How to Remove Yourself from TruePeopleSearch (and Protect Your Online Privacy)
Introduction
In today‘s digital age, protecting your online privacy is more important than ever. People search websites like TruePeopleSearch collect and aggregate large amounts of personal information, making it easily accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This can include your full name, age, current and past addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, relatives‘ names, and more – all available with just a quick search.
While these sites can be useful for looking up old friends or verifying someone‘s identity, having your personal details so readily available comes with risks. It enables doxxing, stalking, spam calls, fraud, and other malicious activities. Fortunately, you can opt out of TruePeopleSearch and most other people search sites. Here‘s a step-by-step guide on how to remove yourself from TruePeopleSearch and better protect your online privacy.
Step 1: Locate your listing on TruePeopleSearch
Go to www.truepeoplesearch.com and search for your name. You may need to search a few variations, such as with and without your middle name or initial. If you‘ve moved frequently, try searching with your past cities and states of residence. Click on your listing when you find it.
Step 2: Copy the URL of your result page
In your browser‘s address bar, highlight the entire URL of your TruePeopleSearch result page. It should look something like: https://www.truepeoplesearch.com/details?name=John+Doe&citystatezip=90210&rid=0x0. Right-click and select "Copy", or press Ctrl+C (Windows) or Cmd+C (Mac) to copy the URL.
Step 3: Go to the TruePeopleSearch opt-out page
Navigate to www.truepeoplesearch.com/removal in your browser. This takes you directly to their information removal request form.
Step 4: Paste the URL and confirm the removal
In the "Enter URL" field on the removal page, right-click and select "Paste", or press Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac) to paste the URL you copied. Click the "Remove This Record" button. On the next page, click "Remove" to confirm the removal request.
Step 5: Wait for confirmation of removal
After confirming, TruePeopleSearch will process your opt-out request. This typically takes 24 hours, but may take up to 48 hours. You‘ll see a message stating your information will be removed within 24 hours.
To double-check your information was removed, wait 24-48 hours and then search for your name on TruePeopleSearch again. If the removal was successful, your listing should no longer appear. If it still appears after 48 hours, you can repeat the opt-out steps or contact their customer support for assistance.
How Cloud Computing and Microsoft Azure Enable People Search Sites
So how are sites like TruePeopleSearch able to collect and provide access to billions of records‘ worth of personal information? The short answer is: cloud computing. Cloud platforms like Microsoft Azure provide the massive storage capacity, computing power and global reach required to build and scale data-intensive services like people search engines.
Azure is a cloud computing service operated by Microsoft that provides on-demand computing resources and services like storage, databases, servers, software and networking. Instead of companies purchasing, housing and maintaining their own physical servers and infrastructure, they can rent what they need from cloud providers like Microsoft, paying only for the resources they actually use.
This model enables immense scalability. Azure‘s customer base of nearly half a million companies can spin up thousands of virtual machines and petabytes of storage on-demand to power their applications and crunch huge datasets. The scale is massive – Azure Active Directory alone had over 722 million users as of 2022.
Azure held a 20% market share in 2021, making it the second-largest cloud infrastructure provider behind Amazon Web Services. Microsoft‘s cloud revenue, which is largely driven by Azure, reached $75.3 billion in 2022 and continues to grow rapidly each year. Over 27,000 websites in the U.S. alone rely on Azure to operate.
When you consider that people search services are aggregating thousands of public records and consumer databases, many of which contain millions or billions of individual records, it‘s clear that cloud computing is essential to making it possible. The unstructured nature of much of this data also lends itself well to Azure‘s scalable data lake and big data analytics services.
Other Ways to Protect Your Online Privacy
Removing yourself from people search sites like TruePeopleSearch is a good start, but it‘s just one piece of the privacy protection puzzle. Here are some other steps you can take to minimize your data footprint and proactively protect your online privacy:
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Opt out of data broker and people search sites. Most offer a way to remove your information on request, though the process and requirements vary. Some notable ones include BeenVerified, Spokeo, Whitepages, Intelius and PeekYou.
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Tighten up privacy settings on social media. Review the privacy settings on networks like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn and make sure you‘re only sharing what you want to publicly. Be careful what personal details you post or make visible.
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Use a VPN on public Wi-Fi networks. If you frequent coffee shops, airports, hotels or other places with public Wi-Fi, use a virtual private network (VPN) app to encrypt your internet activity and hide your IP address.
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Be cautious what information you give out. Avoid sharing sensitive details like your Social Security number, financial details or maiden name except when absolutely necessary. Question why certain information is needed before providing it.
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Monitor your credit reports. Regularly check your credit reports with the three main bureaus (Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) for any suspicious activity or accounts you don‘t recognize. You‘re entitled to a free report from each bureau annually.
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Use strong, unique passwords. Use a password manager to generate and store strong passwords. Don‘t reuse the same password across multiple accounts.
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Keep software and operating systems up-to-date. Updates often include security patches, so keep your devices‘ software current to protect against vulnerabilities.
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Learn to spot online scams and fraud attempts. Be very cautious about unsolicited calls, texts or emails asking for personal information or payment. Remember that government agencies like the IRS, Medicare and Social Security Administration will never initiate contact by phone, email or social media to demand payment or threaten legal action.
Conclusion
Taking control of your data and online presence is an ongoing process in our increasingly digital world. By opting out of people search sites like TruePeopleSearch and following online privacy best practices, you can significantly reduce your exposure and better protect yourself and your family.
At the same time, cloud computing platforms like Microsoft Azure are providing the infrastructure to make large-scale data aggregation and processing possible for people search services and countless other applications we use every day. As Microsoft‘s growing cloud revenue and Azure‘s hundreds of millions of users show, the cloud is only going to keep expanding.
Ultimately, being proactive and educating yourself is key. Stay informed about online privacy, be cautious about what information you share, and take advantage of opt-out mechanisms and privacy controls available to you. A little vigilance goes a long way in protecting your digital privacy and identity.