Clearing data brokers - actsecure/resources GitHub Wiki
Testing the waters
To get a sense of what is out there, look yourself up in some free data brokers that are fairly easy to use. Try looking yourself up in People Finders. This is one of the few data brokers with a relatively painless search and opt-out process. If you find yourself, definitely opt out.
Most data brokers are not this easy. Try looking up your name and city in whitepages. You can also try their reverse phone lookup. If you do find yourself, you may also see some of your family members linked from your profile page. Whitepages will let you opt out, but they won't make it easy for you, and they have historically (the process changes periodically) had a separate opt-out process for their premium product.
Tackling data brokers
Once you start looking yourself up in data brokers, most people find a lot of reasons to be paranoid. Try to keep a level head; remember that you've lived probably most of your life thus far with surveillance and advertising data hoarding. If you're worried about the government, sorry this will not help you that much, they probably have all of this and more on you already. But if you're worried about random assholes on the internet, there are some concrete things you can do to protect yourself. Here are the strategies for preventing doxxing and reducing the risk posed by data brokers:
1. Opt out
Unfortunately not all data brokers provide an opt-out, and some of the ones that do require so much identity verification from you that it feels like an invasion of privacy just to opt out. Go with what you're comfortable with and the capacity you have. Opting out of every broker that offers it won't guarantee you safety, this is just a risk reduction approach.
2. Spread disinformation
The harder it is to find accurate info for someone who is definitely you, the lower your risk of doxxing. Keep in mind that random assholes on the internet are usually down to fuck with lots of people, not just you. So if you are a hassle, sometimes they will just move on. Check out our guide on obfuscating your identity to learn more.
3. Pay someone else to clean up after you
These services will basically do #1 for you, and generally they do a better job that you would. If you have the money, go for it. And pay for a friend who doesn't.
- https://www.privacyduck.com/services/ - a reasonably ethical company that activists we know have had good experiences with.
- http://reputation.com/ - will clear your data from paid sites and monitor them going forward.
- https://www.abine.com/deleteme/landing.php
Data brokers with an opt-out
There are hundreds of data brokers out there, but here are some of the more popular ones that actually have an opt-out process.
| Data broker | Opt-out method | Opt-out link |
|---|---|---|
| Spokeo | Online only | https://www.spokeo.com/optout |
| SpyDialer | Online | http://www.spydialer.com/optout.aspx |
| Whitepages | Online + phone | http://www.whitepages.com/suppression_requests How to: https://brandyourself.com/blog/guide/opt-out-and-remove-listings-from-whitepages/ |
| BeenVerified | Online + email | https://www.beenverified.com/f/optout/search |
| Instant Checkmate | Online | https://www.instantcheckmate.com/opt-out/ |
| PeopleSmart | Online | https://www.peoplesmart.com/optout-go |
| USA People Search | Online | https://www.usa-people-search.com/manage/default.aspx |
| PeopleFinders | Online | https://www.peoplefinders.com/manage/ |
| PeekYou | Online | http://www.peekyou.com/about/contact/optout/index.php |
| FamilyTreeNow | Online | https://www.familytreenow.com/optout |
Guides
These are all additional resources, with a little context. We are in the process of digesting these guides and incorporating them into this wiki. Feel free to peruse them yourself though!
- https://www.privacyduck.com/resources/ - Privacy Duck has a DIY opt-out guide that covers the sites they opt out of in their service. It's very comprehensive and up to date.
- https://yoursosteam.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/remove-your-mailing-address-from-data-broker-sites/ - This guide is awesome, but has some outdated links.
- http://techcovered.blogspot.com/2013/02/how-to-not-be-searchable-on-internet.html - some links outdated
- https://medium.com/thelist/9-ways-to-dodge-trolls-a-feminists-guide-to-digital-security-471f66b98c79 - has info on making your address and phone number harder to find.
- https://onlinesafety.feministfrequency.com/en/#preventing-doxxing - has some opt out links, generally a good guide for folks whose attackers are individuals to organized mobs.
- https://hide.me/en/blog/2016/02/how-to-remove-your-personal-info-from-data-brokers/
- https://www.stopdatamining.me/opt-out-list/ - Might be largely out of date but has a lot
- https://www.privacyrights.org/data-brokers - Probably the largest list of data brokers, but many are essentially clones of one another, and some links are dead.
- https://www.abine.com/optouts.php - "free DIY" guide offered by a scrubbing service.