MIAMI (WSVN) - It’s a warning that’s been spreading around the internet: a geneology website that knows way more about you than you probably want.
The site, FamilyTreeNow, has existed since 2014 in relative obscurity… until now. According to the Washington Post, the website works much like any other “people search” sites, like Intelius or Spokeo, using public records and other legally accessible sources.
Although that’s nothing new to anyone with internet-savvy, FamilyTreeNow stands out in that it makes a lot of that information easy to access all at once, and for free.
Profiles on the site include a person’s age, birth month, current and previous addresses, as well as “possible” associates, which includes family members or perhaps even a person’s ex. While most websites charge for this kind of information, or at least require someone to create an account in order to view it, FamilyTreeNow has no such stipulations.
What makes many uneasy about this ease of access to information is the possibility of misuse by people who might want to harass, stalk, or even physically harm someone. By providing a wealth of information about a person, the public can easily see that person’s home address as well as where their family members live.
Internet verification site Snopes.com said claims about what information FamilyTreeNow provides are accurate, although it specified that the site did not specifically target police officers, even though some social media posts alleging it did so.
Indeed, several law enforcement social media groups warned their members about the site, providing instructions on how to opt out of having their information displayed on the page.
FamilyTreeNow does give people the ability to remove themselves from appearing on their site, though the link to do so is buried in their privacy policy page. To request that your information be removed from the site, visit FamilyTreeNow’s “opt out” page and follow the step-by-step instructions. The site claims any listings requested for removal will be taken off the site within 48 hours. However, it’s unclear if that information stays somewhere in the website’s system, or if it is erased entirely.
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