change according to what you do online - so the more contacts you collect, the more you use sites like LinkedIn and facebook, and the more you buy, sell and blog the higher your QDOS will become. The more you point us in the right direction, the more QDOS will be an accurate reflection of your online presence.
Is QDOS secure?
QDOS employs industral strength encryption to protect any personal data that you input to our site. We’re an extremely hard target for an online criminal, and we’re always reviewing our site safety to keep our users well protected.
Is QDOS free?
QDOS is completely free to use, whether you sign up and claim your QDOS or not.
Who is behind QDOS?
QDOS is powered by Garlik, the online identity experts. Set up by the founders of internet bank Egg, we are a team of leading technology innovators and privacy experts whose aim is to give individuals more power over the way their personal information is used online.
To find out more go to www.garlik.com.
Why did Garlik decide to launch QDOS?
Garlik has launched QDOS to encourage millions of individuals to engage with their digital identities in a positive, exciting and fun way.
Most of the debate around digital identity is negative and based on fear - identity theft, identity fraud, ID cards. However many people don't realise the opportunities that having a well managed digital presence can open up. Your digital identity is valuable and it's worth carefully managing so you can be seen the way you want others in the online world to see you.
QDOS provides a way for you to measure your digital status which is something powerful that you can control. QDOS encourages you to take a positive step forwards in the digital world.
How will QDOS make Garlik money?
QDOS is free and will remain so. It will not make money directly for Garlik.
QDOS’s purpose is to get millions of people engaged with their identities. Garlik believes that when people start to take back control of their identities, they may need products and services to help them. We don’t know what these will be, but we intend to ask people what they want and then design products and services to help them achieve their goals.
Why is it called QDOS?
QDOS is a measure of your digital status. We derived it from the word ‘kudos’, meaning ‘glory, fame or renown’.
How is my QDOS calculated?
Garlik has analysed tens of millions of records as well as searching the web itself to calculate your QDOS. The more you point us to your online information, the more accurate your QDOS score will become.
At the heart of QDOS is a powerful mathematical representation called an eigenvector which is used to calculate everyone's score for each of four dimensions - popularity, impact, activity and individuality.
What is my initial QDOS?
Everyone has an initial QDOS because everyone has a digital status, however small, whether you use the internet actively or not. We calculate your initial QDOS based on an assessment of your name’s profile on the web, and a statistical analysis of your digital demohraphics. However, we relate to this only as a starting point - the next step is for you to claim your QDOS, point our engine in the right direction and we will refine your QDOS based on what you have told us.
Why does it say QDOS beta?
QDOS is in beta stage over the first few months. This means we are still refining the system based on what you, the user, tell us to do.
So please tell us what you like, don’t like, and would like to see by sending comments to .
Is a bigger QDOS better?
People are naturally competitive so for some it will be obvious that bigger is better. This may be true, but it may also be that your shape is equally important. For example, if you are applying for a job that involves dealing with people and yet your popularity and impact are lower than the other people going for the job, then upping these factors may be more important to you than just increasing your overall QDOS.
Is QDOS available worldwide?
The QDOS beta is focused on the UK and we calculate initial QDOS for the UK only. However, if you are outside the UK we would welcome your thoughts and we invite you to register for the beta also. We can calculate your QDOS wherever you are.
Why can’t you find my QDOS?
If you are in the UK then your QDOS should be there. If it's not please contact us at and we will find out what's gone wrong.
If you are outside the UK then you may not have an initial QDOS. However please register for the beta and we may be able to calculate your QDOS.
What happens if someone else has claimed my score?
If you find that your own QDOS has already been claimed by someone that isn't you then please contact us at . We will endeavour to resolve any dispute of this nature and if necessary we may supsend the user account until the situation is resolved.
My QDOS already appears with certain categories and a list of links associated with me. How can I claim this?
We have set up QDOS accounts for some high profile people to see where they
fit in to the digital world. For each of these accounts you will see we
have put the user in to a particular category (ie Technology & Media, or
Celebrity Chefs) and we have added public webpages associated with this user
to help us give an accurate score. If you are one of these high profile
people yourself and would like to claim your own score, please email us at
Does QDOS jeapordise peoples online identity by making their QDOS public?
No. Nothing QDOS does puts anyone at risk of identity fraud or theft - no new personal information is exposed. In fact we firmly believe that if consumers are more aware that they have something valuable to protect called a digital identity, they are more likely to make themselves harder targets for identity thieves.
We are trying to do in a positive way what thousands of scare stories about ID theft and surveillance society have failed to do. We are trying to get consumers to engage with their digital identities.
Who can I contact about QDOS?
If you have any questions about QDOS you may find the answers quickly in this FAQ. Alternatively if you have any other questions or any feedback you can contact us at .
