How to conduct a BeenVerified opt-out

Way back in 2007, two men launched BeenVerified, a service to help people check their own background information, in part to see what could be damaging when hiring managers searched their profile. Millions of users later, BeenVerified is one of the top data aggregator services for background checks, reverse phone number lookups, and loads of other information pulled from public records and privately licensed databases.

But not everyone wants their info to be available to anyone who has an internet connection. So what if you want to conduct a BeenVerified opt-out and limit how much information people can find about you? Here’s what you need to know.

How BeenVerified and other sites can hold on to your information

If you’ve read the headlines over the years, you know that many people have used the courts to protect their privacy both online and offline. But you’ve probably also seen many courts strike down these challenges, which means that BeenVerified and other sites are within their legal power to collect your data and offer it to the public.

Everything you’ll find on BeenVerified is either a) a public record found in thousands of local, state and federal databases all over the country, or b) records found in private databases that BeenVerified — and other “people finder” websites — have permission to access. So, despite the angst-inducing reality that your information can be accessed by anyone with a connection to the internet and a phone, BeenVerified is legally passing along public information.  

What happens when you opt-out from BeenVerified.  

If you decide to opt out from BeenVerified, and you’re willing to spend the time and effort to have your information removed, much of your data will no longer be available to the public when they search on the website. This means that after your BeenVerified opt-out, visitors to the website will come up empty if they want to find your background check check results, your court records, or even your old phone numbers and addresses.  

But that’s not the only way to remove your personal info from the web. There are dozens of sites that feature the same information for free — or for a fee. These include Spokeo, Intelius, and Whitepages.com. So if you start with one site, conducting a Spokeo opt out, for example, you’ll get much better results opting out from many other sites that work like BeenVerified. The question is — do you have the time or the energy to do it?

One option is to hire a data security removal service with a team to opt-out from BeenVerified and other websites. The obvious perk of doing this is you don’t have to be the one tracking all your opt-outs, checking to see if your information is actually removed, and keeping a big list of the websites you’re opting out from — the service will do it for you.

Another positive aspect? If you added up all the time you’d spend opting out from one people finder website after another, one thing is certain: You’d save time with a data security removal service.

How to prep for your BeenVerified opt out

When you opt out from BeenVerified, you’ll want to give the site as little private contact information as possible. For this reason, we recommend using a secondary email address to opt-out rather than handing off the email address you use all the time.

The same goes with your phone number. Some people finder websites ask you to provide a phone number to verify your opt out request. If you can do that using a google voice number (which is free) or other number  — rather than your primary phone number — you can protect your personal contact info from these sites.

A step-by-step system for BeenVerified opt outs

Now that you have all the tools at your disposal, including a secondary email address or phone number, it’s time to conduct your BeenVerified opt-out. Here are the steps:

        1. Visit BeenVerified’s opt-out page

        2. Add your first name, last name, and state. Then hit Search.

        3. On the next page, you’ll enter in your information and hit Continue.

        4. You should see a record pop up. Hopefully it’s you, but it may not be. If it isn’t, you can enter in more information below to better target your search and find your profile. Enter that information and hit Target your results.

        5. On the next page, you should see your record. Click on it.

        6. Next, you’ll be asked to check boxes for the information you’d like to remove. This information includes your addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, and even social media accounts. Check those boxes, then check the box below to confirm that you are the person authorized to remove information. Click on Remove My Info.

        7. A screen will pop up stating that your request was submitted. Click on Return to BeenVerified.

        8. Now, check your inbox for an email from BeenVerified. You should see an email that asks you to verify your opt out request. If everything looks right, click on Verify Opt-Out.

If you encounter any problems or need help with your request, contact the BeenVerified customer service department at (866) 885-6480 or at support@beenverified.com during normal business hours (which are listed at the bottom of the website).

Try a data security service for all your people finder site opt outs

If the thought of going through site after site to have your information removed seems like a huge time-killer, use our data security removal service to move things along. With the Status Labs data security removal service, you can pay yearly or quarterly. Here’s what we do to remove your info from data aggregators and brokers — including BeenVerified:

• Remove your data from more than two dozen of the top people finder services.
• Search for your data and personal info on the dark web using a scan. The dark web is filled with criminals who buy and sell personal info — we can help find your information if it’s in there.
• Scan and remove court records from the top court and law websites including Justia.com, Law360, and Casetext.
• Deliver to you a custom scan used to remove your personal information from more than 80+ data brokers and aggregators. These sites have a reputation of being hard to opt out from.

With our annual plan, you’ll get a scan each month that tracks our success rate in conducting your opt outs. If you decide to pay quarterly, you’ll get four scans per year.

Ready to find out more? Contact Status Labs and we’ll help you erase your data from the web!