When it comes to dealing with arrests.org removal, first you have to know what it is you’re dealing with. Arrests.org is the parent company of a number of local sites throughout the US that capture, collect, and post public mugshots of people. The sites are searchable by state, although the only states available are those that have open record laws. The mugshots available here are then eligible to be featured as search results on search engines like Google.

On the one hand, the argument is that all of this information would be available to any citizen who did a little bit of digging.

On the other hand, sites like arrests.org make damaging photos immediately accessible and highly visible in search results. Even people who were never charged, have had the charges overturned, are pardoned, or served their sentence will still suffer from the negative effects of an arrests.org search result.

Arrests.org: How to Remove Your Info

We’ve identified the Arrests.org opt out steps below, however, there is a caveat. Supporting documentation is required in order to process a removal and the removal is at the discretion of Arrests.org. There is no guarantee that your info will be removed from the site.

1. Go to Arrests.org .

2. Enter your first name, last name, and state into the search bar.

3. Identify the listing with your info. Click “Record removal.”

4. Select a reason for removal, provide the required documentation, and click “Submit opt-out.”

There are a few different reasons for removal options for Arrests.org, each requiring specific documentation:

• “The arrests have been sealed or expunged.” Requires a copy of the expungement order.
• “The charges were dropped/dismissed/adjudicated not guilty.” Requires proof of identity and proof of disposition.
• “Remove data of birth and address.” Requires proof of identity.
• “Other.” This includes if the person is deceased, active military, not a US citizen, or a law enforcement/government official. Requires supporting documents to verify.

5. Give it some time.

It can take Arrests.org anywhere from 5-30 days to process the removal request. As we mentioned above, this doesn’t guarantee that the info will be removed. Even if you are able to get the listing removed, we recommend speaking with one of our experts about safeguarding your online presence.

More about Arrests.org

Arrests.org provides very little information about the site and its practices, save for a few sentences on the contact page.  If you read the fine print below this contact information, you’ll also see an admission from the site that the owners take no responsibility for the accuracy of the information, and that people featured were not necessarily convicted of any crimes. The site owners also refuse to take any responsibility for user comments.

While arrests.org lacks sufficient information about the site’s intentions, owners, or courses of action, this brief statement speaks volumes.

Many sites like arrests.org claim to perform a public service by “informing the public” about the background information of citizens. However, the statements found on the site strongly suggest that the site is all about entertainment value.

Users are able to tag and search mugshots based on the following criteria:

• Beat Up
• Celebrity
• Handicap
• Grills
• Hair
• Hunks
• Hotties
• Scary
• Tatted up
• Transgender
• Wino
• WTF

The fact that you can’t easily filter mugshots based on the type of charge, status, time served, etc – but instead you can only sort from the tags mentions above suggests that the intent is not to inform citizens, but to mock the subjects of these mugshots.

In addition to this questionable form of categorizing mugshots, the comments section is a wild west of opinions and generally crude and lewd behavior.

Users can link to specific photos and make comments that are then featured on the front page of arrests.org.

The comments are typically degrading, damaging and explicit.

What to watch out for with mugshot databases

The truly controversial aspect of these kinds of practices comes into view when considering how the site is monetized. While some states have tightened up the loopholes regarding “removal” companies, there is still a real chance of extortion when it comes to posted mugshot photos.

Luckily, arrests.org did away with the “pay for removal” system, as they faced legal action along with other sites.

However, some sites like arrests.org still work with companies specializing in removal services. Basically, this secondary company (although it may also just be an extension of the mugshot network) will charge you a certain amount of money to remove your photo from this database. This fee can range from a few hundred dollars upwards.

While there is a chance that this will resolve your problem in the short-term, unfortunately, this is not a guarantee for your online reputation in the long-term.

Even if you pay to get your mugshot removed, there’s a chance that other people can still see it in cached image searches. Additionally, just because you pay for an image to be removed from one database, that doesn’t mean it won’t pop up on other sites down the road. This image could also re-appear on the site you paid for in the future.

While paying for removal may give you some peace of mind in the short-term, using this as your only strategy leaves you vulnerable and sets you up for disappointment.

Consider any course of action you can to get a mugshot removed, but keep in mind that it’s unlikely to do much for you in the long-run. That’s why we suggest an alternative strategy.

Alternative strategies

Through years of experience working with clients, we have refined our strategy for dealing with negative search results like a mugshot. Even though full mugshot removal is allusive, mitigating the negative effects of a mugshot through personal branding is attainable.

We have found that the most successful way to do this is by following these four steps:

1. Remove any Google results that can be taken down.

Again, this is the first thing that you should look into when improving your online presence. Even if you can’t get your mugshot taken down, do a full audit of search results (links, videos, images, news, etc) that come up for your name. From here, unpublish or remove any content that you control. If you choose to work with BrandYouself’s Managed Services, we’ll also create a strategy for identifying and drafting any useful Takedown requests.

2. Create a personal brand that showcases your assets.

Because you are specifically dealing with a negative image result, there should be a heavier focus on cultivating social media profiles that deal with visual content. However, your personal brand development should be holistic, and relevant to your specific goals – not just a reaction to this mugshot.

3. Create positive content to protect your good name from any future damage.

This means regularly engaging on social media and building an audience engaged in your industry and interests.

4. Continually monitor your online presence and track changes in search results.

In addition to monitoring the progress of your mugshot from arrests.org, you also have to be on the lookout for other negative (or positive) search results for your name and how their rankings fluctuate over time.

Remember, at best, paid removal is a short-term solution while you work on building your online reputation management strategy. At worst, paid removal is ineffective and costly.

If removal is an option for you financially, use your own discretion. However, if removal is not an option due to financial constraints, focus your attention on building optimized, well-branded properties that you control. You can learn more about building a strong foundation, by signing up for our free tool, checking out our foundational guides on the BrandYourself blog, and reading the tutorial in BrandYourself University.

Additionally, consider the states that are accessible on arrests.org. This network only features information from states that subscribe to open record laws. Instead of arguing for the public’s right to information or invoking the freedom of information act, arrests.org ensures that they can’t be charged of violating any of these rulings.

If you find your mugshot on a site like arrests.org, you’re probably going to want to sign up for removal services ASAP.

But don’t be fooled! Approach your personal brand holistically, and leverage profiles that you control to showcase your assets.

FAQs

How do I delete a mugshot?

Unfortunately, you cannot simply opt to delete a mugshot, unless it appears on a website or profile that you control. And in most states, arrest records are part of the public records so they are available online. However, you can try emailing the webmaster directly. Because the odds are slim in terms of working out in your favor, we suggest that you instead focus your efforts on building a strong personal brand online that highlights your accomplishments while suppressing this negative image of yours.

How can I disable comments on my mugshot from arrests.org

Unfortunately, you can’t disable comments directly through the site. We also don’t recommend engaging with other users in this forum. Instead, we suggest that you focus on the social media profiles and personal websites that you do control.

Why is my mugshot showing up on multiple sites?

Sites like arrests.org pull from state-run databases that release this information as a matter of public record. Therefore, even if you get the image removed from a site like arrests.org, it can still show up on similar sites or the original database.

How long before my mugshot disappears?

Unfortunately, your mugshot may not disappear. However, as you start to build your personal brand, you’ll notice that properties that you control will start to rank for your name. So the idea is that over time, you’ll significantly reduce the chances that anyone will see your mugshot. The farther down in rankings, the less likely someone is to see it. So while the image may not fully disappear, over time, you will start to see more positive relevant information overwhelm this negative result.

What states does arrests.org cover?

Arrests.org features information from states that subscribe to open record laws. Below we’ve described the regions covered on arrests.org sites by state:

Alabama.arrests.org: The Alabama arrests.org database has grown significantly over the past few years. It now covers 18 counties – it used to list just 5 counties.

Arizona.arrests.org: There are only four counties on the Arizona arrests.org page (Cochise, Maricopa, Mohave, and Pinal).

Arkansas.arrests.org: One of the larger databases out there on the site, the Arkansas arrests.org page includes 23 counties. If you live in this state and have been arrested you should definitely do some digging to see if you’re listed.

California.arrests.org: Surprisingly, there are only 7 counties listed on the California arrests.org page but each is fairly thorough.

