My son asked me where I lived in Los Angeles a few months over 25 years ago. It was a performance for Unisys that was far from memorable. He found this address on a free people search site, along with my other addresses and cell phone numbers. Pretty.
This is what inspired my widely successful Opt-Out Tuesday series on Komando.com. Every Tuesday we walk you through all the steps to remove your personal information from another people search site. It was a lot of work as these sites don’t make it easy.
Opt-out Tuesday has been so popular that people search sites are fighting back. Because the less personal information they have about you and me, the less money they make.
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It worked so well that we caught their attention
Opt-Out Tuesday was praised, and then a change. I suddenly noticed a steady stream of emails and social media posts from people having a hard time unsubscribing from people search sites. This is because the opt-out process is subject to change at any time, without notice. I can only assume that the traffic we were delivering to the site’s removal pages was to blame.
My team spent almost 48 hours logging out of every people search site again to get the info you need to do the same.
You have friends and relatives who don’t even know these sites exist. Let them know that you protect their privacy online and encourage them to do the same. I bet they will thank you.
Now try to log out
Intelius is one of the most well-known data brokers on the internet. The old Intelius opt-out link is broken, so you need to use the PeopleConnect suppression tool. Let’s start there.
Note: Follow these steps carefully. One wrong click can cancel the whole process.
• Go to suppression.peopleconnect.us/login.
• Enter your email address, read the privacy policy and terms of use and click Submit.
• Check your inbox for a verification email from [email protected] Tap the Confirm email address button in the message.
• Enter your name and email address, scroll down and click Save on computer when you’re done
• Go back to the top of the page and select Suppression Settings taband wait for your information to appear.
• If the information matches yours, select it Visibility setting drop-down menu menu and select oppressed.
• If you can’t find your information, select it Identity tab. up to return to the previous page.
• Press the Edit Identity button and enter additional information, e.g. B. another email address you used. Verifying more of your information may help find your matching profile on the site.
NOTE: PeopleConnect recommends the suppression tool as the best way to prevent people from finding you on their websites, but there is also a delete option. Before you do this, you should know that PeopleConnect states that deleting your data will also delete your suppressions.
How to delete your data:
• Go to suppression.peopleconnect.us/privacy-center and scroll down to Right to Erasure Section.
• Enter your e-mail address. If you followed the suppression steps above, your information may already be in the system and you don’t need to re-enter your email address.
• Press the Delete my user data button. You will receive a message that you need to complete the process via a link in your email.
• Check your inbox for a message from [email protected] Tap the link below to permanently delete your account data.
• You will be taken to a confirmation page. Look for another email message confirming your deletion.
If you have already gone through the PeopleConnect deletion process for Intelius or any other site, you will receive an email stating that there is no record associated with your email address.
For more information or assistance, contact [email protected] or call 888-245-1655.
Don’t stop there
See the following Opt-Out Tuesday posts for updated instructions on how to delete yourself from these invasive websites:
• Opt-out Tuesday: How to remove yourself from US Search
• Opt-out Tuesday: How to remove your information from TruthFinder
• Opt-out Tuesday: How to remove your data from PeopleLookup
• Opt-out Tuesday: How to remove your information from Instant Checkmate
• Opt-out Tuesday: How to remove your information from PeopleFinder
• Opt-Out Tuesday: How to remove your data from ZabaSearch
Let me know what you think about people search sites below Twitter.com/KimKomando.
Keep your technical knowledge up to date
My favorite podcast is called Kim Komando Today. It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips and tech callers like you from across the country. Look for it wherever you get your podcasts. For convenience, click the link below to view a recent episode.
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Learn about the latest technologies on The Kim Komando Show, the nation’s largest weekend radio talk show. Kim takes calls and shares advice on today’s digital lifestyle, from smartphones and tablets to online privacy and data hacks. Visit her website at Komando.com for her daily tips, free newsletters and more.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How to Remove Your Personal Information from People Search Sites
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