Lesley Carhart's Cybersecurity Blog

There’s been a bit of a social media uproar recently about the data collection practices of people search service FamilyTreeNow. However, it’s certainly not the first, only, (or last) service to provide potentially uncomfortable private information about people on the internet without their knowledge or consent. Even the most technologically disconnected people are frequently searchable.

In conducting OSINT research on people, services like FamilyTreeNow are often a gold mine, and are one of my first stops when I’m searching out useful facts to pivot into more intimate details about a target. Do you really want any casual stranger to know your home address, phone numbers, email addresses, and the names and ages of your kids? While disappearing from the internet completely can be nigh impossible, spending a little time removing easily accessible data can cause frustration and extra work for a nefarious (or nosy) person investigating you. I speak from experience. So, it’s worth taking some time to do, as we always want to make bad guys and gals’ lives harder.

So, grab a snack and a beverage, queue up a TV show to binge watch, and let’s make some quick and easy wins in helping you disappear from the malfeasant public eye. I’ll only ask you do five quick tasks per episode. You can do them during the boring parts.

Before we start, I highly recommend setting up a new webmail account to perform these removals. Almost all of the services require an email to opt out, and many require account registration. Since we’re dealing with firms that collect information about people, it’s sensible to avoid using your day to day or work email.

One last thing! It’s important to remember these services are not always accurate. You may have more than one entry for yourself at any of these services. Make sure to check!

Let’s begin!

• Let’s get the aforementioned FamilyTreeNow out of the way. Their opt-out form is here: https://www.familytreenow.com/optout. They’ll require you to search for yourself through the opt-out page then click a red “opt out this record” at the top of your entry. (You must repeat this process from the start for every profile you wish to remove.)
• Next, let’s head over to Instant Checkmate. Their Opt Out form is here: https://www.instantcheckmate.com/optout/ and requires you enter a name, birth date, and a contact email address.
• We’ll head over to PeekYou, next, which requires you search their database first and provide the numeric profile ID in your page(s) URL, as well as an email address. Their opt out page is: http://www.peekyou.com/about/contact/optout/
• Next up is Spokeo. You’ll once again need to search for yourself, but this time all you need to do is copy the full URL of your page(s). Then, head here: http://www.spokeo.com/opt_out/new, paste that link and enter your email address.
• Let’s head to BeenVerified’s opt out page at https://www.beenverified.com/f/optout/search. Simply enter your name and location, select your entry or entries, enter your email, and click the verification link that is immediately sent to you.

SNACK, BEVERAGE, NEXT EPISODE BREAK!

• So, Whitepages has two different types of profiles – free and paid, and they seem to have little to do with one another in terms of removal. For the free side, you’ll have to sign up for their service to remove entries, (which includes email verification). Once logged in, you simply need to paste the link to your entry here: https://secure.whitepages.com/me/suppressions.
• For Whitepages Premium, you must open a quick support ticket with their help desk. Full details and the Help interface are here: https://premium.whitepages.com/help#about. You will need to copy and paste the link to your premium profile in the ticket (not the free Whitepages entry).
• Let’s head over to PeopleFinders, http://www.peoplefinders.com/manage/. This one’s super easy; just use the search box to find your profile, and then click the opt-out button.
• PeopleSmart is also relatively simple. Search for yourself at https://www.peoplesmart.com/optout-go. You will need to enter an email address and click a verification link.
• USA People Search’s opt out page is here: https://www.usa-people-search.com/manage/ and simply requires clicking your profile and entering a captcha.

 SNACK, BEVERAGE, NEXT EPISODE BREAK!

• Let’s head to Radaris, at https://radaris.com/. Search for yourself. Click “full profile”, then click on the down arrow to see the full menu of options. There is one that states “Control Information”. This will prompt you to register for an account with their service and claim your profile as yourself. Once you have done so, you will have the option to “Remove Information” or take your aggregated profile private, at any time.
• The last information service we’ll tackle today is Peoplelooker, at https://www.peoplelooker.com/f/optout/search. Once again, a relatively easy opt-out process using a verification email.
• Finally, let’s do a little social media cleanup!
  • If you have a Facebook account, perform a Privacy Checkup. It won’t take too long. Ensure your posts and likes are as private as possible.
  • If you use Google or YouTube services, perform their Privacy Checkup. Once again, ensure nobody but the right friends and family can see your activity.
  • Head to LinkedIn. On the header menu, select Privacy & Settings, then select the “Privacy” tab. Consider how much sensitive detail you are providing about your workplace, their tools and processes, and yourself. Consider restricting certain data on your profile to only connections and members.

Good work! Enjoy the rest of your snack and your show! Be proud that you’ve done some good work cleaning up your public presence, today.

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It’s important to note that I’ve left a couple services out of this guide that are referenced in other comprehensive lists, (like this one), due to the complexity and frustration of removing data from their services. Notable examples, Intelius (and their many subsidiaries) and US Search unfortunately require a form and photo ID for information removal – the latter by fax or snail mail(!) So, while we won’t tackle these removals while we watch TV and enjoy a nice cold beverage, they are something to consider addressing with a little time and during business hours.

If you are in a sensitive situation and need a clean slate as soon as possible, I do recommend considering a paid data removal service like Abine.