Privacy guides

Break the link between leaks and your real identity.

Field guides on breach exposure, people-search sites, data brokers, AI scams, public records, and the privacy work that actually shrinks your attack surface.

Start here

Leaks Happen. The Real Risk Is the Link Between Them. (Our Manifesto)

Leaked passwords are recoverable. Joined profiles are not. Why data leak protection has to break the link, not just chase the breach.

Read the manifesto
All guides

Leak Check Me research library

Each guide is written to be useful before you buy anything: what to check, what to remove, and where the limits are.

free vpn selling data

Free VPNs Are Spying on You: The 2026 Data-for-Privacy Trap

Free VPNs like Hola, SuperVPN, and Urban VPN got caught selling user data in 2025. Here's why the free tier IS the surveillance — and what to do.

Read guide
ai scams personal data 2026

AI-Powered Scams Are Exploding — And Your Public Data Is the Fuel

AI scams surged 1,210% in 2025. Voice clones need 3 seconds of audio. The fuel is your public profile — here's how to take that fuel away.

Read guide
government buying data brokers

The Data Broker Loophole: How the Government Buys Your Location Without a Warrant

The Fourth Amendment requires a warrant for sensitive data. The data broker loophole lets the government skip it. Here's how it works and what's being done.

Read guide
check if my data is online free

10 Free Tools to See How Much of Your Data Is Online (2026 Edition)

Ten free tools that show you what's exposed about you online — breach checkers, people-search lookups, and broker scans. Honest walkthroughs of what each one can and can't tell you.

Read guide
reduce digital footprint

6 Things You Can Do This Weekend to Shrink Your Digital Footprint

Six concrete privacy moves you can finish in a weekend — password cleanup, social lockdown, opt-outs, email aliases, port-out PINs, and dead-account pruning.

Read guide
incogni vs deleteme vs optery

Incogni vs DeleteMe vs Optery vs Leak Check Me: An Honest 2026 Comparison

An honest, data-grounded look at Incogni, DeleteMe, Optery, and Leak Check Me — coverage counts, real prices, where each shines, and where each falls short.

Read guide
what is a data broker

What Is a Data Broker? The $290 Billion Industry That Sells You by the Profile

A data broker is a company that collects and resells your personal information. Here's how the $290B industry works — and what you can do about it.

Read guide
remove from spokeo whitepages

Why People-Search Sites Like Spokeo and Whitepages Keep Bringing You Back

Opt-outs from Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, and Radaris work — for 30 to 90 days. Here's why people-search sites keep relisting you, and what to do.

Read guide
how to prevent sim swap

SIM-Swap Attacks Are Surging — Lock Down Your Phone Number in 30 Minutes

SIM-swap losses hit $25.9M in 2024 and UK cases rose 1,055%. Here's how the attack works and how to lock your number at AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.

Read guide
how to detect stalkerware

Stalkerware on Your Phone: How to Detect and Remove It

Stalkerware is consumer spyware sold openly and installed by people you know. Here's how to detect it on iPhone and Android, and what to do safely.

Read guide
onerep scandal

The OneRep Scandal: When Your Privacy Company Owns the Data Brokers It's Supposed to Scrub

OneRep's CEO founded the people-search sites OneRep claims to remove you from. Here's what happened, why Mozilla finally dropped them, and what it means.

Read guide
google results about you

How to Use Google's 'Results About You' — And Why It's Not Enough

Google's Results About You tool removes your name and address from Google search results — but the source pages and data brokers behind them stay live.

Read guide
what to do if doxxed

You've Been Doxxed. Here's What to Do in the First 24 Hours.

A calm, hour-by-hour playbook for the first day after a dox: what to report, what to lock down, who to call, and how to start scrubbing the source.

Read guide
identity theft statistics 2026

Identity Theft Cost Americans Over $20 Billion in 2025 — Here's Where the Money Actually Goes

Fresh 2025/2026 stats on identity theft losses by attack type, victim age, and cash-out path — plus the connective tissue all of them share: broker data.

Read guide
why is my email address dangerous

Your Email Address Is the Skeleton Key to Your Whole Identity

Your email is the join key for nearly every breach database and data broker profile. Here's why that's risky, and how aliasing breaks the link.

Read guide
data broker opt out list

The 50-Site Opt-Out List Every American Should File This Year

Real opt-out URLs for 50 data brokers, people-search sites, and ad networks — plus what each one knows and how long removal takes.

Read guide
public records vs data brokers

Public Records vs. Data Brokers: What's the Difference (And Why It Matters)

Most data broker info isn't from hacks — it's from public records. Here's the difference, why you can't remove the source, and what you actually can do.

Read guide
loyalty program data privacy

Loyalty Programs Are Quietly Profiling You. Here's What They Actually Know.

Kroger, Target, CVS, airlines, and credit-card rewards programs are explicit data exchanges. Here's what they collect, who they share with, and how to opt out.

Read guide
remove personal info before job search

Privacy for Job Seekers: How to Clean Up Before Recruiters (and Scammers) Find You

Recruiters Google you. So do background-check vendors and scammers. A pre-job-search privacy checklist for cleaning up your digital footprint.

Read guide