Radaris is an online directory that sells personal data. Like other people-finder and data broker services, It collects personal information from the Internet and other publicly available sources, such as social media, public records, and government databases. This is a huge privacy concern, so many people want to know how to opt out of Radaris.
The data that Radaris collects is added to its personal records database. Once you are in the database, Radaris happily sells your information to anybody willing to pay. This means that anyone – even your worst enemy – can approach Radaris to buy your personal information without your consent.
We believe that data collection and sales of this type should be illegal because they harm individuals’ privacy. Unfortunately, current regulations allow data aggregators to pool and sell personal data online. This means that individuals must take the time to remove their data from Radaris and other data broker platforms.
Learn to remove data from Radaris
In this guide, we explain how you can remove your data from Radaris. Our guide focuses on manually opting out of Radaris. You can follow our steps to protect your privacy for free, ensuring that you limit the spread of your data and improve your digital footprint.
As a bonus, we also included information about Incogni. This is an excellent service that automates the process of removing your data from people finder sites like Radaris.
By using Incogni, you can automate data removal so that your data disappears from Radaris and many other directories, including Spokeo, Whitepages, and BeenVerified. Incogni keeps checking back to ensure your data isn’t re-added to those databases (which is common).
What is Radaris?
Radaris is a data broker website, often called a “people-finder” site. The platform gathers, organizes, and sells access to those comprehensive digital reports.
It is believed that Radaris holds the personal information of over 590 million people. It makes it its business to increase that number and add more people to the database every day! This means that you are probably already lodged in its system.
Radaris’ website states that it is a “universal people directory and information indexing system.” The service is designed to help users find details about individuals, which means that it sells access to records like your name, address, phone number, and even job history.
The platform gathers data from public records, social media, and data brokers. Once it has collected all your data, it sells access, making it easily accessible to anyone who searches for your name.
Radaris claims to provide helpful information for background checks. However, it creates huge privacy risks by exposing your personal data without your permission. These types of people-finder websites are used every day by criminals involved in phishing and fraud, and they can enable stalking, cyberbullying, and many other unwanted actions.
What are the risks associated with Radaris?
Having your personal information listed on Radaris (and similar sites) increases the risk of identity theft scams and unwanted contact.
When services like Radaris make your data available publicly, malicious actors can easily misuse it. This can lead to unwanted marketing, financial profiling, phishing, and other scams.
Online influencers have been stalked because individuals could purchase access to their addresses, workplace information, telephone numbers, and other sensitive details. Others have been approached by exes, family members, or other people they were trying to avoid—all because of sites like Radaris.
The risks are even higher if the data includes sensitive information like your home address, phone number, or Social Security number. We strongly urge everybody to remove their information from as many Radaris and other data broker sites as possible.
How to opt out of Radaris
The good news is that you can ask online directories and people finder sites to remove your data. If you ask them, they have to remove your data from their publicly available database, at least temporarily.
As we will explain later in this guide, you can’t ask to be removed once and expect to never reappear! Please be sure to read all of this article to understand the nuances involved.
For now, here are the steps you need to take to remove your data from Radaris:
- Go to the Radaris website and click “Control your info” to start the opt-out process.
- Read the instructions and click “Continue” on each of the first three screens.
- Enter your name on the fourth page and click “Search.”
- Find your listing and select it by clicking “Control info.”
- Create a Radaris account and click “Sign up.”
- Claim your profile by entering your name and phone number, then click “Send code.”
- Enter the verification code Radaris sends you and click “Submit.”
- Click “View profile” in the pop-up window.
- Click the arrow button and select “Control info.”
- Click the “Manage info” button.
- Click on “Make profile private” to hide your records on Radaris.
After completing these steps, your personal information should be suppressed from Radaris. However, your data could reappear, so please read the next section to understand why!
Will my data reappear on Radaris?
The unfortunate answer is yes. You will be re-added unless you keep asking for your data to be removed from Radaris and other people-finder sites. You may want to use a data removal service like Incogni (more on this later).
Radaris is allowed to harvest your data from a large pool of publicly available sources, including:
- Social media profiles (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn)
- Public records (e.g., voter registration, property records, court documents)
- Government databases (e.g., DMV records, business registrations)
- Online directories (e.g., Whitepages, Yellowpages)
- Business websites and online portfolios
- News articles and press releases
- Professional licensing boards
- Data broker partnerships and exchanges
- Public forums and discussion boards
- Blogs and personal websites
- E-commerce websites and customer reviews
- Job posting websites and professional networking platforms
- Real estate listing websites
- Obituaries and genealogy websites
- Marketing lists and online surveys
- Vehicle licensing databases
- Court records and legal filings
- Educational institutions and alumni directories
- Charity and nonprofit donor lists
- Phone books and contact aggregators
- Utility records and service providers
- Health provider directories
- Property sales and mortgage records
- Financial records accessible to the public
- Company filings and employment records
- Public government meeting minutes and agendas
Data broker loophole
Because Radaris harvests personal information from all of these sources, it can easily claim that after you asked to be removed, it simply re-acquired your data and automatically re-added it to the database.
This creates a loophole that gives Radaris (and other data brokers) reasonable doubt. These companies know that this loophole makes it hard for anyone to prove that they are intentionally re-adding user data without consent. For this reason, instead of permanently deleting your information when you contact them, they put it on ice.
After six months or a year, data brokers will purposefully un-suppress your data, allowing them to start making money from it all over again. This means that the only way to keep your data from appearing on Radaris, Intelius, Truthfinder, Instant Checkmate, RocketReach, BeenVerified – and dozens of other people finder sites – is to keep regularly asking for your data to be removed.
