With data brokers making big money by selling your personal details, it’s never been easier for bad actors to get access to your phone number, email address, physical address, and even sensitive data like your social security number.
That doesn’t just leave you at risk from spammers and scammers, but some people unfortunately have to worry about their contact details being used for stalking and harassment …
How to remove personal information
Data brokers are companies whose business is buying and selling personal data. While they do grab headlines on rare occasions – as in the case of a major data breach – they mostly operate in the shadows.
Despite occasional talk of lawmakers or regulators intervening, data broking remains a perfectly legal business, taking advantage of the small-print we frequently agree to when registering to use a website or buying an app.
Fortunately there are steps you can take to remove your personal information from the internet.
Google yourself to identify sites with your details
The first step is to Google yourself. Sometimes including information someone might already know about you will narrow down searches for more common names, so here are examples:
Jane Doe
Jane Doe Boston
Jane Doe doctor
Jane Doe Massachusetts General Hospital
Jane Doe Harvard In some cases, you’ll be able to remove the information yourself – for example, in profiles you created. In other cases, you might need to use the Contact Us link to ask the website to do it.
If they refuse, or don’t respond, then search for the site for a DMCA Takedown Request. While this technically only applies to breaches of copyright, messages to this link will usually be reviewed by the site’s legal team, so if you state that the information is being used to harass you, this will generally be taken seriously.
Ask Google to remove search results
If a website refuses to remove your data, or fails to respond, another option is to ask Google to remove links to the content. You can do this through the company’s personal data removal request form. How the company responds will depend on both the legal jurisdiction for your location and Google’s view of the balance between privacy and public interest.
Check People Search services
People search sites are specifically intended to help obtain contact details, so you should be sure to include these in your searches. Search for yourself at Spokeo, Whitepages, and BeenVerified to see if your personal information is listed.
If you are listed, check the help section to see how to opt-out. At Whitepages, for example, you can find instructions here and opt-out here.
Note that sometimes these services will purchase new databases which include your details, so it’s worth checking them periodically, not just once.
Review your social media platforms
If you use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, check your profile to see what details you included. It may be that you included information when you registered that you would not want to be available today, especially if you are being actively targeted by someone.
Check the default privacy you have set, to ensure it is as you want it (for example, Friends Only). Review past posts to see whether there are posts you’d now want to delete or change the privacy.
Use a data removal service
Manually identifying all of the companies holding your data, and issuing removal requests, can be an incredibly labor-intensive task. For that reason, you might find it easier to user a paid data removal service like Incogni.
9to5Mac readers can get a 55% discount from both individual and family plans at Incogni. You can include up to three phone numbers, email addresses, and physical addresses – to ensure both current and previous details are removed. On the Family & Friends plan, you can offer the same protection to up to four of your loved ones.
To claim your discount, use promo code 9TO5MAC at Incogni’s website.
Other ways to protect yourself
In more serious cases, you may want to take additional steps to protect your privacy when giving out your information.
For example, services like Google Voice allow you to create virtual phone numbers. You may also want to get a PO Box, to avoid disclosing your physical address.
If you’ve ever given a Find My link to a former partner, check the app to ensure you are no longer sharing your location. It’s also worth checking Settings > Privacy > Location Services to see which apps are able to use your location. Remove permission from any that might share it publicly, for example social media or ‘check in’ apps which might add your location to posts.
If someone is causing you distress, or leading you to fear for your safety, never be afraid to contact law enforcement. If it’s a previous partner, then ask for the domestic abuse team, as they have particular expertise in this area.
Police would far rather you contact them over something that turns out to be trivial than fail to do so when it could have prevented something serious.
You can assist police, and also gather evidence to support a possible restraining order, by keeping logs of any unwanted contact. Retain messages and call logs, and since some messaging apps allow the sender to delete messages after they’ve been read, take screenshots of them immediately they arrive.
You can find further advice and links at the Department of Justice website.
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