Who is selling your address, and what your browser keeps after you close it

People-search sites don't hack anyone. Most of what they show comes from property records, old phone directories, marketing lists, court indexes and other brokers. The result is a profile that feels private but was stitched together from pieces that were public, or were sold, one at a time.

This section covers that trade, and the smaller one happening on your own device. Browser history, cookies, saved form data and sync accounts each live in different places, and clearing one doesn't clear the others. Private browsing hides your activity from the next person who uses the laptop. It doesn't hide it from your employer's network, your internet provider or the sites you visit.

We explain the opt-outs that actually hold, the ones that quietly expire after a few months, and the safety steps worth taking if someone is trying to find you. We won't show you how to find someone else.