What if I told you I could type your first and last names into a website and see every address at which you've ever lived, the names of your friends, family, and children, and maybe even where you've worked?

Family Tree Now is that site, and when I typed my name into it, I was aghast to see how much information someone could casually fish about me and my loved ones - names, addresses, martial statuses, ages...you name it.

They even had the name, age, and address of my former roommate and my grandmother under the heading "Possible Associates".

The good news is that you can opt out and have your information deleted from the site.

Here's a step-by-step guide on opting out of Family Tree Now:

  1. Click here to visit FamilyTreeNow.com.
  2. Under ‘Start Your Journey’ enter your first name, last name and state. Click ‘Search’
  3. Find yourself on their search. If there is more than one person with your name that lives in your state, you can narrow down your search by looking at the age.
  4. Click on the account that matches your personal information.
  5. Scroll down to the bottom of the Family Tree Now website and click on their 'Privacy’ link.
  6. From the Family Tree Now privacy page, scroll about 1/3 the way down until you see a blue hyperlink that says ‘Opt Out Here’. (You can also hold down Ctrl on your keyboard, then hit the F key to open a search bar, then type "opt out here" to find the link quickly.)
  7. Search your information again. Once you find your page, click ‘Details’ and then a red ‘Opt Out Here’ button will appear.
  8. Click ‘Opt Out Here’ and you’re done. You’ll be removed from Family Tree Now’s website within 48 hours.

 

Once you've completed the process, be sure to share this information with everyone you know so they can do the same. There is absolutely no reason why our personal information should be so ridiculously easy to locate.

Note: Townsquare Media, KUSJ, KOOC, KSSM, KLTD, and KTEM are not affiliated with FamilyTreeNow.com, and we absolutely will not ever share your information with third parties.

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