Opt-out Tuesday: How to remove yourself from BeenVerified
There is a scary amount of personal information on the internet. You don’t need a degree in information technology or network administration to find someone’s email address, telephone number or where they live.
Whether you consider them shady or not, people search websites have a lot of information on all of us. The worst part is that most don’t even know their details are publically available.
This guide will show you how to remove yourself from the BeenVerified website. It is the first in what will become a weekly feature on how to remove your information from people search sites.
Here’s the backstory
Websites like BeenVerified, People Finder and Intelius scrape through as much of the internet as possible to gather publically available information on you. This can come from social media, court records, public records or other services.
Besides packaging the information in a searchable database for others to find, it can also sell the information to data brokers. These companies are responsible for targeted advertising on social media or Google Ads.
There is a darker side, too, as scammers and hackers can access the data to increase phishing attacks or scams.
How to remove your data
Removing your data from BeenVerified isn’t as complicated as you might imagine. However, it is one of the most prominent people search sites, so it is a great place to start your information deletion journey.
- First, you must navigate to the correct page. Go to https://www.beenverified.com/app/optout/search to start the process.
- Enter your first and last name and select your state from the drop-down menu. Then hit the Search button.
- Select the correct match from the search results and click Proceed to Opt-Out.
Opt-Out Tuesday: How to remove your info from PeopleSmart
When was the last time you searched for yourself online? There’s likely plenty of accurate information about you floating around the web that you didn’t know about, such as your full name, address, phone number, family history, employment information and more.
Tips for deleting yourself from people-search sites
Face it: What you do online isn’t private. Even if you’re browsing in good ol’ incognito mode, you’re still not anonymous. Incognito mode does have handy uses like keeping certain searches out of your autofill and suggestions. Tap or click here for my favorite insider secrets to getting the most out of private browsing.