Colorado.arrests.org: One of the smaller pages on the site with only two counties. Worth exploring if you live in the state, but the Colorado arrests.org has far fewer mugshots and listings than other state pages, so your chances are a bit better here.

Florida.arrests.org: The arrests.org Florida database covers 52 counties which increases your chances of being listed here significantly. This also means that your mugshot has a great chance at being picked up by another website.

Georgia.arrests.org: The Georgia arrests.org database is also quite large with the page covering 37 counties.

Idaho.arrests.org: Only four counties are included in the Idaho arrests.org page (Ada, Bingham, Canyon, and Elmore).

Illinois.arrests.org: On the Illinois arrests.org page there are 7 counties listed but it is updated quite regularly and has an active comment community which means the chances of someone seeing your mugshot when visiting the page is higher than other states.

Indiana.arrests.org: Indiana’s arrests.org page covers 24 counties and has some fairly active engagement around their listings.

Iowa.arrests.org: Only eight counties are included on the Iowa arrests.org database with moderate activity from visitors.

Kansas.arrests.org: The Kansas arrests.org page has nine counties in their database but very low engagement on their listings.

Kentucky.arrests.org: There are a whopping 70 counties in the Kentucky arrests.org database although the engagement and comments across all Arrests.org KY listings are actually on the low side given the quantity.

Louisiana.arrests.org: 19 counties make up the Louisiana arrests.org page with moderate engagement throughout the site.

Maine.arrests.org: Only the county of Somerset is on the Main arrests.org database.

Maryland.arrests.org: Allegany and St. Mary’s county are the only two on the Maryland arrests.org database page.

Michigan.arrests.org: 7 counties make up the arrests.org Michigan database with lower than average engagement and activity across them.

Minnesota.arrests.org: There are 26 counties in the Minnesota arrests.org database with moderate activity and comments on their listings.

Mississippi.arrests.org: The Mississippi arrests.org page has 19 counties but very low activity and engagement.

Missouri.arrests.org: The Missouri arrests.org page has 23 counties with a high engagement and comment rate on their listings.

Montana.arrests.org: Missoula and Ravalli are the only two counties you can find on the Montana arrests.org page.

Nebraska.arrests.org: Gage, Lincoln, and Sarpy are the counties listed on the Nebraska arrests.org page with low engagement.

Nevada.arrests.org: This page is down right now. We will update this once it’s available to the public again.

New Jersey.arrests.org: There are only four counties on the New Jersey arrests.org page (Essex, Ocean, Salem, and Sussex).

New Mexico.arrests.org: There are five counties on the New Mexico arrests.org database with above-average activity and comments across all listings.

North Carolina.arrests.org: The North Carolina arrests.org page has 30 counties with above-average engagement.

Ohio.arrests.org: 36 counties make up the Ohio arrests.org database with above-average engagement across their listings.

Oklahoma.arrests.org: The Oklahoma arrests.org database contains 11 counties with moderate activity.

Oregon.arrests.org: 18 counties are included in the Oregon arrests.org page with much higher than average activity and engagement from the visitors to the page.

Pennsylvania.arrests.org: There are only 7 counties in the Pennsylvania arrests.org database and below-average engagement.

South Carolina.arrests.org: You can find 22 counties on the South Carolina arrests.org page and the listings receive above-average activity and engagement.

Tennessee.arrests.org: The Tennessee arrests.org database has 20 counties and above-average engagement.

Texas.arrests.org: 51 counties make up the Texas arrests.org database but the activity level on the listings is actually on the lower side of things.

Utah.arrests.org: You can find 7 counties on the Utah arrests.org page but moderate activity throughout the database.

Virginia.arrests.org: The arrests.org VA database covers 13 counties with significantly above-average activity and engagement from the visitors.

West Virginia.arrests.org: 10 counties are included in the West Virginia arrests.org database but the engagement level on this page is extremely low.

Wisconsin.arrests.org: There are only 6 counties on the Wisconsin arrests.org page but the engagement across the state database is slightly above average.

Wyoming.arrests.org: Goshen, Sweetwater, and Teton are the only counties listed on the Wyoming arrests.org page. The engagement level is very low as well.

If you’re dealing with a negative search result like a mugshot from arrests.org, schedule a consultation with a BrandYourself Reputation Advisor to discuss the best option for you from our managed services packages.

The post Removing Yourself From Arrests.org appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

Highly sensitive information is relatively easy to get removed (or de-indexed) from the internet (ie social security numbers, credit card numbers, government ID numbers, etc) because the law is on your side.

Unfortunately, some information that you deem as too private, has no legal recourse for removal. Instead, you have to find alternative steps to reclaim your privacy online.

This is where things can get a bit more tricky.

Even taking care of highly sensitive information doesn’t just magically happen. You have to be proactive about monitoring the information that appears about you online.

So, let’s get into the nitty gritty of removing public records online.

Your personal information lives online

Gone are the days of flipping through Whitepages and filing information requests by snail mail. Today, all kinds of information is not only available about you, but it’s easily accessed online. It seems like nothing is off-limits.

Think about it, your:

• Home addresses
• Homeownership documents
• Voter registration
• Divorce records

And other public records are available to anyone online who types in the right keywords. With that in mind, we’ve created this guide to help you better understand the most effective ways to remove public records about you from the internet.

Why public records of today differ from those of the past

Public records are nothing new, but the level of accessibility and volume of information aggregators online present modern problems.

In the past, an individual would have to physically go to a government office and/or submit a formal request to access this kind of information.

In all likelihood there would be multiple offices, buildings and requests involved.

Online “personal information brokerages” of today, remove all of the red tape and legwork that used to create a natural barrier. Now with the click of a button, anyone can access all of this information instantly without leaving home.

This is what often makes people most uncomfortable. It is also what makes understanding how to remove public records so difficult.

How to remove information from public records while setting realistic expectations

While it’s true that there are a number of steps that you can take to reduce most of the public records accessible about you online, it’s also true that there is always the chance that there will be some remnants of you online.

Even with the help of a legal team, people who are particularly adept at finding information (think private investigators, government agencies, hackers, etc) online, may still be able to.

But, there are a number of precautions and steps that you can take to reduce the chances of the typical internet user finding this kind of information about you online.

How to remove my name from public records in 10 easy steps

Step 1: Google yourself

Start the process by identifying all of the private information that you want to remove or hide online. Search through as many pages as possible for all web results, images, videos, news clips etc that are attached to your name online. Keep in mind that this doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll locate all info that’s available about you online, but it will give you a strong sense of prioritizing the records you want to get rid of!

If finding and tracking these kinds of results seems a bit overwhelming, sign up for BrandYourself’s free DIY Reputation Management Software which automatically scans search results for your name and flags potentially damaging or private search results. .

Step 2: Change your address and phone number

No, we’re not suggesting that you move to a new home just because of a few invasive search results. Instead, get a P.O. Box or head to UPS and get their version of a post office box. This way you can attach a mailing address to most records and it can differ from your home address.

Additionally, consider getting a phone line that’s used exclusively for this type of documentation or business purposes. This can range from a single landline (if people still do that), or a free/inexpensive number from services like Google Voice, whatsapp or Skype.

Step 3: Start a business

You don’t have to go full on Bezos-mode if that’s not your style. Instead, investigate whether or not forming an LLC (limited liability corporation) would make sense as a means of detaching your personal information from public records attached to properties that you own or rent. Make sure to do your research and consult with a professional.

Step 4: Visit the county clerk’s office

Before you visit, make sure you check out the hours, and any suggestions for forms of id to bring. Additionally, there are a number of request forms that you can obtain to fill out from the local county clerk’s website.

Once that’s resolved, be prepared to ask for the following information:

• Permission to review all public records related to you
• What information is allowed to be removed/redacted/modified from these records
• Which documents can include your “new address”

From here, request that all information that can be removed/redacted/modified is. Your telephone number and most of your social security number should be removed or at least partially obscured on most records in question.

Some of the records kept by the County Clerk include:

• Marriage licenses
• Court records
• Deeds and mortgages
• Old wills
• Probate cases
• Government surveys
• Civil circuit files
• Birth certificates
• Death certificates
• More

Most of these records are publicly accessible for free or a nominal fee, so make sure that you are thorough when it comes to examining your own public records!

