Did you know that your personal information, such as your contact details, might be extremely easy to find on various public data websites? It’s true, and you can see for yourself by just typing your full name into the search box on Google or any other search engine. The results that appear may include public data sites that allow anyone, including total strangers, to see things like where you live, what your phone number is, and more. Some sites might even make it possible to run a background check on you quickly and easily.
If all of this makes you feel a little uncomfortable, and you are wondering if it is possible to remove information from those sites, don’t worry. There are some steps you can take, and a few are discussed below.
Look for the Opt-Out Option
Many of the public data sites that are out there feature an opt-out option that you can take advantage of if you want to have your data taken down promptly. To see what we mean, you can go to Nuwber and look for your listing before proceeding with the removal instructions to have your listing taken down. It’s that simple!
However, this can be a bit time-consuming because you will need to move through the instructions for each website. And you might even want to perform a search specifically to look for people search websites so you can see which ones are out there, and then see if your information is being displayed on any of them. You should know that there are more than 100 people search sites out there and each may have a profile about you. In case you don’t want to opt out of all of them manually, you can hire special services to do that for you.
Don’t Stop at Public Data Sites
Public data sites are a good place to start when you want to gain more control over where information about you can be found online, but consider other types of websites as well.
A good example is your social media pages. How much information have you shared on those pages, and what are your privacy settings? Perhaps people who search for you can see where you live or where you work, and if you have listed any family members on your profile, they’ll know who you’re related to as well.
These details, just like the details on people search sites, could make it easier for strangers to find out more about you. So, you might want to make your social media accounts private, or at least take down personal information that helps to identify who you are or locate you.
Posting images and stories from any place only after you leave it will also do a lot for your safety.
Another place to go to is work-related sites. Perhaps, you have accounts on job-seeking websites, or there’s some info about you on the website of your current/ former place of work. Or maybe you used to have a blog?
Any website that you have visited or where you have submitted some piece of personal information can be a source of personal data for data brokers. So choose wisely what to display online and what social media to use.
You Likely Won’t Be Able to Take Everything Down
A final note: there are some public records websites that may not make it possible to have your information taken down. So, to get as much control as possible over where your personal data is available, be sure to do what you can with the websites that make it possible to opt out of having your information displayed. Before you know it, you might feel a lot better about what people can uncover about you from a simple search on the internet.
With the right strategy in place, you can remove yourself from online public data websites, and you can also take some control back when it comes to other information that is out there about you. If you are ready to take these steps, you can start right away, and you might be surprised by how easy it is to request the removal of your details from various platforms.