Opt-Out Tuesday: How to remove your info from Instant Checkmate
People are tracking you online. Whether they’re trying to scam you or serve you with ads, privacy is not something you can take for granted.
Between your emails, cookies (the tracking kind, not the delicious kind) and nosy apps, you’re being watched without even knowing it, but don’t despair — you can take back your privacy in a few steps. Here’s how to fight back against Big Tech.
Do you keep a low profile online? That’s great, but it doesn’t completely protect you. People search sites scour the internet for publicly available information and give it to anyone looking for it. For this week’s Opt-Out Tuesday, we’ll show you how to remove yourself from Instant Checkmate.
Avoid people search sites at all costs, especially if it costs you
Don’t ever pay for any people search service. Most of these sites are scammy in nature. You may think you’re paying for one report and find that you’ve been roped into recurring charges.
Don’t pay to remove your information from any site. This process must be provided for free, as you can see in the steps below.
Do you have older relatives who may not know about these sites? While opting out yourself, why not do the same for them? Just type in their information as you would your own, and follow our steps to completion.
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People with bad intentions mostly use people search sites
People search sites exist to gather your name, address, birthday, marital status, education level and financial records, employment information and more in neat little packages. They get this data from publicly available sources and data brokers.
These sites advertise their services as an excellent way to locate friends and relatives, though there’s no stopping bad actors from accessing the information.
The worst part? This is perfectly legal.
Opt-Out Tuesday: Check out our updated posts to delete yourself from these people search sites
People search sites collect and sell personal information and make it available for anyone to see. Your name, address, phone number and other bits of data are likely scattered across multiple sites.
We launched our Opt-Out Tuesday series last year to provide detailed instructions on removing your information from people search sites. We even compiled each entry into one mega post so you can opt out of multiple sites simultaneously. Go here to check out the roundup.
Ever run a background check? 20 mil Truth Finder and Instant Checkmate accounts leaked
Have you ever done a background check on yourself or someone else? It’s a good way for employers to determine if a potential worker is trustworthy. Some people even do background checks on potential dates in online dating. Tap or click here to learn how to do a free background check.
Opt-Out Tuesday: How to remove your info from TruthFinder
People search sites advertise as services for finding people you’ve lost touch with.
These sites scrape personal information from local, state and federal public records, court records, social media, data brokers and forums. Tap or click here for detailed instructions for removing your information from these creepy sites.
Delete your personal information from this scary site now
Important note: Be careful where you click. Depending on the browser you use and which device you use, you may see slightly different things than what we’ve posted in the screenshots below. Both of these websites charge fees for you to access more records, but not to have yourself removed from these sites. Do not pay to have yourself removed from these sites. The opt-out service is free.