Also, don’t forget to ask about the UCC database! This is the Uniform Commercial Code database and it deals with records related explicitly to property ownership and Financing statements. This is something that you may also be able to look up on your state’s “.gov” website. So feel free to find out what you can online before your in-person visit.

There’s a pretty good chance that your social security number could show up on some of these records! So make a point to ask about this particular database.

Once you’ve reviewed and discussed all of these records with the clerk, make sure to furnish any additional information needed from formal request forms to updates on your end (namely your new P.O. box address – or a phone number different from your personal number). Follow up as needed.

Step 5: Take a trip to the DMV

Or at least give them a call. Find out if legally you’re allowed to change your address to that of a P.O. or UPS Box. If so, head on over and make the change. That way, in the future, it’s more likely that this address will be attached to your name in legal documentation instead of your actual home address.

Step 6: Make the rounds

While it’s definitely worth a call ahead, think of other publicly funded places where your address is part of the ID. Places like:

• Public Library
• Public Pool
• Unemployment office
• Parks and Rec offices

Ask if you can update the address with the P.O. or UPS Box that you’ve just started renting.

Step 7: Request removal from information brokerage services

When it comes to dealing with exposed private information, you can now focus your attention to data brokerage services online. Some of these include sites like:

• Radaris
• Peoplefinders
• Spokeo
• Intelius
• Truthfinder
• Checkmate
• Peoplelooker

These are data aggregation sites and users pay to find out as much information about other people in one place as possible. This information can vary in nature, but most of these sites provide an opt out request form. Examine the website to find out exactly how to go about the process. Naturally, most of these sites don’t make it easy.

You’ll likely have to send a request via fax that includes a copy of documentation that identifies you as you! This is to ensure that they are removing the correct information from the database. However, feel free to redact your image or key ID#s – just read the details of the site carefully. You don’t want your removal request to result in exposure of more personal info!

And if you have trouble with certain sites removing your information, the law may be on your side (depending on the information that they’re sharing). Sensitive information that can lead to fraud or identity theft (like social security numbers and bank account numbers) must be taken down. This is exactly having separate checking accounts for businesses is extremely important. You can submit a takedown request to Google, or even enlist the aid of a legal team. And if you live in the EU or Argentina, you also have the protections of the right to be forgotten.

Step 8: Expedite the removal process

Unfortunately, this can be a time consuming process if you don’t come up with a system. Look for a removal request template, and keep track of when you send these requests. Consider setting up alerts to remind you when you should check back in with these various requests you’re sending. Avoid requests getting taking longer than necessary by staying organized and setting up a schedule for yourself for checking on the status of these requests.

Step 9: Review privacy settings

This should be a regular part of your digital health. Stay up to date with the personal information that you choose to share on various accounts online. If you are required to store information like a phone number or mailing address, make sure to update it to the new information that isn’t reflective of your primary phone number and home address. Whenever you get alerts saying that a website you use is updating their privacy agreement… make sure that you review your settings. While the information you share doesn’t necessarily fall in the realm of “public records”, there’s a pretty good chance that by using the site you’re agreeing to your data being tracked and sold to other companies. So limit the amount of personal information you use when creating an account.

Step 10: Build your brand and suppress

Enlisting the help of lawyers is not guaranteed to work and will likely be expensive. However, every case is different, so it may be worth it to you to consider the help of an attorney. However, do your homework and make sure that they are not paid by the offending sites.

Whether you choose to include the justice system in your action plan or not,  we suggest that you focus on steps that you can control.

Removing public records with our DIY tool

Another great way to make the process of removing public records easier is by signing up for a free DIY account.

This gives you instant access to our reputation management software which monitors and tracks your online reputation. This means that any new public records that might show up will be flagged and brought to your attention.

Also, our proprietary technology also shows you how to build and protect your online presence and privacy step by step. By creating a strong personal brand online, you’re not only boosting your professional earning potential but also decreasing the likelihood that people will see exposed private information when they search for your name online.

Wrap up

While dealing with public records can make you feel vulnerable, it is within your power to reduce and remove sensitive information about you from the internet. It’s definitely a process, and cannot be completed in a day, but don’t give up. Keep track of the steps you take and celebrate progress.

Following the steps above is how to remove your information from public records online. While you may not be able to get rid of everything, you can significantly reduce the information that’s out there and the likelihood that anyone will see it.

Don’t have time? Let us do the work for you. If this whole process seems overwhelming, reach out to a Reputation Advisor by calling (646)-863-8226 or scheduling a consultation to discuss the best option for you from our managed services packages.

The post How to Remove Public Records From The Internet appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

If you want to learn how to make it through the Instant Checkmate opt out process with no issues, you’ve come to the right place.

This is one of the most requested sites we hear about, and there are a couple reasons for this.

The first is that anyone can use the site to find sensitive information about you relatively easily.

As a matter of fact, here’s the list of everything that can be found about you on Instant Checkmate:

• Phone numbers
• Emails
• Addresses
• Contact information
• Previous arrests
• Criminal convictions
• Traffic citations

Instant Checkmate is more aggressive with their marketing than pretty much all other people search sites.

While most of their competitors grow or die organically, Instant Checkmate invests money to make sure their audience never goes away.

This means that completing the Instant Checkmate opt out process is essential if you value your privacy.

Before we cover the opt out steps you need to take, there’s a common question that we want to address. Understanding this will help you better protect your information in the long run.

Did Instant Checkmate Break The Law By Collecting My Info?

We hear this question all the time from people who are worried about their personal information being shared all over the internet.

The reason for this is because it naturally feels a little bit unethical for this kind of info to be aggregated and viewed by other people. 

Despite this, it’s completely legal for them to do what they’ve been doing.

You see, everything that you can find on Instant Checkmate can be found via public records in one form or another.

These records exist and can be legally accessed by anyone. This is the way things have been since before the internet became the force it is today.

What makes it different now is sites like Instant Checkmate can parse through these records and aggregate them on their site. This is just an extension of publicly accessible information that is already out there.

Legislation has yet to catch up to the data brokers, however, some states are beginning to pass laws to regulate consumer privacy in relation to data brokers like Instant Checkmate:

Instant Checkmate & the California Consumer Privacy Act

The CCPA went into effect at the beginning of this year. It provides enhanced privacy rights to California residents in regards to how companies use their data. It gives residents the ability to request greater visibility into how the information was obtained, what the information is being used for, and also the ability to request to have it removed from data broker databases.

Instant Checkmate has a dedicated section of their privacy policy that speaks to this law and provides additional detail about what info they collect. Even if you’re not a California resident, we recommend checking it out.

How Your Information Gets Accessed And Passed Around

So we hinted at this a little bit in the previous section, but let’s dig into it some more.

Understanding how this whole process works will make it easier for you to protect sensitive information about yourself, even after you’ve gone through the Instant Checkmate opt out procedure.

Instant Checkmate is no different than any other people search site when it comes to how it collects your info.

Honestly, they’re all pretty much the same site with different names.

We’ve already established that public records are one of the main sources Instant Checkmate uses for finding info to share.

You can walk into your local records office and find the same data. Now that everything is shared online, this can all be found there as well.

This is the starting point for sites like Instant Checkmate. They use software to scrape and collect all of this information and add it to their site.

They’re doing this 24/7 and unless regulations change (not likely) they’ll continue to do so.

But there’s another way they collect your information, and you need to be aware of it.

Instant Checkmate and similar sites not only scrape public records, but they scrape each other as well.

What does this mean?

It’s easier to establish a massive database of personal information when you don’t have to start from scratch all the time. If another site has pieces of information Instant Checkmate couldn’t scrape, they’ll use them as a source.

But why is this so important?

It’s important because if Instant Checkmate has your info we can guarantee that it will be found on other sites as well.

They’re essentially sharing your data with each other.

If you want to opt out of Instant Checkmate and keep your info private, this is a massive issue.

You can go through the entire Instant Checkmate opt out process successfully, and still have to worry about dozens of other sites.

