self-search on internet

[timo2]

So I looked myself up on the internet. Yikes. I found my all sort of things, including my real birthday, even though I've been using a fake birthday for years for anything not legally required.

So this site called 'mylife' claims, for a fee of course, to hide some of a person's information. Who knows if that is legit. Has anyone had experience with that?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

So I looked myself up on the internet. Yikes. I found my all sort of things, including my real birthday, even though I've been using a fake birthday for years for anything not legally required.

So this site called 'mylife' claims, for a fee of course, to hide some of a person's information. Who knows if that is legit. Has anyone had experience with that?

You can hide the "mylife" for free, but there are some hoops you have to jump through. I have done it a couple of times, but always comes back a month or so later. I have an uncommon name and it's annoying how much stuff is out there about me. The only solution I can think of is having a very, VERY common name...but even then I think if someone is determined enough will STILL find stuff on you.

There was a fella I w*rked with years ago who had his name legally changed to "A. JONES"...so it's probably fairly difficult to dig up dirt on him.

 

[Starper]

You can ask these sites to remove your information. Just Google how to do it and follow the steps.

 

[easysurfer]

I try not to do a self-search for fear of creeping myself out .

 

[bingybear]

my life is on of many sites that put the info together.

Try beenverified

there are others.

 

[CDRE]

The following website will perform the removal service for a fee but it also provides detail information on how to do the removal on six major websites yourself for free: https://joindeleteme.com/help/diy-free-opt-out-guide/

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

What is scary is when they start "connecting the dots" (if they aren't already). By "connecting the dots" I mean when they start linking anonymous usernames on forums (like this one) with actual identities. Yes, some of us try to make it difficult, but there will come a time when computers will be able to figure out A LOT of stuff from seemingly innocuous posts/reviews/etc. and put it all together and it will be very difficult to hide your identity.

 

[pb4uski]

Out of curiosity I did an internet search on my screen name... did you know that a number of states ban a vanity plate with PB4USKI?

 

[lucky penny]

So this site called 'mylife' claims, for a fee of course, to hide some of a person's information. Who knows if that is legit. Has anyone had experience with that?

Not familiar with the site but I went there & looked myself up. There wasn't much info (I try to keep a low profile), but what they had was innocuous & mostly accurate EXCEPT for stating that I'm married . Of course, when you keep probing they start asking for more info.

 

[COcheesehead]

My name is so common that when I google it, I can't even find myself and I know what to look for. LOL.

 

[COcheesehead]

What is scary is when they start "connecting the dots" (if they aren't already). By "connecting the dots" I mean when they start linking anonymous usernames on forums (like this one) with actual identities. Yes, some of us try to make it difficult, but there will come a time when computers will be able to figure out A LOT of stuff from seemingly innocuous posts/reviews/etc. and put it all together and it will be very difficult to hide your identity.

Some people are stupid and use the same avatar for Instagram or a blog where the real name is exposed. Just think of your avatar as a password and use different ones. I share my name here at one other forum, but I use several others to post under on other forums. I am a real mess and I like it that way.

 

[NW-Bound]

When I looked up my name just now, I found quite a few physicians, some university professors.

A few years ago, I found a guy who was declared "Public Enemy No. 1" in a US state. Yikes! I wonder if they have captured him.

 

[pb4uski]

I looked up me, DW, DD, DS and DSIL. A little bit here and there, but not much.

Interestingly, I found a webpage on a lawsuit that dad was involved in back in the late 70s/early 80s that I was only vaguely aware of.

 

[calmloki]

I'm just not that important.

 

[razztazz]

Iv'e looked myself up several times at various versions of these websites going back probably to 2003 or 2004 when they first started appearing. I even paid the $35 bucks or whatever it was a couple times for the full dossier. I was shocked and amazed at how little info there was. Really.

The only eyebrow-raising stuff of possible concern was a listing of several previous addresses. Good if you want to have obscure information to "prove" you are somebody. Or, possibly if you wanted to look me up and kill me for some reason. But let's face it, that info has been out their forever in other forms. Every buck sergeant supervisor I had in the service had and may still have my ssan or threw away documents with identifying data in the trash for anybody to skim.

 

[NW-Bound]

I'm just not that important.

But someone else with your name might be. Could be a serial murderer, a bank robber, child molester, etc...

 

[DeborahB]

I have a common name (I found). I used to be able to google myself and eventually find me. No more, and I know how to look. But if I use a people search engine, it does find me. I am now married to my brother. Who knew? And once a credit card gave me a middle name (just the initial) so I come up with that most of the time. I don’t actually have a middle name. Sometimes they notice that my parents are dead, sometimes not. Mom’s been dead 11 years...

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Some people are stupid and use the same avatar for Instagram or a blog where the real name is exposed. Just think of your avatar as a password and use different ones. I share my name here at one other forum, but I use several others to post under on other forums. I am a real mess and I like it that way.

Yeah, some folks aren't so smart. The username I have here is used just here. The few other forums I frequent I use different usernames for all of them. The dots could probably be connected, but it would probably take a little while for someone to do so and even if they did, I don't know what they would do with it. Maybe tell my employer? Oh...wait...

 

[Amethyst]

Since the day I first logged in online, I have used screen names. You'd have to know my screen names to find anything I've posted. If you were determined to connect dots, you could probably compare writing styles, as mine is distinctive. But...why would you care?

Most, if not all, of the people search sites are based on the Intelius public data compiler. If you have ever generated a public record, especially if you own a home, your name address, age, and close family members are out there. It's annoying but it's life in today's world.

 

[Bir48die]

It was never my intent to make a mark on the internet.

 

[W2R]

YI have an uncommon name and it's annoying how much stuff is out there about me. The only solution I can think of is having a very, VERY common name

When I divorced my late ex, I kept my married name. That last name is a short, very common English word. My maiden name was not. Anyway, it just makes it a little bit harder to find out about me through internet searches, because various irrelevant links come up that one must wade through.

Despite that, all the links that are actually about me come up too; they are just a little harder to find. Just about all of them are related to my job and my publications, from back when I was working.

None of them say things like "W2R sure is enjoying doing nothing at all during this, the tenth year of her retirement!"

 

[timo2]

It was never my intent to make a mark on the internet.

DW is the same way. She has no social media accounts whatsoever. No banking or otherwise. She just added a hospital log-in. That's it. And she showed up in the searches for her with all of the information she has avoided putting on-line all these years.

 

[Gumby]

I am fortunate to share a name with a famous Nobel laureate. When you put my name in a search box, you'll get pages upon pages upon pages of results about him. I am hidden in the chaff.

 

[Amethyst]

I am now married to my brother. Who knew? ..

Bwah-hah! My former married name (distinctive) is out there. Apparently she has lived in numerous towns in the state where my former spouse lives (AFAIK, since we haven't had contact for decades). And I supposedly have an *Unfavorable Court Record,* because Mr. A. and I were once sued by a tenant (who lost).

Gotta love data aggregator algorithms. Being based on SCIENCE, they must be right!

 

[Cobra9777]

I have a very common name. So googling it results in pages and pages of information about other people. Even adding my current town name results in very little.

It's been a while since I looked at mylife. IIRC, it was fairly accurate on most things, but flat wrong on some and incomplete on others. I assume most of that information is publicly available somewhere. So if someone wanted to dig hard enough, they could probably find it even if I had it removed from mylife.