How can Incogni help to remove my data from Radaris?
Incogni is a service that allows subscribers to control where their data appears online. It is the ideal service for anybody who wants to quickly, effectively, and permanently remove their personal data from a massive cross-section of data brokers and people-finder websites.
Incogni works by identifying your data and asking for it to be removed from data brokers like Radaris. The service will check for your Social Security number, current and previous addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and other data—and send removal requests on your behalf if it finds these details.
Once your data has been removed from the public database, Incogni double-checks every few months to ensure that your records haven’t been re-added. If any data is found, it again asks for your data to be removed, ensuring that you stay off Radaris permanently.
Incogni removes you from 180+ websites
It’s not just Radaris, either. Incogni works to remove your data from 180+ different data broker and people finder websites, which is hugely impressive! According to the company’s research, it would take you more than 304 hours to remove your data from all those websites once.
Now, consider that you must keep asking to be removed every six months! If you don’t, data brokers will re-add you to their database. This is why Incogni is so valuable and time-saving!
Best of all, Incogni currently offers our readers a 50% discount. This reduces the subscription cost to $7.49, making Incogni highly affordable and a convenient way to maintain your digital privacy.
Once you have a subscription, you can monitor everything via your dashboard. Here, you can track precisely what Incogni is doing and when each removal request is successful.
Tips for reducing your digital footprint
We recommend taking proactive measures to protect your digital footprint and keep your data off people-finder databases. To help, we have compiled a list of the best things you can do to improve your privacy online.
Follow these rules to reduce your online exposure and keep your personal information safe:
Opt out of data broker databases
First, opt out of data broker databases. If you remove your data from Radaris, also remove it from other popular data brokers and search sites. These websites are the biggest culprits for collecting and distributing your data. That is why opting out is a crucial step. You can do this by following each site’s removal procedure or by using Incogni to keep your data off permanently.
Use privacy tools
Next, use privacy tools. VPNs, privacy extensions for Chrome and Firefox, private search engines, and ad and tracker blockers are all essential tools for protecting your data.
A VPN hides your IP address and encrypts your data. This prevents local networks, ISPs, government agencies, and eavesdroppers from tracking browsing habits and collecting personal information.
Limit the sharing of personal information
When joining services online, provide as little information as possible. If you can, use fake data. For example, when using free Wi-Fi in a mall or coffee shop, you can often give a fake name and email address. Providing false data minimizes your digital footprint.
The same goes for services that ask for optional information. Always supply the least amount of information possible. Leave out your address, phone number, or date of birth unless required. Using burner emails and forwarding numbers like Google Voice can also help. Avoid signing up for services with your Google or Facebook accounts, which helps third-party companies share information.
Monitor financial accounts regularly
Fraudsters can use your personal information to access financial accounts and commit identity theft. Since fraud is increasing globally, always watch for unusual activity in your bank accounts and other financial services. Catching fraud early can help minimize damage.
Clean up your online accounts and apps
Many people have old accounts they no longer use. Old accounts can become vulnerable, giving scammers, hackers, and other cybercriminals ways to impersonate you. Delete any online accounts you no longer need. Unsubscribe from services and delete unused apps to increase your security.
Remove personal information from search engines
If your personal information appears in Google or other search engines, you may want to invoke your right to be forgotten. If the data is not needed for legal reasons, you can request its removal. Google has tools for removing personal information, so check their website to learn more. You can also contact website owners directly to remove sensitive information.
Keep your social media private
Social media holds a lot of personal information. If your profiles are public, data brokers and malicious actors can access that information. Review your settings and minimize the number of people who can see your data. Set profiles to private and limit what you share publicly to avoid repercussions. Disable ad personalization and data-sharing options whenever possible.
Restrict data collection on smart devices
Device-level tracking, like GPS, allows companies to gather personal information. Check and adjust privacy settings on your smart devices to limit data collection. Turn off location tracking to prevent companies from monitoring your movements.
Be careful about the apps you install on smart devices. Review permissions carefully; if anything seems unusual, do not install the app.
Use encrypted email providers
Some email providers search your emails for keywords to profile you. Many also fail to secure emails with encryption, making them vulnerable to hacking. Switching to a secure email provider like ProtonMail or Tutanota can help protect your communications against hackers and misuse.
FAQs – How to opt out of Radaris
How long does it take for my information to be removed from Radaris?
After asking for your data to be removed, it may take Radaris several days to fully remove your information from the database. You should check back every so often to ensure it has been properly removed and to check that it hasn’t been re-added.
Can Radaris re-add my information after I opt out?
Yes, Radaris can re-add your information if it collects new data from public sources. This creates a legal loophole, which means that many data brokers don’t delete data when asked for removal. Instead, they put your data on ice, hiding it from view until such a time when they can re-add your profile again without it raising suspicions.
Is opting out of Radaris enough to protect my privacy?
While it is a good first step, it is important to consider many different factors that affect your online privacy. To gain decent levels of privacy, you must consider removing your data from all data brokers, ensure that you use privacy services and extensions, and engage in active data minimization while using the internet.
Must I create an account to remove my information from Radaris?
Yes. Radaris only lets you claim your data profile and ask for it to be removed if you join the service This helps to prevent unauthorized removal requests.
What if I can’t find my personal data on Radaris?
If you can’t find any of your personal data on Radaris that probably means that your data isn’t in the database (or you have recently asked for it to be removed). We advise checking back periodically to see if your data has been added to its database.
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