According to its website, Truthfinder was initially designed to help users stay safe when meeting people from online platforms like Tinder. While this is a valid concern, there’s no denying that people search sites reveal a worrying amount of personal information. After all, there’s really no need for you to know if your date has a pilot’s license, who their neighbors are, or what’s on their Amazon wishlist. Remember: platforms like Truthfinder are a double-edged sword: you can learn about almost anyone, but others can look up your information too.
To make matters worse, these are opt-out systems. In other words, Truthfinder automatically creates a profile displaying your full name, home address, and phone number unless you actively tell it not to. Today, we’ll let you know how to delete your Truthfinder profile and prevent strangers from finding out sensitive details about your life. This is free and only takes a few minutes, but can significantly improve your online privacy.
Note: Opting out of Truthfinder will not remove you from every people search site. You could either manually submit takedown requests to each platform or automate the process using one of the tools below:
- Incogni: An affordable, easy-to-use service from a well-respected company. Available in multiple countries. Sends removal requests to over 180 data brokers on your behalf.
- DeleteMe: Automatically deletes your Truthfinder profile and checks back periodically to make sure it never returns. Offers multi-user plans so your whole family can stay safe.
- PrivacyBee: This service only works in the US but it offers a more comprehensive approach, citing relevant regional laws to force 300+ brokers to delete your data.
Our favorite personal data-removal service: Incogni
You might have heard of Incogni’s parent company, Surfshark. It’s the team behind one of our top-rated VPNs and has been slowly expanding into other areas with its own private search engine and antivirus software. Incogni claims to save users up to 300 hours by automatically sending data-deletion requests to major data brokers and people search sites, then revisiting these periodically to ensure they never re-acquire your details.
There are a couple of reasons we recommend using Incogni over its rivals. First off, it’s available in the US, Canada, the UK, and most of Europe. Additionally, it’s extremely hands-off: once you’ve signed up, your part is done. Incogni can even escalate complaints for you if brokers ignore your requests or refuse to delete your information.
Just follow these steps to remove yourself from sites like Truthfinder automatically:
- Begin by creating an Incogni account. You can get a single month of coverage for $12.99 USD or save up to 50 percent by choosing a longer subscription
- Make your way through the onboarding process and grant Incogni the right to submit requests on your behalf
- When you’re done, Incogni will start sending out takedown notices
- Your dashboard should start showing completed requests in the first few days. Within a month, most brokers that have been contacted should have deleted your data
- Incogni is always adding new brokers to its list and checking back in with those it’s already contacted to make sure they haven’t regained access to your information. There’s a ticket system in case you have any questions but from here on out, the service will work away in the background without any further input from you
BEST DATA-REMOVAL SERVICE:Incogni makes it easy to remove your data from people search sites like Truthfinder and Whitepages. Try it risk-free thanks to the 30-day money-back guarantee.
How to manually opt out of Truthfinder
It is possible to opt out of Truthfinder yourself. However, the site seems to intentionally make this process more confusing than it needs to be. For instance, its “Right to Opt Out” section is actually talking about cookies, not your personal information. Similarly, the “Right to Delete” section is for deleting your user account.
Here’s how to remove yourself from Truthfinder entirely:
- Visit the Truthfinder website and scroll down to the bottom
- Click either Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information or Exercise My Data Privacy Rights – they both lead to the same page
- Click the green button that says VIEW PUBLIC DATA TOOLS
- Hit the MANAGE MY SUPPRESSION RULES button
- Enter your email address, agree to the terms of use, and tap Continue
- You’ll receive an email. Click the link and enter your date of birth on the page that opens
- Click the Continue button and enter your full name
- Find your profile, select it, and hit Continue one last time. Truthfinder should process your request and remove you from search results within 48 hours
Worried about what might have been done with your information in the time that it was online? You might want to consider using an identity theft protection service to set up fraud alerts, data breach notifications, or dark web monitoring.
Why should I opt out of Truthfinder?
There’s no upside to having your personal information available on people search sites, and plenty of disadvantages. Truthfinder claims to be able to help you “avoid destructive relationships”, but it gives an abusive ex plenty of ways to continue harassing you, such as providing them access to:
- Full names, maiden name, and any aliases you use
- Current and previous addresses
- Recent photographs
- Your age and date of birth
- Any cell phone numbers and email addresses you’ve created
- Your social media and dating profiles as well as your usernames
- Education, employment, property, and vehicle records
- Whether you have a hunting license, weapons permit, or concealed carry permit
- Criminal records
- Your Amazon wishlist
- The details of your neighbors, relatives, and anyone who lives with you
Truthfinder: Frequently Asked Questions
Can Truthfinder re-add my information after I’ve opted out?
Most people search sites specifically say that your data will not be reacquired after you’ve submitted a takedown request. Truthfinder provides no such assurances. In fact, it says that even once your request has been processed, “your name may continue to appear as a possible relative or associate in other individuals’ reports”.
Further, deleting your Truthfinder record will not remove you from other sites owned by the same company, such as Classmates. To ensure your data is taken down and never comes back, we recommend signing up for a data-removal service like Incogni.
Are people search sites legal?
Unfortunately, yes. People search sites like Truthfinder, Whitepages, and Nuwber just collect information that’s publicly-available elsewhere. For instance, they can see if your name appears in local marriage records, criminal databases, or Google results, and create a profile based on this information.
The problem is that these services are treated as a toy, rather than the potentially-dangerous data repositories that they actually are. There’s no oversight whatsoever, and no restrictions on who can sign up. Using people search sites to, as Truthfinder puts it, “satisfy your curiosity” is not only ethically murky, it can also be illegal if you use the results to determine someone’s eligibility for employment, insurance, or education.
What’s wrong with having my information on Truthfinder?
For less than $30 per month, anyone can find out all kinds of sensitive info about you. Truthfinder’s terms of service forbid users from harassing anyone or searching for celebrities, but if someone wants to dox, cyberstalk, or SWAT you, being banned from one of many people search sites is unlikely to dissuade them.
Why does my Truthfinder profile include incorrect information?
Truthfinder doesn’t actually verify whether its information is correct. Instead, it simply cross-references your name and location with public data sources. For instance, if you misspell your name or address on an official form, that mistake will appear in your Truthfinder record.
These services also don’t update constantly. Usually, they’ll check back every few weeks, meaning that recent changes can take some time to trickle through. You can edit your data using Truthfinder’s account page, but we’d suggest just submitting a takedown request instead. This is far better for your privacy and removes the need to constantly monitor the service for mistakes.
How can I reduce my digital footprint?
Sick of having your life cataloged by people search sites? Total anonymity isn’t really possible but, with the right approach, it’s possible to limit the amount of your personal data hosted online. The first step in deleting your digital footprint is to remove any details that aren’t strictly necessary from your personal website and social media accounts. Next, submit takedown requests on sites like Whitepages (or have a tool like Incogni take care of this for you).
Can any of the tools you use regularly be replaced with a more privacy-friendly alternative? There are plenty of search engines, browsers, and free tools designed with anonymity in mind. You may also want to start using a VPN to stop advertisers from creating a user-profile based on your online activities.
