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In this digital age, our data is being mined like never before. One website that compiles information about you — mostly pulling from public records — is MyLife.com.
While several other sites disclose people’s personal information, MyLife also includes a “Reputation Score” on people found in its system.
The site says, “These scores are based on background details, personal reviews and social media posts, and are constantly updated.”
In this article, I’m going to share with you steps you can take to have your personal information removed from MyLife.com. Here are two different ways to start:
Later in this article, I’ll share an email template you can use to make your request. It has worked for me and countless others who have told me so! I will also offer advice on how to make your request by phone.
When I initially searched for myself on MyLife.com, it pulled up my full name, nickname, places of residence over several years and my “Reputation Score.” Thankfully, with a little effort and time, I was able to get my personal information removed from the site. And I’m going to show you how to do the same.
You shouldn’t pay MyLife.com — or anyone else — to wipe your information from its site.
What made MyLife.com so annoying to me (and even a potential risk) was that much of the information listed on the site as my personal data was inaccurate. And that bad information was apparently used to come up with my “reputation score.”
MyLife has made some dubious claims on its website, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The agency filed a lawsuit in 2020 on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleging false claims made on the site.
According to the FTC, the site’s “… prominent ‘View’ buttons, together with statements that the searched-for person ‘may have’ arrest, criminal, or sex offender records, led users to conclude that the person had such records, even if they did not. Many people reported they bought subscriptions to MyLife to see the records.”
This isn’t the first suit filed against MyLife’s owner, CEO Jeffrey Tinsley. Earlier suits, some of which have been settled, accused Tinsley of using unsavory marketing practices to sell people memberships on MyLife’s precursor, Classmates.com.
Here are details on how to remove your personal data from MyLife.com.
When I called MyLife.com to have my information removed, a representative told me that my request would take “seven to 10 business days to process.”
She added, “But you don’t have to worry, the link will no longer work.” She then gave me a reference number. (Make sure you get a reference number, and hang onto it just in case you have to contact the company again.)
After several days, my information was gone from MyLife.com.
We’ve heard from some readers who’ve said that when they called or emailed MyLife.com, they’ve been told that their information can’t be removed from the site because it’s “public information.”
The operators are simply reading or typing from a script to try to put you off. If you get an email back from MyLife that doesn’t give you the results you want, make sure to record the reference number and save the email. Because you’ll need to take one more step.
Many people have had success by using the following email template, which has been approved by a lawyer for Team Clark. Be sure to include your reference number and the URL with your profile with the following correspondence:
Subject: Please remove my personal information
Body: Reference number: [Here’s where you put the reference number.]
URL: [Here’s where you put the URL of your profile.]
I’m keeping this email as documentation of your refusal to remove the profiles representing my person from your site.
The information on your site is false, misleading and deceptive — therefore a “reputation score” based on this data that you are financially benefiting from is a violation of my privacy and defamation of my name.
If you don’t respond with a confirmation that my profile and all subsequent personal data has been removed, I will take legal action.
Thank you,
YOUR NAME
Because money expert Clark Howard and Team Clark want you to protect your personal information, we hope you can take the above steps as soon as possible.
Remember, never pay to have your information removed from the internet. Any reputable website should remove your data upon request.
To report internet fraud, contact the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) or you can use the FBI’s online tips form.
This post was last modified on January 13, 2021 4:10 pm
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