Have you found your personal information published on SpyFly? Understandably, you find this concerning. After all, if a stranger approached you and asked for your home address or phone number, you probably wouldn’t tell them! Unfortunately, there’s another way for someone to find out where you live, how to contact you, and even who your family members are. Worse still, this information is publicly available.
SpyFly collects all of your data in one place, effectively handing sensitive information to anyone who cares to look you up. Unfortunately, there are dozens of sites like SpyFly. In this post, we’ll explain more about what SpyFly is and what it does. We’ll also cover how you can opt out and deleting your profile from sites like SpyFly, Whitepages and Nuwber, be it manually or with an automated data-removal tool.
What is SpyFly and what does it do?
SpyFly is a public records search engine that gathers data about you (and people you know) which is freely available from public records. This can include your name, aliases, known locations, and relatives. And this is just what’s available without an account! With an account, information covered can extend to your phone number, address, property value, and even arrest records and accompanying mugshots.
Ironically, SpyFly makes a point of emphasising that people’s searches are anonymous and private. But what if you want to maintain your right to privacy by not having your data published online for all to see? It’s not like someone needs an account to find basic information about you either. SpyFly even offers a 7-day trial so anyone can carry out unlimited background checks.
Having your information published for all to see via data brokers such as SpyFly can pose a number or problems. For starters, sites like SpyFly make it much easier for someone to steal your identity, compromise your accounts, or harass you. What’s more, the information they offer may not even be accurate.
Fortunately, you can opt out of SpyFly in just a few minutes. This doesn’t cost anything, and there’s no benefit to having your information out there, so we’d strongly recommend doing so. The easiest way is to opt out using a data removal tool – more on that below.
Our #1 data removal tool: Incogni
Incogni was created by Surfshark, a well-respected organization that’s known for its high-quality VPN and antivirus software. Once you sign up, it’ll automatically send takedown requests to 180+ data brokers and check in regularly to make sure they haven’t re-added your profile. Brokers won’t be able to fool Incogni with legalese either; this service can even let regulatory bodies know if companies breach your rights by refusing to delete your information.
Here’s the best part: once you;’ve signed up, you don’t have to do anything. Incogni will send you periodic updates on ongoing and completed requests (though you can login and view these at any time). This isn’t a US-only service either: it works in most European countries, the UK, and Canada.
Here’s how to automatically delete your SpyFly profile with Incogni:
- Begin by signing up for Incogni. This service costs $12.99 USD per month, but you can save up to 50 percent by choosing the annual plan
- Enter your details and give Incogni permission to send requests on your behalf
- Incogni will now start sending deletion requests to nearly 200 different data brokers and websites like SpyFly, Yellowpages, and Pipl
- If you login to the dashboard in the next few days, you’ll start to see the first requests being completed. Within a month, most should be resolved
- Now you can just sit back. Incogni will continue sending more requests and checking back regularly to make sure your details haven’t been re-acquired. If you have any questions, feel free to contact support using the ticket system
OUR TOP DATA REMOVAL SERVICE:Incogni is a simple, straightforward way to delete your SpyFly profile. There’s very little setup involved, and thanks to its 30-day money-back guarantee, you can try it out completely risk-free.
How to manually opt out of SpyFly
Deleting your details from SpyFly is actually quite straightforward. Here’s a quick overview of how to take your profile down:
- Open the SpyFly website, scroll down to the bottom, and click on Remove Me From Website
- Hit the big green Get Started button
- Verify that you’re human and enter your details on the following page
- Find yourself in the list and hit Remove
- Enter your email address and click Continue
- You’ll receive a confirmation email. Click the link to return to the SpyFly site. Your profile should be removed within the next 48 hours
If you’d like to make sure nobody misuses the information that was shared publicly on SpyFly, we’d suggest signing up for a reputable identity theft protection service.
What info does SpyFly collect?
SpyFly’s privacy policy doesn’t list all of the different types of information it collects, but it does provide a sample report that gives us a pretty good idea. For just a few dollars per month, complete strangers can find out:
- Current and past addresses
- Phone numbers, social media accounts, and email addresses
- Names of relatives, neighbors, and associates
- Whether you’re affiliated with a political party
- Whether you hold a driver’s license, pilot’s license, or gun permit
- Your full criminal history and records of any judgements against you
- Bankruptcy and financial records
- How big your home is, how many rooms it has, and how long you’ve lived there
SpyFly: Frequently Asked Questions
How can I fix SpyFly’s location error?
SpyFly is only available in the US, and if you try to access it from anywhere else, you’ll simply see an error saying “Sorry… this page is not accessible from your location”.
If you’re an American looking to delete your SpyFly profile during a trip abroad, there is an easy workaround: just use a VPN. By connecting to an American server, you’ll get a US IP address, preventing the site from realizing that you’re actually somewhere else. This way, users can submit a takedown request from anywhere in the world.
Will SpyFly re-add my data after I’ve deleted it?
SpyFly doesn’t actually mention whether it could reacquire your information once you’ve opted out. However, if your name changes (for instance, if you get married), it may well consider you a new person and create a new profile with all of your details.
To prevent this possibility, we’d suggest searching for yourself periodically and submitting takedown requests whenever your data appears. A service like Incogni can automate this process. As an added bonus, this method will remove you from multiple people search sites, not just SpyFly.
Why is my SpyFly profile out of date?
SpyFly doesn’t actually research anything itself. Instead, it simply finds information that’s already part of the public record and collects it in one place. In fact, its terms of service specifically say, “We do not guarantee the accuracy of any information displayed”.
Most people search sites only update periodically. Recent changes to your address, name, or other personal information will take some time to be reflected on the site. Rather than worrying about whether your details are accurate, though, we’d suggest simply removing your profile altogether. This isn’t just better for your privacy, it also prevents SpyFly from showing people inaccurate data.
Can I completely remove myself from the internet?
There isn’t a foolproof way to delete your internet presence but you can reduce the amount of info that’s available about you. This reduces the chance of doxxing and online harassment, and can also lower the number of targeted ads you see.
First, we’d suggest locking down your social media accounts and removing yourself from people search sites. Next, consider switching to privacy-friendly services (such as using DuckDuckGo instead of Google) and installing tools such as VPNs designed to help keep your online activity anonymous. Keeping yourself safe online takes a lot of work but it’s worth it to stop worrying about who has access to your data.