To make things even more enjoyable, there isn’t an easy way to manually check what these sites are. You basically have to guess and search through a bunch of different aggregators.

Then once you find a site that has sensitive information about you, you need to go through their opt out process as well.

This is why we launched a new feature within our software that will do the searching for you.

If you’re on any popular people search sites like Instant Checkmate, our software will find out and automatically remove you from them as well. Visit this page if you want to give it a shot.

Why Do They Do This?

The easy answer is money, but let’s explore this a little more.

Instant Checkmate needs to collect a significant amount of information in order to do business. A people search website without any people in the database doesn’t work very well.

The more information they have on the site the better chance they have of convincing potential searchers to purchase a membership. Instant Checkmate pushes these far more aggressively than a lot of other sites, so if they don’t have enough data their growth will slow.

They split up certain types of information in order to incentivize a premium membership.

Here’s what they provide with a standard report:

• Personal information
• Related persons
• Contact details
• Location history
• Criminal and arrest records
• Traffic violations
• Vehicle information
• Social media profiles
• FAA pilot licenses
• DEA controlled substance licenses
• Horoscope information

And here’s what’s included in the premium report:

• Civil Judgements
• Corporate affiliations
• UCC filings
• Property ownership
• Tax liens
• Hunting and fishing permits
• Weapons permits
• Foreclosures
• Neighbors
• Business associates

As you can tell, there’s a ton of information in the premium report that many people would pay for. This is why Instant Checkmate breaks these up into two groups.

Since they’ve been around for a while we’re guessing that strategy is working quite well for them.

The Upside

Despite the reality that you’ve got to deal with opting out of Instant Checkmate whether you like it or not, there’s an upside.

If you go through the Instant Checkmate opt out steps they legally have to honor it.

This isn’t a rule that only applies to Instant Checkmate. It’s actually the case for all people finder sites out there.

Unfortunately this information isn’t widespread, and it can change your entire outlook on how to approach this situation.

Instead of trying removal methods that don’t work you can rest easy knowing things will be fine. Go through the steps properly, monitor the necessary channels, and you’ll be able to remove yourself from the site.

Using Our Software To Opt Out Of Instant Checkmate

If you want the most convenient and speedy option for opting out of Instant Checkmate, our privacy software feature is the way to go. Get started here.

Not only will it scan the web and find out what people finder sites have your information, it will also opt you out from them automatically.

These are the main benefits:

• You can avoid the manual opt out process which is fairly time consuming
• You don’t need to worry about going through the process correctly (it’s tricker than you think)
• It will take care of your exposure on other sites as well

Here’s how to opt out from Instant Checkmate with our tool.

Step 1: Log in to your BrandYourself account

This new tool that automatically opts you out of Instant Checkmate has been added to our current software. To use it hop in to your BrandYourself account.

If you still need to create one you can do it here.

Step 2: Visit the new private info area

The feature is in a brand new section labeled “protect private info” and it can be found on the left hand navigation bar on your screen.

Head over to that section to get started.

Step 3: Put the tool to work

This step is where everything happens, but it’s also super easy to complete.

Just click the blue button that says “remove my private info” and sit back. The software will take care of everything.

The Instant Checkmate opt out process will take a few weeks for the sites to comply with. It’s not immediate. This is par for the course for all people search sites.

The Manual Way

Before you begin the Instant Checkmate opt out procedure manually, you need to be aware of a few important points.

• This will take you a bit longer, so prepare for that
• Removing yourself from all the other sites that have your info as well will take a similar amount of time
• If you want to monitor the progress of your opt out requests you’ll need to keep track manually

If you’re up for it, here’s what to do:

Step 1: Visit Instant Checkmate’s opt out page here.

This is the easiest way to access your listing.

Step 2: Search your name and location to find the right entry for you.

Their search feature is pretty straightforward so it shouldn’t be difficult to access your listing.

Step 3: Find your listing and click the “Remove This Record” button.

Once you find your listing click the massive green button that says “remove your record” to the right of it.

Step 4: Enter your email address and click the “send confirmation email” button.

Drop in your email address and request your confirmation email.

Step 5: You’ll receive an email that lets you finalize the opt out request.

If you don’t see anything in your inbox you should check your spam folder. Once you’ve found your email click the confirmation link and your information will be removed as soon as possible.

They say this will happen within 48 hours but we’ve heard from people who said it took closer to a couple weeks.

The Work Isn’t Done

Even though you’ve gone through the Instant Checkmate opt out process, there’s still work to be done if you want to protect your personal information.

As we’ve mentioned a few times, if your info is on Instant Checkmate it’s on other sites too.

If you want to do things manually you’ll need to start sleuthing around to find out where it is. We recommend that you start by Googling yourself and making a spreadsheet of instances you find, then knocking them off all at once.

The post How To Opt Out From Instant Checkmate (2022 Update) appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

When was the last time that you googled your name? If you’re conscious of your online brand, search results for your name will vary from news articles and reviews to your website to social media accounts. But, if you’re like most people, you’ll find personal information like your home address, age and phone number listed on different sites when you search for your name online as well. “MyLife” is an information brokerage company that acts as a database of personal information about people currently living in the US. In this article, you’ll learn how MyLife works, and how to remove your personal information from this website by following the MyLife opt-out process. 

What is MyLife?

Before understanding how a site like MyLife got your personal information, or figuring out how to remove this personal data from the site, you may be curious as to what MyLife actually is. While many websites are out there that aggregate this kind of personal information, MyLife is unique in a few ways. For starters, before MyLife became “MyLife”, it was actually called Reunion.com. This site was created with the explicit purpose of helping the general public (re)connect with past schoolmates long after graduating.

Nowadays, according to a report on Kryptoszene, Mylife is a US-based “information brokerage” website. This means that the site is a business that operates through aggregating and sharing personal identifying information about people. MyLife essentially gathers personal data about individuals through publicly accessible means (like public records and social media) to then create a “MyLife Public Page” and reputation profiles for just about everyone. MyLife synthesizes a vast amount of data that can include information like: an individual’s name, age, home address, work address, phone number, email address, employment history, academic history, pictures, family members, political parties, personal biography, reviews, and all kinds of other information. The site boasts an index of over 325 million people! So it shouldn’t be a surprise that you’re on it. 

The website offers a free and a paid subscription model, depending on what the user is looking for. Additionally, the site offers a reputation ranker. MyLife claims that its primary focus is to make consumers safer and marketplaces more trustworthy by aggregating all of this information together in an easily accessible format. Users can then publicly review and comment on these pages. MyLife.com is identified as a social networking site, although its primary function seems to be to gather and share information as opposed to being a platform for directly interacting with others. MyLife.com emphasizes its role as a layer of protection for businesses and consumers.

How did MyLife get my information?

Now that you know what MyLife is, you are probably wondering how exactly all of your information ended up there. Well, the good news is that most of the information found on the site is publicly available, so nothing is available that couldn’t be accessed by just about anyone elsewhere. However, you may be surprised by the volume of information currently available about you (or your business) merely through public record. 

MyLife.com accesses various databases and other public resources (think newspapers, genealogy websites, court documents, social networking sites, etc) to create a pooled public profile of people, businesses and other organizations. This information is similar to what you would find through a (very extensive) Google Search. It’s also possible that MyLife purchases profile information from marketing or commercial indexes. MyLife may use and discard some of that information then combine it with data obtained from other sources mentioned above. MyLife uses software that crawls the Internet for free content about people that has already been indexed by larger search engines. Commercial and government databases also provide a wealth of information for MyLife to flesh out their individual profiles. 

MyLife automatically generates a page for every name in the US and acts as a centralized location for people to learn about that person based on their online footprint. The site also uses a reputation meter that calculates a score for users based on the information the site finds online and the kinds of reviews that others leave about you online. These reviews come from other review sites as well as from the reviews left on individual profiles. This reputation score is constantly updated to reflect new reviews and information coming in. 

