Is "opting out" a waste of time?

Has anyone had direct experience with trying to "opt out" of one or more people-search sites and found it to be useless? I've read that it has no effect on FREE searches which can reveal plenty of clues. If it only blocks paid results it seems not worth the effort.

See: http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/infobrokers.htm#NoOpt

In that link, notice how many data vultures there are. If you opt-out of one, who's to say when another will crop up and nullify your request? Some seem to be clones using the same interface. Does anyone know which 3 or 4 are the most heavily visited? USSearch.com seems to be the oldest but it's not the most insidious.

Since most sites that allow opting-out require your SSN and address history, aren't you drawing more attention by submitting a request? And what about other sites that don't offer an opt-out option? Those mostly seem to be ones requiring pre-payment but not all of them are.

If someone were to legally change their name, would the old name vanish from databases (in theory) after public agencies updated their records in 3 to 6 months?

Does someone in a witness protection program not have to worry about their old name being public? I wonder if the only cure for these intrusions is convincing the Feds that someone wants you dead.

Heywood Floyd


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