While tech companies collect your data to build an online profile and track your shopping and browsing habits, other companies sell your personal information to whoever is interested. This can include scammers, hackers, con artists and crazy exes.
People search sites search public records to get information on you. This includes your full name, address, phone number, family history and employment information. Tap or click here for our growing list of invasive people search sites and how to get away from them.
For this week’s entry in our Opt-Out Tuesday series, we’ll show you how to remove yourself from Apollo.io.
Here’s the backstory
Don’t ever pay for any people search service. Most of these sites are scammy in nature. You may think you’re paying for one report and find that you’ve been roped into recurring charges.
And never pay to remove your information from any site. This process must be provided for free.
But be careful which links you click when opting out of people search sites. Links they provide are often ads that lead you to another site that requests payment. We’ll provide accurate links to remove yourself from these sites with each Opt-out Tuesday report.
Do you have older relatives who may not know about these sites? While you’re opting out yourself, why not do the same for them? Just type in their information as you would your own, and follow our steps to completion.
RELATED: Privacy tip: How to clear all the places you’ve been from Apple Maps
Driven by sales and your data
Apollo.io is a data-driven sales platform that sells professional and business information online. The site allows anyone to search and engage with over 250 million contacts at over 60 million companies through its platform.
If you have a job or business that attracts salespeople, there’s a good chance you’ll find your personal information posted here.
How to opt out of Apollo.io
- Find out if your information is posted on Apollo.io. Open your browser and use the following search formula: “[job title] [company] Apollo.io.”
- Whether or not your information comes up in any of the results, you can still submit a request to opt out.
- Go to apollo.io/privacy-policy/remove.
- Enter your email address and select Click here to opt out of Apollo.
- You’ll get a popup telling you to check your inbox.
- Open the message from Apollo Support and click the verification link.
- You’ll be taken to a page confirming your removal request.
- Keep an eye out for another email saying your information will be removed in 24 hours.
Contact [email protected] if you need help or more information. You can request that all your information be deleted from the site.