There’s no shortage of people search sites available online, many of which let anyone find your personal details with just your name. Although FamilyTreeNow has a feature that lets a person build a family tree, it’s no different from other public records search engines. It collects and shares your personal info without your knowledge or consent. In order to remove your information from FamilyTreeNow, you need to take the necessary steps to opt-out.
While people search sites can be useful, particularly for finding family members, they can also be used for less innocent reasons. Searches can lead to identity theft or cyber stalking, for example. The reality is that most people whom you want to have your personal information probably already have it, so there’s little benefit to making it publicly available online. We’ll take you through how you can opt out of FamilyTreeNow and protect yourself from the risks it poses.
Keep in mind that while you can manually opt out of FamilyTreeNow, this won’t remove your data from the many other people search sites on the web. Instead, you’d need to go through the process for each one individually, or use a data removal service to save some time.
Best data removal service to opt out of FamilyTreeNow: Incogni
We’ve found Incogni to be the best data removal service for opting out of FamilyTreeNow. It automates the process of removing your personal information from data broker sites. In addition to FamilyTreeNow, it contacts as many as 180 data brokers, using applicable privacy laws including GDPR to make sure data removal requests are fulfilled. You can keep track of Incogni’s progress via the user-friendly dashboard that shows the status of each request (in progress, completed, or sent).
Even after data brokers remove your personal information, Incogni continues to check in and make sure it doesn’t resurface. This data removal service is available in the US, UK, Canada, and over two dozen countries across Europe including France, Germany, and Spain. What’s more, it’s highly affordable with the option of monthly and annual subscriptions, as well as a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee.
Here’s how to use Incogni to opt out of FamilyTreeNow:
- First, sign up with Incogni. You can choose between monthly (USD $12.99) or annual ($77.88) subscriptions. The 30-day money-back guarantee means it’s also risk-free.
- Next, fill in the authorization form that provides Incogni with the necessary permissions to send out data removal requests on your behalf.
- Incogni can now get to work, sending out data deletion requests to any data brokers who are storing your personal information.
- You can follow the progress of the data removal requests via the Incogni dashboard. Note that while some requests process in days, others may take several weeks.
- Once Incogni has removed your data from data brokers, it can still reappear in time. For this reason, Incogni continues to monitor and resend requests when necessary.
BEST DATA REMOVAL SERVICE:Incogni is an affordable, user-friendly data removal service that makes it easy to remove your personal information from the internet. It supports 180 data brokers, and uses relevant data privacy laws to back up the requests it sends. It’s available in the US, UK, Canada, and many countries in Europe. Includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How to manually opt out of FamilyTreeNow
Opting out of FamilyTreeNow is fairly similar to opting out of most people search sites. The good news is that this is relatively easy to do. However, removal requests can be laborious if you have to go through the same process for the many other public records search engines, data brokers, and people finder sites.
Here’s how to manually opt out of FamilyTreeNow:
- Navigate to the FamilyTreeNow opt-out page.
- Enter your email address, complete the CAPTCHA and click Begin Opt Out Procedure.
- Search for your record by entering your name, location, and birth year. You can expand the search to include information such as street address, but this is optional.
- Find yourself in the search results and click View Details. You’ll want to double check that the record definitely belongs to you.
- Click Opt Out This Record. You’ll receive an email with a verification link. You must click this link to complete the opt out process. It expires within an hour.
FamilyTreeNow states that your record will be removed within 72 hours of opting out. However, in many cases the record removal will be instantaneous.
Why should I opt out of FamilyTreeNow?
When so much of what we do today is online, the protection of our privacy is paramount, and opting out of people search sites such as FamilyTreeNow is part of that. Public records search engines collect and display a wide range of personal information including addresses and phone numbers as well as relatives. Opting out of FamilyTreeNow and similar sites reduces the risk of your private details being accessible to anyone on the internet who chooses to look for them.
It’s not just about privacy either. The rise of cybercrimes means it’s more important than ever to limit the exposure of your personal information online. Identity theft often starts with a cybercriminal searching for easily accessible data. Of course, this data can often be found on sites such as FamilyTreeNow. If you opt out of FamilyTreeNow, you’re much harder to find, and a less easy target as a result.
Finally, people search sites aren’t always accurate. It may be that you have erroneous information attached to your name. Whatever the case, people search sites may offer a level of convenience when trying to find someone online, but the few benefits are outweighed by far more serious potential consequences.
What information does FamilyTreeNow have about me?
Despite its best efforts to look like an innocent genealogy records (and family tree builder) site, FamilyTreeNow is no different to other people search sites such as TruthFinder. It collects and displays information on people living in the US.
Here’s some of the information FamilyTreeNow provides:
- Name
- Date of birth
- Age
- Gender
- Marital status
- Current and past addresses
- Phone numbers
- Relatives
FamilyTreeNow: FAQs
Can FamilyTreeNow re-add my information after I’ve opted out?
Yes, it’s quite possible that even if you opt out of FamilyTreeNow, it will re-add your information in future. While it can be time-consuming to manually remove yourself from many different public records search engines, it’s even worse if you have to do so on multiple occasions.
This is one of the reasons we recommend the use of a data deletion service to automate the process. Even if your data is re-added to FamilyTreeNow in time, a service such as Incogni will continue to check and re-submit data removal requests.
Are people search sites legal?
People search sites are legal in many countries, the US included. Indeed, that’s where you’ll find that many of the public records search engines are actually based. The data aggregated by sites like FamilyTreeNow is already publicly available in birth and death certificates, marriage and divorce records, credit reports, social media profiles, and more.
People search sites do have a few legal restraints. According to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), not all people search sites are considered Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRA). Family Tree Now is not a CRA and can therefore only be used for personal use and not for employment screening or extending credit.