The whole country is watching the Nancy Guthrie case. She was taken from her Tucson home on Feb. 1 and hasn’t been seen since. When the kidnapping happened, it took me 30 seconds to find her home address and cell phone number on a people search site.
I pasted her address into Zillow and saw photos and matched that with video from a home tour done on Today. Imagine if I was a criminal armed with that info.
In Scottsdale, two teens dressed as delivery drivers forced their way into a couple’s home. They duct-taped and assaulted the homeowners, looking for $66 million in cryptocurrency. They got the victims’ home address from strangers on an encrypted app.
In Delray Beach, Florida, a retired couple had their sliding glass door shattered by thieves. The attackers had their home address from leaked personal data. That crew went on to hit victims in multiple states.
Riverside, California, police confirmed detectives find Zillow and Redfin searches on phones seized from arrested burglary suspects.
Anyone can type your name into a free people search site and get your home address in seconds. Then they plug it into Zillow and see your floor plan, entry points, window types and where the security cameras sit.
Unless you’re selling your home, take down your photos. Now.
🔒 Take it all down in 10 minutes
These steps can look a little different depending on your device, app version or browser. If it’s not exact, poke around. The option is there.
- Zillow: Sign in at zillow.com. Click your profile icon > Your Home. Search your address, claim it, then go to Edit Facts and hide or delete the photos. Hit Save.
- Redfin: Sign in at redfin.com. Go to Owner Dashboard. Select your home > Edit Photos > Hide listing photos > Save.
- Realtor.com: Go to realtor.com/myhome. Claim your home, then select it under My Home > Remove Photos > Yes, Remove All Photos.
- Google Street View: Open Google Maps on a computer. Search your address, drop into Street View, then click “Report a problem” (bottom right). Position the red box over your home. Under Request blurring, select “My home.” Submit. FYI, once it’s blurred, it’s permanent. Good.
Pro tip: Ask your old listing agent to pull photos from the MLS. Once they’re gone from MLS, the feeder sites eventually follow.
If you’re not selling, there’s zero reason for the internet to have a virtual tour of your home. Take it down today.
I guess you could say Zillow gives everyone an open house. Problem is, you never sent the invitations.
🗣️ STEAL THIS STAT: Police throughout the country say they routinely find Zillow and Redfin searches on phones seized from arrested burglary suspects.
📩Know someone who bought a home in the last few years? Their old listing photos are still online, showing strangers the floor plan, the bedrooms and every entry point. Send them this, so they can take it all down in 10 minutes.