How to remove information from MyLife

While sharing personal information online is becoming more and more common, there may be some information that you’d like to keep private. By having information like your phone number, email address, home address, etc available to the public, you open yourself up to certain risks. From unending telemarketers, to junk mail, to stalking or even identity theft – the risks are real. That’s why it’s worthwhile to pay attention to what people can find out about you online.  If you aren’t interested in having your information publicly available on MyLife, you have the option to remove it from the site. By creating a free account and joining mylife.com you have the power to edit what information other people can see about you on your profile page or request a MyLife opt-out. But keep in mind the fact that even when you edit your page on mylife.com, it’s likely that this information will still be accessible elsewhere online on the pages where this content came from originally. 

When it comes to the review section of a profile, once you claim your profile page, you can delete anonymous reviews or reach out to reviewers who left unfavourable remarks. You can also contact customer service directly if any defamation, libel or hate speech is happening.

As you start the process of removing some personal information about yourself from the mylife.com website, it’s a good idea to use this as an opportunity to find where else this information appears online. MyLife did not randomly create information about you. Instead, it automatically pooled the information that’s already out there. With that in mind, use this as an opportunity to take a hard look at your online presence and get to work on any information that you want to keep private. 

Start with low hanging fruit like pictures that you posted on your social media accounts. Maybe it’s time to remove certain photos or at least update your privacy settings. You can also opt out of having your name, phone number and address from sites like the whitepages and other databases by simply following the instructions on those sites. 

Unfortunately  the specific removal process varies by website database, so always consult with the specific site first. Additionally, it may be a good idea to use tools and resources to help you monitor what personal information about you appears online on an ongoing basis. 

In addition to removing your name from MyLife and other websites like it, it’s a good idea to put some thought into how you want to present yourself online. By building a comprehensive online presence for yourself, you have the chance to shape what people can learn about you when they google your name. Use resources and services to help you create a personal website, and learn how social media can help you craft the online presence that makes sense for you. Following the steps to remove private information about yourself on mylife.com is only part of the equation when it comes to how you look online. The personal information that you remove should be replaced by content that you create and curate to tell the story of who you are. 

But before you get ahead of yourself, make sure to follow the opt-out process described below. This is how to remove information from MyLife. 

MyLife Opt-Out Process 

To make sure that you are following the most recently updated protocol for removing your personal information from mylife.com, visit the website directly and look for this topic in the FAQ section. Currently these are the steps you can take:

1. Visit mylife.com on your computer
2. Find the search bar that is located in the middle of the page.
3. Type your name (phone number, email address, or home address) in the search bar then hit “Enter” (or click the magnifying glass icon to the right of the bar).
4. Review the results that come up for your name and find the entries that are related to you.
5. If you have a very common name, you can filter these search results by, “States”, “City”, and, “Age”. Use these tools to help find the correct profile (or profiles) for you. 
6. Once you have located your profile, hit the button on the right of the profile that says, “This is me”. 
7. From here you will be prompted to Create a report. Do that, then follow the prompts to create a free account. Make sure to use an email address that is not your primary email address but a dummy account (an account that you use for junk mail that doesn’t possess any personal information about you in the name). 
8. DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING!
9. Instead, complete the profile claiming process (you may have to verify the email address) of all profiles that pertain to you. 
10. Delete all information that you can, but if there are any membership fees associated with this process, do not share your personal payment information.
11. To remove MyLife profile, you have a few options.
    1. Option 1: Call MyLife’s customer support team. They can be reached at, 888.704.1900 with operators available Monday through Friday from 6am to 7pm PST and Saturday-Sunday from 6am to 5pm PST. (NOTE: Keep your personal information nearby (ie name, age, birthday, email addresses, current and past mailing addresses, and the links to the different profiles that pertain to you). Make sure to keep a note of when you called, who you spoke with in case you need to follow up with any additional questions)
    2. Option 2: Email MyLife’s customer support team at either privacy@mylife.com or membersupport@mylife.com. In your email, make sure to include a subject like, “Opt-out request for YOUR NAME” or, “Remove listing – request for YOUR NAME”. In the body of the email, make sure to state your name, age, birthday, current address and previous request. Include a link to your profile (or relevant profiles) and request that they remove your personal identifying information from their site and any affiliated sites due to privacy concerns.  
    3. Option 3: Remove MyLife profile directly from the site. You’ll need to follow the prompts starting in the FAQ section with the question, “How can I have my Reputation Profile removed?”. Make sure to select, “Continue with removal” when prompted to eventually remove MyLife profile. 

Now What?

Regardless of how you choose to request removal of your personal information from mylife.com, make sure to find out when you should expect to no longer see your information appear on the site and any of its affiliate sites. 

Mark this date in your calendar so that you remember to follow up when the time is needed. If you are still seeing your information on the site, reach out to customer support and reference the date and means through which you submitted your request to remove all personal information related to you.  

Additionally, you should make sure to put an annual or semi-annual date in your calendar to ensure that your information doesn’t appear on this site again in the future. Think of this as part of the long-term MyLife opt-out plan. 

Keep in mind that mylife.com (and other information brokerage sites like it) pulls from other databases. This means that it’s entirely possible that your information could accidentally end up here in the future. Whether you manually check for this scenario, or use automated tools to monitor this, stay vigilant to maintain your privacy. At BrandYourself, our software now offers a “Protect Private Info feature”. This feature finds and removes your private information (home address, phone number, age, etc.) from over 50 popular data broker sites that are exposing it online. This helps prevent spammers, robo-callers, and identity thieves from finding your personal information on any of these sites.

The post Opt Out & Remove Information from MyLife.com (2022 Guide) appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

Why reputation management is critical for CEOs

Managing your own reputation is just as important as taking steps to manage your business’s online reputation. “Thought leader” and “industry expert” are two titles that should accurately describe you. And the best way to showcase this is through your presence online.

When developing your online presence, make a point to project your expertise and leadership skills within your industry. Active CEO reputation management is the key to accelerating professional growth and opportunity for you and your business.

How CEO reputation management benefits you

As the CEO of your business, people look to you for leadership, but they also should think of you as the face of the company. This can be an asset or a liability depending on how you treat your online presence. So why not capitalize on the fact that customers, partners, clients, and media will be searching for you online? By building a strong online brand, you have the opportunity to capture organic traffic based solely on your role at the company. That means that building your personal brand is a must if you want to reap the benefits of this kind of exposure.

In addition to building something that you’re proud of, look at CEO reputation management as a way to protect yourself from current and future online attacks on your reputation.

By investing your time in CEO reputation management efforts, you prevent existing and future negative search results from ruining your name. Developing your online presence through CEO reputation management lets you take control of how others see you. Through regularly creating and publishing high-quality content and engaging with users on key platforms, you will start to see changes in search result rankings for your name.

That means that if there are existing search results that are negative or irrelevant, you have the chance to suppress them with content that accurately represents who you are.

Similarly, by using CEO reputation management now, you protect yourself from future attacks or damaging results. The work you put into building your reputation online will act as a barrier if unanticipated damaging results pop up in the future.

In addition to suppressing existing or future unflattering or irrelevant search results, your reputation online has tangible effects on how employees and customers alike view you.

How CEO reputation management benefits your company

As mentioned earlier, one of the most important aspects of CEO reputation management for your business is that it gives a face to your company. Externally, customers and clients appreciate it when a real human being is willing to stand behind (or in front of) their business. By increasing your visibility online through CEO reputation management, you show customers that you’re proud to attach yourself as an individual to your company. When you choose to humanize your company in this way it provides the following benefits for your business internally and externally:

• Makes your company more accessible: Customers and partners alike want to connect with a person, not just a brand or company. By presenting who you are in a polished way online, you give customers and clients a way in.
• Creates a sense of transparency: Just by showing an authentic version of yourself online through active CEO reputation management, you demonstrate that you want people to see into your world. Even if your personal brand isn’t too heavy-handed when it comes to sharing information about your company, you are choosing to let people in. That helps foster the sense of transparency that customers, clients, partners and potential employers want.
• Increases the visibility of your company: As your personal brand starts to take off, you’ll notice that there will be some synergy with your company’s online presence too. Your growing online brand is a way to expand the funnel for your business. That means that people who start to engage with you will also start to engage with your company once they trust you. Trust is an invaluable component of any relationship – and the business to consumer relationship is no different. By building an authentic and trustworthy personal brand that people engage with, you automatically raise the profile of your business because it is so closely connected to you.
• Your employees get a better impression of you and your company: Employees that have highly engaged CEOs have a better opinion of their CEOs than those with disengaged bosses. They believe that by being active online, social CEOs build relationships with news media, demonstrate innovation and have an overall positive impact on their company’s reputation. They also view their CEOs as being more communicative. All of these factors can lead to a higher rate of employee retention and satisfaction.
• Your employees have a blueprint for responsible personal branding: By committing to CEO reputation management, you not only improve your own brand online while contributing to that of your company, you create a blueprint for your employees. Think about it, by engaging responsibly online and strategically building your own authentic personal brand, you give your employees a model that they can work from. This can lead to a domino effect. Employees at your company will see your successes in personal branding and may then feel empowered to work on their own and therefore improving employee morale. Proper employee branding leads to their own professional development, and much more. It amplifies the reach of your company’s brand to customers, clients, partners, investors and potential employees.

