I have been noticing a lot of people posting about a certain website called Family Tree Now. It is a website that allows you to search for relatives and family friends. The only problem is, it knows a disturbing amount of information about you and those closest to you. I could not help but look to see exactly what information the website had on me. What I found was unsettling. I simply searched my name and up popped the names of every family member as well as ex-wives and their relatives. On top of that, the website also had a list of every address that I have lived at over the last 20 years.

According to the website, your information is collected "through cookies and other technologies we collect your IP address, device identifier, browser type, operating system, mobile carrier, and your ISP, and receive the URLs of sites from which you arrive on our Site."

If this concerns you as much as it does me, there is a way for you to "opt out" and have your information removed from the site. Be aware that the process takes 48 hours for your information to be removed.

Here is how to opt out in five (relatively) easy steps:

  1. 1. Find yourself on Family Tree Now.
  2. Look for the privacy section at the bottom of the page and click on the link
  3. About 1/3 of the way down that page you should see a blue hyperlink that says "opt out here"
  4. Search for your information. (Again.)
  5. Click "view details" on your entry, and the next page will have a red button to click to opt out.

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