PeopleLooker is one of the better-known data brokers. Its sole purpose is to collect personal information and store it.
This information can then be accessed by virtually anyone, allowing them to access your personal details.
If you’re looking at how to opt out of PeopleLocker then you’re one of millions of people that doesn’t want their personal information available to all.
After all, there is a reason why it’s called personal.
The good news is that I’m here to help you opt out of PeopleLooker.
The process is surprisingly simple. However, there is more than one option.
Information Collected By PeopleLooker
PeopleLooker is based in New York and advertises itself as the perfect way for you to look up people and find out email addresses, phone numbers, property, and social media.
The amount of detail a search will reveal depends on what information you have to search with.
In general, you’ll get someone’s name, alias, social media profile, address, employment history, relatives, and even their phone number.
You may also be able to access criminal records, any bankruptcy information, and an impressive amount of detail regarding their home.
In short, anyone using PeopleLooker can find out a lot of things about you.
The information is collected from freely accessible public records.
This is combined with data pulled from social media accounts, and anywhere else they can find information.
The result is a profile of you, your contact details, hobbies, and even your regular movements.
All this information is put online without your permission, that’s a good enough reason to want it removed.
Why You Want Your Personal Information Removed
In recent years there has been a dramatic rise in cybercrime, specifically scams and identity theft.
It’s much easier to be a target if anyone can access your personal information.
PeopleLooker is making it very easy to obtain your information.
Someone simply needs to create an account with PeopleLooker and then type in your name or even your telephone number.
A small amount of information will yield impressive results.
There are several key reasons why you don’t want everyone to access your personal information:
You may simply prefer to keep as much of your information private.
That’s understandable, acceptable, and completely possible with the right technique for opting out of PeopleLooker.
Personal Safety & Security
When people can access your personal information they can start learning your habits.
They may know when you are at home or not. It’s also possible they will know where you work and how you get there.
These simple pieces of information can be used to target your home when a criminal knows you will be out.
It can also be used to target you. That’s especially useful if someone wants to stalk you.
Cybercrimes
However, the best reason to get rid of your personal data is the risk of cyber crimes. Your personal information can be used by online criminals.
The data can help them work out what your passwords are.
The truth is most people still use simple or common passwords.
That makes it easy for any criminal to hack your passwords and access your online accounts.
They can simply manipulate social media accounts. Or, they can use the information to empty your bank account.
It’s also possible they can steal enough data to apply for credit in your name.
This is a form of identity theft and leaves you paying loans which you haven’t requested and have never seen the funds. It can take months or even years to resolve the issues.
It’s not just identity theft that you need to be wary of. Cybercriminals may also target you with phishing scams or virus attacks.
These are all ways to access even more information about you.
In short, if you want to keep your loved ones and yourself safe, you need to opt-out of PeopleLooker.
Data brokers are legally allowed to collect information from the internet.
The majority of the information they hold is freely available. It’s simply a case of extracting the data from multiple origins.
That’s what data brokers are good at and the reason why you should be aware of what personal information is available online and how to best get rid of it.
How To Opt Out Of PeopleLooker
PeopleLooker, like all data brokers, has an opt-out policy.
You simply need to know the process and they will remove your data from their system.
- Start by visiting the PeopleLooker website
- At the bottom of the main page you’ll see a help option – click on this
- Now choose the ‘do not sell my personal information’ option
- The system will pause as you are redirected to the BeenVerified site
- A pop-up will appear reassuring you you’re in the right place. Select the ‘do not sell my info’ option.
- You’ll be presented with several boxes, it’s necessary to enter your full name and the state in which you live. You can then click the search option
- BeenVerified will give you a list of possible matches to your name and state, find yours
- To the right of your profile name you’ll see an option ‘proceed to opt out’. Click on this
- Now you’ll have to enter your email address and complete a captcha. You may find it’s a good idea to use a temporary email address. There is no sense in giving PeopleLooker and BeenVerified additional information about you
- Choose the ‘send verification email’ option
- Check your email messages and click on the link to verify your email address and start the opting-out process
Your request will be removed and the data removed from the PeopleLooker database within a few hours.
It can take a few days or even weeks for your data to disappear from the web.
