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.
What about all the info you willingly post, like photos of you and your family to social media? I bet you’re sharing more than you know. Here are the six common mistakes everyone makes on social media.
Then there’s the data about you gathered, packed, and offered to the highest bidder. If you care about your online privacy, deleting yourself from the sites below is a great place to start.
Data brokering websites don’t make it easy
People search sites build profiles based on public info scraped from across the internet. These profiles often contain sensitive data like phone numbers and addresses — and scam callers and mail spammers rely on these websites to scout prospects.
You might be thinking, “Is this legal?” Data brokers get away with it by giving people a chance to opt-out. Unfortunately, this is usually easier said than done. Prepare to jump through some hoops.
Related: 11 practical things under $11 you’ll use all the time.
Two of the most prominent people search sites are Intelius, which owns multiple data brokering websites, and BeenVerified. If you are short on time, remove yourself from these two. If you have more time, keep scrolling to see the rest and complete those steps.
Intelius: It owns larger people search sites like Classmates.com, iSearch, ZabaSearch, Peoplelookup, PublicRecords, and many others. Previously, you had to fax your driver’s license to remove yourself, but the process recently has become much easier.
Fortunately, if you remove yourself from Intelius, you remove yourself from the sites it controls.
- To get started, click on this link and enter your name and email address.
- When you find your records, click Select and Continue.
- On the next page, enter your email address to confirm your identity and fill in the CAPTCHA code. Then, click Continue.
- Open your email and look for a message from the sender Intelius. Click the link inside to continue. The link will expire after 24 hours. If you don’t see the email in your inbox, check your spam folder.
- You will receive a confirmation email with a reference number once the process is complete. It can take up to 72 hours for the opt-out to fully process.
- After 72 hours have passed, look yourself up again on Intelius. If your information is still showing after you got your confirmation, send an email to CUSTSERV@intelius.com and include the confirmation number you received.
BeenVerified: This site is a major hub for people searches and probably contains a significant amount of information about you. This data includes your full name, phone number and street address. To remove your information, follow these steps:
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When’s the last time you did a search for your own name online? It’s fascinating, and sometimes a little eerie, to click through the results.
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