Stop Doxxing: Hide Your Personal Info Online

Doxxing—the malicious act of publicly revealing private personal information—has evolved from a niche hacker tactic into a common tool for harassment and intimidation. Attackers no longer need sophisticated coding skills; they simply need to know where to look. By understanding the specific Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) techniques that stalkers use, you can dismantle the digital breadcrumbs that lead to your front door.

How Stalkers Find You: The Hunter’s View

To prevent doxxing, you must first understand the "attack surface" of your digital life. Stalkers and doxxers typically exploit three primary vectors to locate their targets.

1. The Data Broker Ecosystem

Data brokers are the backbone of most doxxing campaigns. Companies like Spokeo, Whitepages, and BeenVerified continuously scrape public records (voter registrations, property deeds, court records) and combine them with consumer data (magazine subscriptions, warranty cards). They sell these comprehensive dossiers—containing current addresses, phone numbers, relatives’ names, and employment history—for as little as a few dollars.

2. Social Media Triangulation

Attackers use "username correlation" tools like Maigret or Sherlock to find every account you have ever created using the same handle. Once they map your presence, they look for "leakage": a Venmo transaction that reveals a nickname, a LinkedIn update that confirms a workplace, or a Strava run that maps your daily route.

3. Technical Metadata

Every photo you take carries Exchangeable Image File Format (EXIF) data. Unless stripped, this metadata can include the exact GPS coordinates where the image was captured, the device model, and the timestamp. Similarly, your IP address can reveal your approximate physical location (city/state) to administrators of forums or websites you visit.

Core Defense Strategy: A 5-Step Protection Plan

You cannot eliminate every trace of your existence, but you can make yourself a "hard target." This significantly increases the effort required to find you, often causing opportunistic attackers to move on.

Step 1: Scrub the Public Record (Data Brokers)

Removing your profile from data broker sites is the single most effective step you can take.

• Manual Removal: If you have more time than money, you can opt out manually. Search for your name on major broker sites (start with Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius, and Radaris). Locate their "Privacy" or "Opt-Out" link, usually buried in the footer. You will often need to verify the request via email; use a secondary burner email for this, not your primary account.

• Automated Services: For comprehensive protection, consider services like Brightside, DeleteMe, Incogni, or Aura. These paid services ($100–$200/year) scan dozens of broker sites monthly and automatically submit removal requests on your behalf. Since brokers frequently repopulate their databases, continuous monitoring is essential.

Step 2: Decouple Your Identity

Stop using your "true" identity for every interaction. Create a layer of separation between your public activities and your private life.

• Burner Phone Numbers: Never give your real cell number to merchants, apps, or new acquaintances. Use VoIP apps like Burner (great for short-term use/integrations), Hushed (lifetime numbers available), or Google Voice (free but linked to your Google account). These apps route calls to your phone while keeping your actual number private.

• Email Aliasing: Use email alias services like SimpleLogin or Addy.io. These services allow you to generate a unique email address for every account (e.g., netflix@youralias.com). If one account is breached or spammed, you can disable that specific alias without affecting your primary inbox.

Step 3: Sanitize Your Visuals

Photos are a common source of accidental location leaks.

• Strip Metadata: Before posting images on forums, blogs, or niche social sites (which may not scrub metadata automatically like Facebook or Instagram do), use tools to clean the file. Windows users can right-click a file, select Properties, and choose Remove Properties and Personal Information. For mobile, apps like ExifCleaner or Metapho are effective.

• Background Check: Audit your photos for physical landmarks. Stalkers use "geospatial intelligence" (GEOINT) to identify mountain ridges, store signs, or unique architecture in the background of selfies to pinpoint locations.

Step 4: Lock Down Social Media

Your social profiles should be a fortress, not a broadcast tower.

• Audit Privacy Settings: Set accounts to "Private" or "Friends Only" by default. On Facebook, limit past posts to "Friends" and disable search engine indexing so your profile does not appear in Google results.

• Disable Location Services: Revoke location permissions for social apps on your phone. If you must share a location, do it on a delay—post the photo after you have left the venue.

• Clean Up Friend Lists: Remove connections you do not know personally. A "friend of a friend" can often see content you intended to keep private.

Step 5: Secure Your Connection

Mask your technical footprint to prevent tracking by IP address.

• Use a VPN: A Virtual Private Network (VPN) encrypts your internet traffic and hides your true IP address, replacing it with one from the VPN provider’s server. This prevents website admins and stalkers from determining your ISP or general location.

• Browser Hygiene: Use privacy-focused browsers like Firefox or Brave. Install extensions like uBlock Origin to block tracking scripts and Privacy Badger to stop invisible trackers from following you across the web.

Advanced Measures: The "Ghost" Strategy

For individuals at high risk (executives, influencers, stalking survivors), basic hygiene may not be enough. You may need to legally separate your physical location from your identity.

The Virtual Address Firewall

Never use your home address for business registrations, domain WHOIS records, or shipping.

• PO Boxes and PMBs: Rent a Private Mailbox (PMB) at a UPS Store or similar facility. Unlike a standard PO Box, these provide a street address format (e.g., "123 Main St, Suite 404") that is accepted by most couriers.

• Ghost Addresses for LLCs: If you own a business, your formation documents are public record. To keep your home address off these forms, hire a Registered Agent service. They will list their address on state filings and accept legal mail on your behalf, keeping your home address completely off the Secretary of State’s database.

Conclusion

Preventing doxxing is not a one-time setup; it is a lifestyle of continuous maintenance. Regularly "dork" yourself (search your own name using advanced Google queries) to see what new information has surfaced. By systematically removing your data from broker sites, compartmentalizing your communications, and sanitizing your digital footprint, you can reclaim your privacy in an increasingly transparent world.