Incogni
It’s relatively simple to remove your personal data from PeopleLooker, although the redirect to BeenVerified may throw you a little.
Unfortunately, that’s not the end of the matter. PeopleLooker is just one of hundreds of data brokers.
If you want to get your information out of the public domain and protect yourself, you’re going to need to complete opt-out requests with all the data brokers.
Considering the amount of time it takes to opt-out of one broker and the fact there are hundreds of them, it’s going to take you hundreds of hours to opt out of all of them.
That’s time you probably don’t have.
Of course, that’s not the only issue. PeopleLooker, and other data brokers, will remove the data when you opt-out.
However, they will still keep a record of it and are likely to re-upload your data to their system within a few months of you opting out.
That means you’ll have to repeat the opting-out process.
Fortunately, there is a better way to deal with this. I’ve found third-party software, specifically Incogni, to be an excellent choice. It will help you permanently remove your personal information from multiple data brokers.
Using Incogni
I’ve used several data removing services and found Incogni to be one of the best.
It doesn’t just handle the opt-out requests for you, it makes sure the data doesn’t reappear.
To get started you’ll need to visit the Incogni website.
The registration process is simple:
- On the Incogni website select the ‘sign-up’ option.
- You’ll need to enter your email address and create a password
- Select the continue option and you’ll be taken to the personal data screen
- You’ll have to enter basic personal information, such as your full name and address
- There’s an option to fill out extra information, such as your phone number and date of birth
Filling these out will help Incogni find all the data brokers holding your personal information, allowing them to remove all traces of your information online.
- The next screen asks you to provide Incogni authorization. It’s a partial power of attorney which allows them to contact data brokers on your behalf and request your data be removed
- Make your payment and Incogni will start requesting data brokers to remove your personal information.
There is a charge to use this service. It’s $77.88 for a year, provided you pay the sum in one go annually.
If you prefer to pay monthly it will cost you $12.79 a month and you can cancel your subscription at any time.
It’s possible to pay Incogni by credit card or PayPal.
Why You Need The Annual Option
As soon as you make payment Incogni will start to send data removal requests.
Each request can take an average of 30-45 days to complete.
If you cancel your subscription after a month Incogni will continue any requests already in progress.
However, I advise you to sign-up for at least 12 months. There’s a good reason for this.
All data brokers must remove your data from their database when you submit an opt-out request.
But, there is nothing stopping them from adding your data again in a couple of months.
If you’re removing data manually then you’ll have to resubmit all your opt-outs every two to three months. Using Incogni means this isn’t necessary.
They will monitor data and resubmit the opt-out requests as soon as the data reappears.
In short, Incogni will make sure your data doesn’t reappear.
Using Incogni
It’s not just easy to get started with Incogni. Once you have created an account you’ll be able to access the Incogni dashboard, via their website.
This allows you to see the number of opt-out requests submitted, how many have been successfully completed, the amount in progress, and which ones need further action.
You don’t need to do anything as Incogni will handle everything for you.
They’ll even send you a weekly update via email to make sure you know how the opting-out process is going.
You can also access a more detailed view which shows you the data brokers that have been contacted and the status of the opt-out request.
Being able to see the timeline helps you appreciate how much time Incogni is saving you.
It’s worth noting that Incogni can scan private and public databases.
In addition, some of the data brokers may choose to email you after Incogni has contacted them.
If you do receive an email it means further action needs to be taken to ensure your details are removed from their system.
Common issues are unknown email addresses or a request to confirm your identification.
If you receive a letter from any of the data brokers you’ll need to respond to it before your details are removed.
Incogni is available in the US, Canada, the EU, Switzerland, and the UK.
This may change in the future.
Summing Up
It’s alarming how much of your data is accessible online and how easy it is for anyone to find out your personal information.
It’s essential to protect this data and the best way to do this is to opt-out of data brokers databases.
While you can ask how to opt-out of PeopleLooker or any other data broker, I have found the best approach to be using a third party to remove the data for you.
I’ve tested several and am confident Incogni is one of the best on the market. It’s easy to use and effective.
At the same time, it offers continuous monitoring to ensure your data stays off the data brokers databases.
If you’re looking at how to stay safer online, then you should start by registering with Incogni.
You don’t need to do anything else.
