7 More Websites Foster Parents Need To Contact

Have you Googled yourself lately? Hopefully, the images you found were all from your “good” side. But seriously… as foster parents, we’ve got to take our privacy settings up a notch. You might be comfortable with your personal phone, e-mail, and home address being made available to ANYONE who Googles it… but when a child under the protection of the state is involved, those details need to come down.

Below are listings for 7 major webpages that are sharing your private data… and instructions for how to delete it/stop them.

Side Note for Home Businesses: Foster parenting isn’t your “business.” Make sure your private life is kept private. Get that P.O. Box. Guard these babies.

We’ve already gone over 4 Big Name Webpages That Are Releasing Your Private Data Into The Wind, but if you’ve missed it, be sure to go back after this. Also, remember… if there are multiple listings with your information, you’ll have to follow these steps for each. Tedious. I know.

Intellius.com

Intelius and MyLife are similar info search platforms that allow your identifying information to be viewed freely. This infuriates me. Although… on second thought, my LinkedIn profile says a whole lot about me, too. (Hmm… that may need to go on this list at some point. Food for thought.)

Okay! Start by visiting their Opt-Out page. Here, with your profile search, you will be able to delete your profile display. Search for your name, then click “Select and Continue.” When you see the listing you want to claim/delete, choose it (could be many, ie. many steps/repetitive process). Using your burner e-mail address (or personal, if you must), submit your request.

Give it a solid half hour before expecting the confirmation e-mail to arrive. While that’s processing – move on and begin this process with MyLife.com. Once you get the confirmation e-mail, just click the verification link inside and you can expect the listing to be removed within 72 hours.

MyLife.com

Start by visiting this link to find your own personal listing. You might find more than one result listed under a nickname, maiden names, etc. Be sure to write all of them down (maybe even send a screenshot?) so you can list them all when submitting your demand for removal.

Once you have grabbed each link, or a screenshot, showing each specific listing, you have two options for deleting the information: phone or email.

Email method:
Send a request to privacy@mylife.com. Make sure you paste the links to any and all relevant listings along with your request. Be prepared for a sales pitch response to try and “save,” “modify,” or “control” the information. Long story short: you never granted them access to have your information in the first place – therefore they cannot POSSIBLY claim the ability to have it in order to sell it back to you.

To Whom It May Concern: This e-mail is an official and legally enforceable notice to cease all use, display, and sale of my personal information. I have not, nor ever provided written consent for your service to obtain, display, or sell my information. Upon delivery of this notice, you are hereby obligated to respond and will be held liable for fulfillment of the request to immediately remove the information and related content as listed below…

I received a sales-y response almost immediately but responded by repeating my request to remove my personal information. A second response e-mail said my information would be removed within 7–10 business days.

PeopleFinders.com

Compared to Intelius and MyLife – this one will be a breeze.

Go find your listing(s) on their main page: https://www.peoplefinders.com/ . Once there, COPY your listing’s link.
Open a new browser window and go to this Opt-Out page. PASTE your link into the text box along with your spam-safe e-mail address (I made a burner one with GMail just for this heinous chore).
Check your e-mail to click on a confirmation link. Done.

Another one bites the dust!

PeopleLooker.com

Ready for another easy one?

Search for your listings here: https://www.peoplelooker.com/f/optout/search
Select your personal record and submit your e-mail address.
Check your e-mail to click on a confirmation link. Done.

Huge props to the PeopleLooker team for using kind words and a professional tone (compared to some others… you know who you are, InstantCheckmate). You’ll get a written confirmation (ie. legally enforceable) that states something to this effect: “We will instruct our data partners not to return the record in future People Search results.”

If you want to do this by e-mail, they also have that option:

Send an email to support@peoplelooker.com with the subject “OPTOUT” and include your first and last name, city, state, and age in the email.
After the request is processed, you should receive the confirmation email.

Pinterest.com

Side Note: This is NOT the same as hiding your pins from Friends or Followers. This is to stop third-party partners and search engines from retrieving your personal account/profile information. …Which could be considered a huge “Pinterest Fail.”

Start on your Pinterest home page/account and login. P.S. This must be done from a webpage – not the mobile app.(https://www.pinterest.com/settings/privacy)
In your Profile Settings, select “Privacy and Data,” then click the checkbox to “Hide your profile from search engines.”

Done. Next!

Radaris.com

Begin by searching for yourself on their homepage.

Once you find yourself and all your alter egos… click the down arrow icon just to the right of your name listing. Select “Control Information” from the dropdown menu.
You’ll be directed to a new screen where you’ll create an account. Stick to the minimum info requested, but you’ll definitely need to add your cell phone number because you’ll get a verification code via text.

Enter the code you receive and click “View My Account.” At this step, you have the option to set your information to private and/or delete specific records. (https://radaris.com/control/)

Spokeo.com

1. Start by searching for your name. COPY the URL for your listing.
2. Next, visit the Opt-Out page and PASTE your URL into the box. Enter your email address below.
3. You’ll receive a confirmation e-mail almost immediately. Click the link in your e-mail to confirm and finalize the process. Spokeo removals can take 2–3 days to process.

Almost done…

TruthFinder.com

Begin by visiting their Opt-Out page. Search for your report and select the one you’d like to have removed.
You will then receive a confirmation e-mail that will require you to confirm the record you wish to remove. That’s it!

They also offer an offline method, but, uh… that costs a stamp. Might as well keep going with the online requests and burner e-mail address.

USPS Option:
Simply send your request to the following address:
TruthFinder Attn: Opt Out
2534 State Street, Suite 473
San Diego, CA 92101

WhitePages.com

I might have saved the worst for last… White Pages says this: “Please note that your ability to correct or change your personal information does not extend to information that we have received from third parties.” This comes with their “BTW – It’ll take up to 30 days for us to process your request” notice.
Hopefully, that’ll irritate you enough to make it through one… final… listing.

Instructions for how to “suppress” your contact information begin at this link: “How do I remove my information?”
Then, they do a bang-up job hiding the true opt-out steps in a maze of web links and un-highlighted “links” in the text… so, I’ll just conveniently put right here for you:

First, COPY the URL/web address that contains your contact details.
Go to this Opt-Out link. ( https://www.whitepages.com/suppression_requests)
PASTE your link, then click the button that says “Opt-Out.”

They will “endeavor” to make the change within 72 hours of the submission.
FYI: The follow-through is a bit “extra.” You must be able to verify your identity in more than just an e-mail. For me, I had to go back and have someone answer the phone from a home number I was linked to over a decade ago. #AkwardConversations #ProTip

Congratulations, you made it!
-Janelle

Click here to read about WHY we are deleting and reporting this information: “Foster Parent Confidentiality On The Web – How Public Is Your Information?”

Click here to see: 4 More Big Name Websites Sharing Identifying Information on Foster Parents

The author writes from an unabashed, had-it-up-to-here, daily defeated and re-strengthened by grace and hope… kind of place. An adoptive mother of a curious kiddo, full of spirit and sass, tells her tales of homeschooling, fostering, and raising children with special needs. Thanks for joining us on this adventure from adoption to life!

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