The sad truth is that it is extremely difficult to keep your mailing address private. But removing it from people search sites can at least make it a little harder for people to find your information. If you’ve got $129 to spare each year and live in the U.S., you can pay Abine for their DeleteMe service, which will get you off of multiple data sites. You can also take steps to remove yourself from these databases (instead of or in addition to the service), but be aware that it’s not always possible to opt out.
Action Item: A good place to begin is by using an aggregator site like Dirt Search to see where you are listed, and by putting your name and address or name and phone number in a search engine to see if there are other places that Dirt Search missed. Here are opt-out links for some of the most popular data brokers:
- BeenVerified: https://www.beenverified.com/faq/opt-out/
- CheckPeople: http://www.checkpeople.com/optout
- Instant Checkmate: https://www.instantcheckmate.com/optout/
- Intelius: https://www.intelius.com/optout.php
- PeekYou: http://www.peekyou.com/about/contact/optout/index.php
- PeopleFinders: http://www.peoplefinders.com/manage/
- PeopleSmart: https://www.peoplesmart.com/optout-signup
- Pipl: https://pipl.com/directory/remove/
- PrivateEye: http://secure.privateeye.com/help/default.aspx#26
- PublicRecords360: http://www.publicrecords360.com/optout.html
- Radaris: http://radaris.com/page/how-to-remove
- Spokeo: http://www.spokeo.com/opt_out/new
- USA People Search: http://www.usa-people-search.com/manage/default.aspx
Ken Gagne at Computerworld has a roundup of opt-out processes for some of the most common data brokers.
Yael Grauer is a freelance tech journalist covering online privacy and surveillance for WIRED, Forbes, Slate, and other publications. Find her at http://yaelwrites.com or on Twitter @yaelwrites, and check out her free ebook on staying safer online at https://yaelwrites.com/saferonline.pdf.
Check out more digital hygiene tips:
- Removing public data
- Privacy protection on domain names
- Https everywhere
- Anonymous “Tor” cloak or VPN
- Prepare for a DDos attack
- Two-step verification
- Privacy plug-ins/cookies
- Third-party permissions
- Image “hidden pixels”
- Links and attachments
- Install patches and updates
- Use a password manager/strong password
- Strengthen security questions
- Encrypt hard drive/backup data
- Click to play
- Use end-to-end encryption
As an ‘evolved’ man, I thank you for having the fortitude to say “NO” to the cretins and misogynists on the internet, and for exposing their abhorrent behavior.
LikeLiked by 1 person