How to make CEO reputation management work for you

There is no quick fix to improving your reputation online. Following a winning strategy gives you the best chance at developing a strong presence over time is the surefire path to the reputation that you want. At BrandYourself we follow and advocate that our clients follow best practices when it comes to Search Engine Optimization and personal branding. This combination of industry-set standards and constant monitoring of SEO practices ensure that your personal brand is working for you in both the short and long-term. CEO reputation management is a full-time job, but don’t let that discourage you from getting started. Start by identifying your personal brand. What is your personal brand? How would you describe your personal mission statement? Spend some time coming up with this and think of it as being the guiding principle or North Star for your personal brand.

From here, audit how you currently look online. Make note of all search results that are:

• Negative
• Damaging
• False
• Irrelevant

You can do this by googling your own name and by looking yourself up on various social media accounts. Or streamline the process by signing up for a free account with BrandYourself’s DIY reputation management software.This cutting-edge technology not only flags these kinds of search results for you, but continually tracks and monitors them over time. BrandYourself’s online platform also lets you connect your social media accounts and scan for damaging content there. The Reputation Score feature tells you how you’re doing (it’s like a credit score, but for how you look online).

Once you find search results or social media content that is damaging to your reputation, remove everything that you control, and follow our best practices for dealing with negative search results.

After you have thoroughly examined damaging or potentially damaging content about yourself online, it’s time to take your CEO reputation management to the next level.

This is where you build a branding strategy, create content that reflects your areas of expertise and engage with others in your industry.

How to maintain your online reputation as a CEO over time

Once you understand how vital it is to be engaged online as a CEO, you have to accept that it’s an ongoing process that requires consistency. You won’t suddenly have a great reputation online and then that’s it you’re done – that’s not going to happen. CEO reputation management isn’t static, this is an ongoing process that requires your constant attention and work.

Start with regular scanning and monitoring. Whether you opt to do this manually or by using BrandYourself’s free software, you need to have a system in place to monitor and track changes in search and social results for your name. That way you can respond as quickly as possible when you need to.

In addition to regularly monitoring results, the most important thing to do to maintain your reputation is to create valuable content and engage with your audience. Consider coming up with a content calendar, and use different tools at your disposal to stay on track with the engaging content that you’re publishing.

In addition to tracking the rankings of positive and negative search results, use data analytics tools to see what content tends to perform well on different platforms. By tracking engagement data over time, you can reverse-engineer successes with more intelligent testing parameters. Take advantage of your resources as you try to figure out which aspects of your online brand resonate the most with your followers. In addition to testing the type of content that you publish, make sure to look at other factors that could affect engagement.

Remember, you should constantly look for new ways to re-engage your existing audience while finding effective ways to grow a bigger audience.

By attracting engagement from new users, you not only “improve your numbers”, but you expand your network and the potential reach of every piece of content that you publish. You also broaden your network by building up a highly engaged audience. You never know where your next professional opportunity will come from, and with CEO reputation management you increase the organic opportunities that will come your way.

Be discerning in who you follow up with, and make sure to vet people you partner with thoroughly. Also, not all opportunities will fall neatly in your lap, you will need to go after some as you see fit. So reach out to people that you’d like to exchange blog content with, ask to speak on a panel, volunteer yourself as an interviewee on a podcast that you like.

Whatever the case may be, do your homework, and be proactive – eventually someone will say yes, and that will only serve to grow your personal brand and increase your company’s audience as well.

While creating high-quality content and engaging with members of your network and audience is always valuable, so is auditing your strategy. Set aside time to review how your branding efforts are going using the quantitative and qualitative data at your disposal. A tweak here or there can make all the difference when attempting to create a formidable reputation online as a CEO. While you shouldn’t change your strategy everyday – make sure that you’re reviewing what you’re doing and how that’s performing on a monthly or quarterly basis.

In addition to reviewing your brand strategy tactics, also keep an eye on changes in Google’s search algorithms. Google and other search engines regularly update their algorithms to serve users the most useful results possible when it comes to their queries. While we promote best-practices that typically fall in line with Google’s algorithms, there’s always the chance that you may need to make a few tweaks in order to keep up with these changes. So make sure you stay up to date with these changes, or use tools that bake this directly into their software.

And finally, get in the habit of streamlining your personal branding process. While it’s worth it to avoid an overly-automated content calendar, you can use tools to help you organize, plan and execute the content that you publish to get the most bang for your buck (or time). So go ahead and try different tools that can help you create high-quality content and get it in front of the right people.

As always, when it comes to your own CEO reputation management efforts stay focused and active in order to build the presence that’s best for you and your company.

And if this seems like too much work for you, remember that BrandYourself offers free DIY reputation management software to take you through the process step-by-step. We also offer managed services where our team will do all the CEO reputation management for you.

Give us a call at (646)-863-8226 or schedule a free consultation with one of our Reputation Advisors.

The post 7 CEO Reputation Management Tactics (That Work Fast) appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

Your first thought: “How do I get something removed from Google search?”

So here you are, frantically trying to figure out how to get your picture off Google. While you probably feel devastated, don’t worry; we’re here to help you. Unfortunately, there isn’t a “remove Google image” button, but there are a number of techniques to make sure no one ever sees this photo again.

How to remove a picture from Google: Find and track the image

Before you get started on a full-blown attack for “Operation Remove Google Image,” you need to do some recon work.

Where does the offending image appear in search engines?

1. Look through all search result sections.

Do your homework to find out if the image only appears in the “Image” search results section or if it comes up in general web results. Search picture on Google, and don’t forget to take a peek at the “News” and “Video” sections of search results. You need to know if this image is attached to any video content or part of a news story. Make sure to do this research in an incognito mode so that you can get a better sense of what other people see when they look you up online.

2. Where does it rank?

Make a note of where this Google pic appears and the ranking in search results (is it the first result people see on page one of search results? Or is it in the 37th position?).

3. Could reverse image search help?

You can also do a reverse image search and see if any additional results come up (but keep in mind that this is not foolproof since the filename for the image will vary).

4. Where is this image? 

Once you’ve done a full search and cataloged any appearances on search engines like Google or Bing, it’s time to find out where this image is on social media. Start by scanning your own accounts – is this photo something you actually posted a while ago? Or did a friend post this on her Instagram account because it seemed funny at the time? Whatever the case may be, scan social media to see if you can find the original poster and to get a sense if this post is being shared there. If the image seems to have spread like wildfire on social media, that’s frustrating but important to know.

The purpose of these initial steps is to get a better sense of the scope of this problem. This can help you decide the best course of action for dealing with it.

As you track and monitor this image, don’t forget to examine the metadata associated with this image. What is the alt-tag? Is your full name associated with the image? Is it your nickname? It’s important to understand what kinds of secondary keywords are associated with this image. Make a note of all words used with this picture.

To make this process easier, we strongly recommend that you use BrandYourself’s free reputation management software to track and monitor the movement of the Google results for your name and to make the personal branding process as easy as possible for you.

How to remove a profile picture from Google

Whether you’re dealing with an old profile picture that’s highly embarrassing, a mugshot, or a random picture that makes you look untrustworthy or unprofessional, this is how to remove pictures from Google. And now that you know where the damaging image is, it’s time to remove image from Google.

When it comes to takedown requests – start with the small wins.

