Remember the phone book? Back in the day, when you wanted to find a business’ phone number or a person’s address, you had to crack open those heavy tomes and scour the white or yellow pages. Telephone directories moved online in 1996, so now instead of physical books you have online directories and people-finding sites. With information moved online, the data used to find people is more detailed and accessible than ever.
“People search sites” such as Whitepages.com, are search engines based on public and sometimes private data. They list names, addresses, phone numbers, even family relationships and criminal histories. They assemble data points into a detailed dossier on who—and where—you are. Anyone with a credit card can pay to access your personal information. This can feel like an invasion of privacy and the process of opting-out is tedious, considering the hundreds of sites that are out there.
People search sites insist on their own helpfulness, designed to help friends or family reconnect. Yet there are no measures in place preventing people from wielding the information for malicious means. Whitepages asks visitors to disclaim that they won’t use the data for identity fraud or invasion of privacy, but it’s little more than an honor pledge, and the consequences are real. For example, the public exposure of your personal information can lead to doxxing, stalking, and physical threats. For domestic abuse survivors, it puts them at risk of being discovered by their abusers—it’s a matter of life and death.
In the case of writer and gaming programmer Kathy Sierra, the abuse she experienced online ended her career. In 2007, Sierra was targeted by a harassment campaign, facing rape and death threats. Hacker Andrew Auernheimer posted graphic doctored images of her, and doxxed her by spreading her address and Social Security number online. He later bragged about it to the New York Times. Sierra entirely withdrew from the Internet and the tech world to protect herself and her family’s safety. She gave up book deals, speaking engagements, and even fled her home.
Doxxing isn’t illegal if the information exposed is already public domain, although lawmakers are attempting to change that. Future laws could ban posting information online if there’s clear hostile intent behind it. However, they don’t prevent the initial problem, which is that there is no regulation of people searching sites and who has access to your personal information.
Until laws change or online directories become obsolete, what can you do to protect yourself? Uncovering every corner of the Internet where your personal data is exposed seems like an insurmountable task. Luckily, that’s where Hush comes in. We find, flag, and remove sensitive information that puts you at risk of being harassed, stalked, doxxed, or threatened. We protect your data and your privacy to help keep you and your identity safe.
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