While tech companies collect your data to build an online profile and track your shopping and browsing habits, other companies sell it to whoever is interested.
People search sites search public records to get information on you. This includes your full name, address, phone number, family history, employment information and more. Tap or click here for our growing list of invasive people search sites.
For this week’s entry in our Opt-Out Tuesday series, we’ll show you how to remove yourself from FastPeopleSearch.
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.
Also, never pay to remove your information from any site. This process must be provided for free.
When removing your info from people search sites, be careful which links you click. They’re 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: Data-hungry apps: These are the worst for your privacy
A fast way for people to find you
FastPeopleSearch lets you search for anyone by name, phone number and address. As is the case for many of these sites, FastPepoleSearch recommends its services for “the location of a long-lost loved one.”
A scammer, hacker or jealous ex can use this site to find your residential and business phone numbers and addresses. The site boasts 16.5 billion available records being searched 100 million times per month. Yikes!
Delete your information from FastPeopleSearch
As with many people search sites, you must search for your information before opting out. Don’t worry. We’ll show you how to get your data off this site step-by-step.
Here’s how to get started:
- Go to fastpeoplesearch.com/removal.
- Enter your email address and check off the box stating that you are requesting to remove your information.
- Complete the Captcha and click Begin Removal Process.
- Search for your name and location, then select Free Search.
- Find your profile in the results and select View Free Details.
- On the next page, select Remove My Record.
- You’ll get an email with a link to remove your name. Select it.
- You’ll be taken to a page stating that your record has been removed and to allow 72 hours for the changes to take effect.
If you need assistance, fill out the contact form at fastpeoplesearch.com/contact.
Keep reading
Security tip: How to stop websites from tracking you with URLs
30-second privacy check every Google and Facebook user must do today