• Do you control the image?: You might be surprised how many people are responsible for posting an image that makes them look unprofessional. If you are in control of the image, remove it immediately. Don’t set the image to “private.” Remove it from your social media account or website as soon as possible. Auditing profiles and sites that you control is step 1 when it comes to how to get your picture off Google. Trying to figure out how to remove photos from Google photos? Learn more here. 
• Did your friend post the image?: If you know/are friendly with the person who published the image, makes a logical appeal and just ask them to take it down. Explain that it’s really damaging your career or personal life and that you need them to remove the picture. If your friend understands the severity of the image, it’s unlikely that they’ll leave it up and continue hurting you.
• When you don’t know the poster: If the image wasn’t posted maliciously and you’re able to find out who was responsible for posting, consider reaching out directly. If it was posted by a website known for posting these kinds of photos, review their policies for dealing with removal requests. If the image was posted to intentionally damage your reputation, contacting them directly will likely make the situation worse. Instead, consider your alternatives.

Legal removal options

If you believe the image was posted maliciously or the website will not remove it, you may have some legal options.

“If negative or false information is adversely affecting your digital reputation, a technical or legal removal from the source may merit consideration. We follow a process to explore all viable options to mitigate the harmful effects, explains Sameer Somal, CEO & Co-Founder of the firm Blue Ocean Global Technology.

“We explore Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown notices, which are a type of legal document specifically addressing theft or infringement copyrighted content. The DMCA notice is often delivered to website owners, ISP’s / Hosting Companies and individuals illegally downloading copyrighted content, to get your content copyrighted, check the copywriting accelerator at the link. They are helpful in removing images, text, audio, video and products or services.”

In addition to filing a DMCA takedown with the website directly, there are a few routes that can be taken with getting the content removed from search engines:

File a request with Google: 

If the image fits certain criteria, Google will honor removal requests. That means that the search engine will de-index the image, so it won’t appear in the results when someone searches your name online. Unfortunately, this only covers very specific cases – this includes a DMCA takedown (as mentioned above), instances of revenge porn, content that increases the likelihood of identity theft (like a picture of your credit card number), or other legal requests. To learn more about Google’s guidelines, visit their page on legal removal requests.

The right to be forgotten: 

If you live in the UK or Argentina, you may have better luck with filing a takedown request since guidelines for, “the right to be forgotten” encompass a lot of content. This ruling gives citizens more power in getting damaging content removed from the internet once it’s no longer relevant. If this covers your situation, read more in-depth about their guidelines for submission here, this could be how to get your picture off Google.

While there is no guarantee that these methods will work for you, this is how to remove a picture from Google. If you successfully remove Google image, you still have to build and optimize your personal brand to truly look better online.

Build the foundation of your personal brand after you remove Google image

It may seem counterintuitive to put more information online when all you want to do is get your picture off Google, but this is a key part of preserving your online reputation. If you’re stressing about how to remove profile picture from Google or really any photo from Google, this is a necessary part of the process. Even if everything goes according to plan, and your attempts at removal are successful, there’s still the chance that this could happen again, with a new photo – or even this same image.

By building a strong personal brand online, you protect yourself against existing and future attacks to your reputation. While we go more in-depth in our definitive guide to personal branding, below we’ve shared the steps you need to take to get started and build a basic brand. And remember, for a step-by-step approach, just sign up for our free software.

1. Audit your search results: 

Before you get started creating new accounts and deleting your old MySpace profile, start with a thorough Google search for your name. Search the name that people use to look you up in professional contexts (this should match the name on your LinkedIn profile and personal website if you have one). If you go by more than one name, do a search for each. You should also consider including additional keywords that someone would probably include – like your company’s name or your industry. In addition to looking for any results related to this unflattering image, you should also keep an eye out for any other damaging search results. While auditing may seem like a skippable step, it’s critical for successfully building and maintaining your personal brand. And personal branding is a central step in how to remove pictures from Google.

2. Clean up any content: 

Here’s where you can deactivate your MySpace account if it doesn’t fit the professional image that you’re trying to build. Clean-up is an important step when figuring out how to remove a picture from Google. Start with content (images, videos, posts, comments, sound files, etc.) that you’re in charge of that doesn’t fit with your ideal brand. Review the tips in the section above if you aren’t in control of this content.

3. Define yourself and your personal brand: 

Take some time reflecting on who you are, what you do, what you want your personal brand to look like, how you plan to measure success, and more. From here, refine your description of yourself and your personal brand. Think of this as your compass as you navigate decisions related to your personal brand. This is also something that you’ll refer to when creating personal biographies for yourself on various social platforms. We’ve written extensively on the process of drafting a successful personal brand statement.

4. Build an online presence that reflects your brand and expertise: 

Once you’ve established a definition of what you and your brand are, it’s time to actually build the foundational elements of your online brand. We go in-depth about the recommended profiles to build and how to approach your personal website in our guide to personal branding.

5. Follow a personal branding strategy and stick to timelines: 

Now that you have optimized profiles and a great personal website, keep in mind that you have to consistently work on it in order for it to be an accurate reflection of who you are. You also have to consistently maintain your personal brand so that it continues to provide the kind of protection from negative online content that you need.

How to remove an image from Google: Create an image-focused personal campaign

Now that you have a general sense of what it takes to build a strong personal brand attached to your name online, it’s time to launch the image portion of your personal branding strategy. And again, this is a necessary part of the process when it comes to how to remove an image from Google. The purpose of this is to create tons of positive images associated with your name that will ultimately overwhelm any image results of yours that are less than flattering. This will not remove the offending images from the internet, but it is the most effective method of keeping people from seeing them. 

So what do we mean by “positive” images? You might ask.

Well, that depends on who you are and what you do. At baseline, these are images that aren’t embarrassing, and they feature you, your work, or your hobbies. However, since you’re already taking the time to strategize and improve your personal brand, you might as well define “positive images” more specifically for yourself. What kinds of pictures are you comfortable with people finding when they look you up online?

We suggest any of the following:

• Current professional headshots of you
• Informal (but still high resolution, clear, well-framed) pictures of you at work events
• Pictures of you at professional conferences
• Images of you working on a hobby
• Images of you and your family
• Samples of your work
• PDFs or PNGs of Whitepapers you’ve authored
• Images of slides from relevant presentation decks you’ve made
• Travel photos of you (or photos that you’ve taken on vacation)
• Any other high-quality photos related to you, your work, your hobbies, or your private life (if you’re comfortable with that)

Now that you’ve gathered these images together, you have to make sure that the platforms where you share them are in good shape. Each step plays a role when it comes to how to remove an image from Google.

In addition to the foundational profiles recommended when anyone builds a personal brand, we suggest the following for people dealing with negative image results online. This is all part of best practices when it comes to figuring out how to remove a picture from Google:

• Twitter
• Flickr
• Slideshare
• Pinterest
• Tumblr
• YouTube
• Vimeo
• Instagram

While it may seem strange to build up accounts that are rooted in video content (YouTube & Vimeo) or presentations (Slideshare), these sites also rely on video stills and presentation slides which can come up in Image-based search results.

Once you’ve followed all of the one-time set-up steps for profile creation (or optimization), you need to make sure that your images are as “findable” as possible.

Prepare your Images by:

• Quality Control: No matter where you are posting your image, make sure that the image is clear and framed well. You don’t want a bunch of blurry photos of your cheek populating the image search results page for your name. You want clear, compelling images that enhance your personal brand.
• Size recommendations: Wherever you’re posting, make sure that you follow the image specs. That will ensure that people can view the image properly when on the platform. For example, don’t post a 2,000 x 1,000 pixel profile picture when the site calls for a 150 x 150 pixel headshot.
• Resolution: Make sure that your image is as clear as possible for the specs given. Don’t stretch an image to make it fit into certain specs. This will just make the image look distorted and blurry.
• Alt-tags and Metadata: Make sure that the filenames for your images include your full name and another descriptor. The metadata associated with your photos should always include your full name and an accurate description of what’s in the image.

Ongoing monitoring and maintenance

Now you know how to get your picture off Google. And it should be clear that a strong image-based personal brand prevents people from seeing existing damaging photos and mitigates the potential effects of a negative image of you online in the future. However, creating this positive online brand is only the beginning. In order for it to be effective, you need to maintain and monitor its growth. That means regularly adding optimized photos, interacting with other people on various social media platforms and monitoring any movement in your search results.

