How to Opt Out of PeekYou

PeekYou is a people search engine that specializes in aggregating social media profiles and online identities into comprehensive personal dossiers. Unlike many data brokers that focus primarily on public records, PeekYou crawls over 60 social media sites, blogs, and news sources to build detailed profiles that link your real identity to your online presence. Here is how to remove yourself from PeekYou and reclaim your digital privacy.

What Information Does PeekYou Collect?

PeekYou uses web crawlers, data scraping tools, and third-party data purchases to compile profiles that bridge your offline and online identities. A typical PeekYou listing may include:

• Full name and usernames
• Photographs (often pulled from social media)
• Age and gender
• Current and previous locations
• Occupation and job history
• Links to social media accounts (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and more)
• Blog and personal website links
• Interests and preferences (favorite music, films, TV shows)
• Public records data (court records, property records)

What makes PeekYou particularly concerning is its focus on linking your real-world identity to your digital footprint. The site crawls and scrapes over 60 social media platforms, news sources, personal homepages, and blog-hosting sites to piece together comprehensive profiles. PeekYou has been known to retain social media images even after they have been deleted from the original platform, or after a social media account has been deactivated.

Step-by-Step: How to Opt Out of PeekYou

The PeekYou opt-out process is free and can be completed online. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Find Your Profile on PeekYou

Go to https://www.peekyou.com and enter your first name and last name into the search bar. Select your state from the dropdown menu and click the magnifying glass icon to search. Browse the results and locate your listing. Ignore any sponsored results at the top of the page.

Step 2: Open Your Listing

Click on your name to view your full PeekYou profile. Take note of what information is displayed so you can verify its removal later.

Step 3: Access the Opt-Out Form

Scroll to the bottom of the PeekYou homepage and click on the "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" link in the footer. This will take you to the opt-out form.

Step 4: Complete the Opt-Out Form

Fill in the required fields on the opt-out form:

1. Enter your first name and last name
2. Provide a valid email address
3. Enter your city and state
4. Complete the CAPTCHA verification
5. Check any required consent boxes
6. Click "Submit"

Note that additional fields like middle name and age are optional and can be skipped.

Step 5: Verify via Email

Check your email inbox for a message from PeekYou. Open the email and click the verification link to confirm your opt-out request. Be sure to check your spam or junk folder if the email does not arrive within a few minutes.

Step 6: Wait and Verify Removal

After verification, wait 5 to 10 days for your listing to be removed. Return to PeekYou and search for yourself to confirm that your profile has been taken down.

Processing Time

PeekYou states that removal requests are typically processed within 48 hours, but in practice it can take up to 10 days for your listing to fully disappear from search results. If your profile is still visible after 10 days, submit the opt-out request again or contact PeekYou directly through their support channels.

Important Notes and Gotchas

• Your data can be re-added. PeekYou continuously scrapes the web for new data. If newly collected information cannot be reliably matched to your previous opt-out, a new profile may be created. Monitor the site regularly.
• Social media images may persist. PeekYou has been known to retain cached copies of social media photos even after the originals are deleted. Your opt-out request should remove these, but verify after processing.
• The opt-out is completely free. Never pay anyone who claims they can remove you from PeekYou. The process is free and can be done entirely by yourself.
• Multiple profiles may exist. If you have moved frequently or have different online personas, PeekYou may have created multiple profiles for you. Search using different name variations and locations to find them all.
• CAPTCHA issues. If you experience problems with the CAPTCHA on the opt-out form, try using a different browser, disabling ad blockers, or clearing your browser cookies.

How PrivacyOn Automates This

PeekYou's unique focus on linking social media profiles to real identities makes it a particularly important data broker to address. However, manually monitoring the site and resubmitting opt-out requests every time your data reappears is exhausting and easy to forget.

PrivacyOn handles PeekYou removal automatically and continuously. Our service scans PeekYou and over 190 other data broker sites for your personal information. When we detect your profile, we submit removal requests on your behalf and continue monitoring to ensure your data stays gone. If PeekYou re-creates your profile from newly scraped data, we catch it and remove it again.

Your online identity deserves protection across every platform and data broker. PrivacyOn provides comprehensive, ongoing coverage so you never have to worry about your personal information being exposed on PeekYou or any other people search site again.