National Public Data, NPD, has made it clear the service doesn’t care that much about your privacy. Now, the site is back after a major breach. Check it now and remove your data from NPD before your privacy is compromised again.
NPD’s Shady History With User Privacy
NPD is a well-known people search site. It gathers all types of data about any and everyone online. You can view some information for free, but the site makes money by selling information to users who sign up.
In 2024, NPD made headlines after a massive breach exposed billions of user records. This included both users who signed up to use the service and those who had their data collected (usually without any type of consent).
Usernames, passwords, social security numbers, phone numbers, and other personal data were all leaked. Even though NPD took action to lock down their site after the breach, the damage was already done.
NPD Returns Under New Ownership, But It Is Not Getting Better
National Public Data is back after shutting down in December 2024. There’s a notice on the site that states the site is no longer affiliated with the original owner, Jerico Pictures, Inc.
The site doesn’t list the name of the new owner, though the domain is registered to Perfect Privacy LLC. And yes, it’s once again a people finder site that aggregates data about people for anyone to look up and use.
The site claims to only gather data from publicly available sources, such as government sites, social media, and “other reliable platforms.” Essentially, if something is out there about you, it could be placed on the site. As long as it is publicly available information, it’s legal for these sites to collect it. And, with AI data scraping, it’s even easier than before.
Like most people search sites, you never consented to having all your data aggregated on the site. And, with NPD’s previous breach, you probably don’t want them storing anything about you. That’s why you need to remove your data from NPD as quickly as possible.
Remove Data from NPD
Start by searching for yourself on NPD. Enter your city and state to narrow down results.
Select the profile that matches you. You may notice some of the information isn’t accurate. For example, my birthday, phone number, and email address wasn’t correct. But, the site did have my address, neighbors, and more listed.
If you find yourself, this means you’re on the site and others can easily search for you.
Click View Full Profile and copy the URL for your profile. You’ll need this so you can request to remove your data from NPD.
Go to National Public Data Opt Out and paste the URL into the box. Click Request Removal. Enter an email address and click Confirm Removal. I suggest only using an email address that’s already listed in your profile.
Make sure you have access to this email address. You’ll need it to finish the process. When you receive the email, click Remove.
You should receive a second email once the process is complete.
If you have multiple profiles on the site, repeat this process for each profile. You’ll need a separate email address for each request. You can use a throwaway email address if you need to.
Of course, check the site within a few days to make sure your data has been removed. For me, my profile was removed within a few minutes.
Removing Your Data From Other People Search Sites
NPD isn’t the only people searching site making all your information public. While these sites are beneficial in some ways, such as verifying a job candidate, you may not want your information on them.
Many people finder sites have opt-out options just like NPD. You’ll typically find these in the site’s footer, FAQs, or Contact Us section.
If you don’t want to go through the process of manually removing yourself from every site, try third-party services that search for your information on these sites and remove the data for you.
You’ll want to check people search sites at least once or twice a year to make sure your information hasn’t been re-added. Yes, it’s a time-consuming process, but helpful to better maintain your privacy. Plus, it may help protect your identity, just like keeping a check on your credit report.
If you want to further protect your privacy, consider deleting any social media accounts you no longer use. These are full of personal information. If any of it is public, it could end up on people finder sites. Use these guides to delete your account on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), and LinkedIn.