While it’s possible for you to do this on your own, we recommend that you use BrandYourself’s DIY software to remove image from Google. Our ORM software walks you through the process of building your personal brand step-by-step and even tells you the most high-impact steps you can take to improve your overall reputation at any given moment. The software also monitors your search results and social media accounts for existing and new red flags. This is how to remove pictures from Google – by building a personal brand that prevents people from seeing the damaging pictures in the first place.

If you’re still not sure how to get your picture off Google, or if you don’t have the time to consistently build your personal brand against negative images or other damaging search results, we recommend our managed services department. This is where our in-house team of experts will do the work for you. Get in touch with a Reputation Advisor today to discuss your options. Give us a call at (646)-863-8226 or schedule a consultation. We look forward to hearing from you.

The post How To Remove A Picture Or Image From Google appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

NJParcels is a website that aggregates real estate data for New Jersey properties. It allows users to look up property owner information, sales information, property valuation, tax records, and more.

There’s a strong chance your personal information is on the site if you’ve ever been associated with a property in the state of New Jersey. Removing your info can help to better protect your personal details. We’ve outlined how to do that below.

How to Remove Information From NJparcels

Follow the below steps to remove your personal information from the website Njparcels.

1. Go to NJparcels.com.

2. Use either the “Search Properties By Address” or the “Search Properties by Owner Name” form to locate your information.

3. Scroll through the NJParcels search results until you identify the record with your information. Click on the listing.

4. Copy the URL listing to your clipboard.

5. Go directly to NJParcel’s opt out page. (You can also click the “Redaction” tab in the navigation).

6. Paste the copied URL into the redaction form. Enter your email address, name, and reason for redaction (optional). Then click “Submit.”

7. NJparcels will review your removal request and act accordingly.

According to the NJparcels website, it can take up to 7 business days for the request to be processed. NJparcels does reserve the right to reject any request. However, most requests will be approved without issue.

Keep in mind, it can take some time for a request to be completely removed from Google search results. Once Google recognizes the listing has been removed, it will remove the information from its search results.

If after 7 days your information is still on the site, submit another redaction request. Include a note on the form that this is your second request.

Remove your info from other websites

There are a number of public data broker websites that have your information. Fortunately, it’s possible to opt out. Typically, this requires going to each website individually and following its removal process. Our tool automatically handles the work for you – check it out by getting a free privacy scan.

The post NJParcels Opt Out: Remove Your Info appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

Golookup.com is a data broker that allows its users to search a number of different databases. This includes people search, phone number search, arrest records, mugshot records, property records, and even a Golookup unclaimed money database.

The site offers a lot of personal information upfront for free with the option to purchase a detailed background check. Removing your details is an important step towards better protecting yourself online.

We outlined two separate Golookup opt put processes below: how to remove your info from the general database how well as how to specifically remove a mugshot.

How to Opt Out of Golookup.com’s People Search Database

Below is how to remove your personal information from Golookup’s general website.

1. Go to Golookup.com.

2. Go to the footer and click “Opt Out.”

3. Complete the Opt Out form, including name, phone number, email, mailing address, and date of birth. Solve the reCAPTCHA and click “Submit.”

4. Golookup will process your request. Golookup will reach out if it requires additional information.

Check back in a few days to confirm the information has been removed from the website. In the event it hasn’t, follow up with Golookup directly.

Opt Out of Golookup.com’s Mugshot Database

In addition to general information, Golookup offers a Mugshot search portal to find any mugshots associated with an individual. If there is a mugshot showing up for your name on Golookup, the site offers a separate removal process. Follow these steps:

1. Go directly to Golookup’s mugshot search portal.

2. Enter your first name, last name, and state. Then click “Search.”

3. Wait for the search to complete and Golookup to “Unlock the records.”

4. Find your information from the list of results. Click “Access Report.”

5. Confirm you are 18 years of age or older and a resident of the US.

6. Confirm you will not harass any individuals found on the site and/or use the information for employment screening purposes.

7. Click “I agree” to accept Golookup’s guidelines regarding credit reporting and the FCRA.

8. Go to the footer of the webpage and click “Mugshot Opt Out.”

9. Create an account to access the report. Copy the URL of the report to your clipboard.

10. Paste the copied URL into the appropriate form field. Enter your name, email, and a reason for requesting the removal. Click “Submit.”

11. Golookup will process the request and follow up with any additional required steps.

Once your information has been removed from Golookup, it’s critical that you remove it from other data brokers. We created an easy-to-use online tool that finds and removes your info from 50+ of the most popular sites. Give it a try with a free scan.

The post Golookup Opt Out: Remove Your Info appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

Jailbase is a data broker that focuses on arrest records and inmate information. It scrapes county records to aggregate its database and is most commonly known for its Jailbase mugshots repository.

Information is provided to users free of charge with the option to upgrade with an affiliated people search site for more in-depth background reports.

If your information or mugshot is on Jailbase.com, it is possible to opt out. We put together this quick guide to outline the process below.

How to Opt Out of Jailbase.com

Fortunately, Jailbase permits free opt outs from its website. Follow these steps to remove your information.

1. Go to Jailbase.com.

2. Enter your first name and last name. Click “Search.”

3. In the Arrest Search form, enter your state and county (optional). Then click, “Search.”

4. Scroll through the list of results until you identify and click on the record with your information.

5. Verify the listing contains your information/mugshot.

6. At the bottom of the listing click the “Opt Out” link.

7. Enter your email address or phone number to submit the official opt out request.

It will take up to 90 days for Jailbase to process the opt out request and remove the information from its database. We recommend checking back to verify the information has been successfully removed. If you still find your information on the Jailbase website, reach out to Jailbase’s support team.

It’s important to note that others on the web have reported issues with the Jailbase opt out process. If you encounter an error, we strongly recommend reaching out to Jailbase.com to verify that the request has been successfully submitted.

Remove Your Info From Other Places on the Web

Jailbase is only one of many places your information is on the web. This is particularly true for arrest records and mugshots. As you can imagine, removing your info typically requires going to each data broker website individually and following the specific opt out process. That’s why we developed our software that scans 50+ of the most popular data brokers and removes the data for you. Get a free scan here to see where your info is exposed.

The post Jailbase Opt Out: Remove Your Personal Info appeared first on BrandYourself Blog | ORM and Personal Branding.

SearchQuarry is a people search website that allows its users to look up a wide range of personal information on individuals. This includes location information, relatives and known associates, criminal records, vehicle records, civil and court records, bankruptcy records, and more.

The website provides a fair amount to users for free with the option to upgrade for a detailed background report on any individual in its database. For many reasons (including personal security) many people prefer to have their information removed from SearchQuarry entirely and blocked from public view.

We put together this quick guide to show you how.

How to Opt Out of SearchQuarry.com

Follow the steps outlined below to remove your personal information from Search Quarry’s website and database.

1. Go to Searchquarry.com.

2. Scroll to the footer and click “Do Not Sell My Info.”

3. Enter your first name, last name, city and state into the opt out form. Then click “Submit.”

4. Find your information from the list of records. Mark the checkbox to select the record.

5. Click the “Remove Data” button to the right of the listing.

6. Enter a valid email address and an optional comment. Solve the reCAPTCHA and click “Submit.”

7. Check your email for a confirmation email.

8. Click the confirmation link.

9. This completes the process of submitting an opt out request to Searchquarry.com.

Searchquarry will review the request and process it accordingly. They may follow up requesting additional information so it’s important that you have access to the provided email address. It can take up to 30 days for the request to be honored. If after 30 days your information is still on the SearchQuarry website, follow up with the company’s support team.

If your info is on SearchQuarry, it is probably on a number of other websites. For this reason, we built a tool that helps you to quickly identify and then opt out of over 50+ data brokers that are exposing your information online. Get started with a free scan.

Search Quarry Cancellation

SearchQuarry offers a premium subscription that provides access to unlimited full background reports in its system. If you have an active subscription with SearchQuarry, you must reach out to its support team to cancel by using the contact form or phone number supplied here.

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