People search sites collect your information from publicly available sources and offer it to anyone interested, including thieves and scammers. There are countless sites like this. So how do you protect your data? Tap or click here for our growing list of people search sites with detailed instructions on opting out. For this week’s entry in our Opt-Out Tuesday series, we’ll show you how to remove yourself from FamilyTreeNow.
Avoid people search sites at all costs, especially if it costs you
Don’t ever pay for any people search service. Most of these sites are scammy in nature. You may think you’re paying for one report and find that you’ve been roped into recurring charges. And never pay to remove your information from any site. This process must be provided for free. But be careful which links you click when opting out. They’re often ads that lead you to another site that requests payment. We’ll provide accurate links to remove yourself from these sites with each Opt-out Tuesday report. Do you have older relatives who may not know about these sites? While you’re opting out yourself, why not do the same for them? Just type in their information as you would your own, and follow our steps to completion. RELATED: These companies have the WORST privacy policies
Not very family-friendly
Tracing your genealogy was all the rage a few years ago, and business is still booming for sites like Ancestry and 23andMe. But the rise of data breaches and loose privacy practices have hopefully made people more careful about where they share their information. FamilyTreeNow is banking on the trend by advertising to “Research your family tree and genealogy for free!” The site boasts billions of family records, including census records from 1790-1940, birth records, death records, marriage and divorce records and military records. You don’t want anyone using this site to learn more about you or your family.
How to delete your information from FamilyTreeNow
Go to familytreenow.com/optout.Fill in your email address and complete the CAPTCHA.Click the Begin Opt Out Procedure button.
Enter your information to find your profile and hit Search.
Find your profile in the list and select View Details. On the next page, select the red Opt Out This Record button.
You’ll get an email containing a link to complete your opt-out request. Hit the link in your email and you’ll be taken to a confirmation page.
Give it a few days for your information to be removed.
Fill out the contact form at familytreenow.com/contact if you need more help.
Keep reading
Yes, your data is for sale – Here’s what you can do to stop it Say goodbye to Google’s tracking – This Gmail alternative protects your privacy
