How to Keep My Phone Number Off the Internet

By Nicholas Smith

Protect your phone number and other personal information from reaching the Internet.
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Protecting your personal information is a priority on the Internet, as more companies are understanding the potential financial gain from selling your information. Personal information includes your personal or business phone number. You should take several steps to ensure that your phone number remains off of the Internet. If your phone number is listed online, it is easy for someone who wants to call you with telemarketing schemes, or other unwanted calls.

Remove your name from "people search" websites. Certain websites, such as Yahoo! Search, People Finders and Spokeo, collect and make searchable your phone number and other personal information. Browse to these sites and locate the option to remove your information the their databases. For example, Yahoo! offers a feedback form which allows you to remove your information.

Remove your phone number from any social networking websites you are part of. For example, Facebook allows users store their mobile phone numbers into their database. Even though the site has privacy settings, your number may be inadvertently exposed to the Internet if you do not properly set your privacy settings, or if Facebook has a technical glitch. Log in to your Facebook account, select on "Account Settings" from the "Account" menu at the top-right of the screen. Click on "Mobile" and remove your number.

Refrain from posting your number on websites. For example, if you are selling a product on certain sites, such as Craigslist or eBay, you may wish to put your phone number, even one you don't answer often, online. Instead of listing a phone number, list a "throwaway" email address. This address should be used to prevent spam from reaching your personal or business address.

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