FCRA & Privacy FAQs
Are people notified that I search for them?
No. All of PeopleSmart searches are private and confidential. The people you search for are not notified.
How can I opt-out of being listed?
PeopleSmart collects data from a variety of public sources. If you prefer that your name and information not be included in our directory, please follow the instructions to opt-out here. If you’d like more information or encounter difficulties, please feel free to reach out to our support team.
Have additional questions?
Our customer support team handles all email requests and would be happy to help you further. Please email support@peoplesmart.com or call 1-267-846-5087.
How do I remove my name from PeopleSmart’s people search results?
PeopleSmart provides a quick and easy process to allow you to remove your information from our People Search results. Just search our database, select your record, and verify your request to opt out by clicking on the link in our verification email. After you verify, we will send you an email confirming that the record you selected has been opted out and will instruct our data partners not to return the record in future People Search results.
If you would like to opt out of our People Search results Click Here
Below are answers to some frequently asked questions about our opt-out process. If this FAQ does not answer all of your questions, please feel free to contact us at privacy@PeopleSmart.com.
How Does PeopleSmart Use the Email Address I Submit Along With My Opt-Out Request?
PeopleSmart only uses your email address to send you an email to verify your request to opt out. We will not sell the email address that you provide as part of the opt-out process, or use it for any other purpose, without your prior consent.
Do I Have to Be a Member or Create a PeopleSmart Opt-Out Account in Order to Opt Out?
No, you do not have to be a member of PeopleSmart in order to opt out of our People Search results.
Do I Have to Pay to Remove My Record?
No, you never have to pay for the removal of your own record from PeopleSmart’s People Search results.
How Long Does it Take for My Record to Be Removed?
Once you receive our email confirming that we have processed your opt-out request, your request will be reflected in our People Search results the next time our server refreshes. In most cases this will take 24 hours to take effect and then we encourage you to check for yourself.
How Can I Check to See if My Record Was Removed?
Once you have given our servers enough time to refresh (which in most cases will take 24 hours), simply log onto PeopleSmart.com and type your name into People Search. In some cases, you may need to “clear your history” in your browser just in case your computer is storing and recalling information cached prior to the opt-out. If you are not a member, you can click here and search for the record using the opt-out tool. We encourage you to check to make sure your record was removed and to contact us at privacy@PeopleSmart.com if you have any issues.
What if I Find Multiple Reports About Me on PeopleSmart?
We obtain and regularly update the PeopleSmart People Search results with records from several different public and private databases. Although we and our data partners do our best to match these new records to the existing records in our database, there may be times when one of our data partners provides us with a new record about you that is different enough from your existing record – for example, containing different spellings, initials, combinations of information, and/or addresses – that we cannot match this new record to your existing record. In these instances, a separate report may be created in our database about you, and this new report may appear in our People Search results.
Currently, in order to prevent fraud and protect the integrity of our opt-out process, we only permit you to remove one report from our People Search results through our online opt-out process. If you find more than one record about you in our People Search results and would like to remove them all, please contact us at privacy@PeopleSmart.com and we will be happy to help you.
When I Opt Out, Will Data About Me Ever Reappear on PeopleSmart?
Once your opt-out has been processed, we will instruct our data partners not to return the record you opted out in future People Search results. At this time, we only provide an opt-out for our People Search service. Therefore, it is possible that your name might appear in search results for the other search services available through PeopleSmart even after you opt out of People Search.
Further, as described above, there may be times when one of our data partners provides us with a new record about you that is different enough from your existing, opted out record that we cannot match this new record to the existing record, and therefore cannot conclusively opt out the new record. Accordingly, if you have previously opted out and see a new record about you appear in our People Search results, please contact us at privacy@PeopleSmart.com and we will be happy to help you remove that record as well.
What is the FCRA?
The FCRA, or the Fair Credit Reporting Act, is the piece of U.S. Federal Government legislation regulating the collection, circulation, and use of consumer information. In other words, it determines who can access your information and how that information can be used, with the goal of ensuring that the most accurate information is available.
The FCRA dictates that only Consumer Reporting Agencies (CRAs) can be consulted when making employment, credit, or tenant screening decisions. These organizations are required to operate under two conditions: they must provide notice that they will be accessing your public or private records information, and must disclose who provided the information upon request. Examples of people who would require the services of a CRA are employers, landlords, and mortgage brokers, among others.
For additional information, you can inform yourself about the FCRA here.
How does the FCRA affect you?
PeopleSmart.com is not a Consumer Reporting Agency. PeopleSmart was created for the everyday consumer to have similar access to some of the publicly available information CRAs can provide to search for themselves and others. FCRA restricts how and why you can use the site, as the data available through public records can contain inaccuracies or gaps in digitized or available information. Scroll down to find examples of ways the information PeopleSmart provides can and cannot not be used.
Do’s and don’ts of using PeopleSmart
There are a host of reasons why you should use PeopleSmart.com — you never know what you will find! Subscribers are encouraged to check out not only themselves, but friends and family. But there are more practical reasons why you should perform background searches: verifying a roommate’s or an online date’s identity. You can check if an online buyer or seller isn’t just a scammer in disguise. Many have even used the service to find a lost love, or discover someone’s current address or phone number.
However, there are restrictions to using the site. You are not authorized to consult the site for tenant or employment (office or household) screening. Similarly, it’s illegal to use PeopleSmart to determine educational qualification and mortgage, credit check, and insurance eligibility. We forbid users to attempt to find information about persons under the age of 18 and business transaction initiated by an individual customer. Finally, the following will not be tolerated: harassing or contacting people against their wishes, stalking or spying, or stealing of another’s identity.
These are just a few of the ways PeopleSmart should and shouldn’t be used.
How does PeopleSmart comply with the FCRA?
PeopleSmart is committed to complying with the regulations of the FCRA. We reserve the right to terminate accounts of subscribers that we discover to be using the service for any purpose not authorized by our Terms of Service.
Alternative Services
If you are looking to access public information for a reason not authorized by PeopleSmart, please consult a Consumer Reporting Agency instead. By way of example only, some such CRAs include:
For credit checks:
For Employment:
Note: PeopleSmart has no affiliation with any of these services and recommends them as a courtesy.
Related Links
By using PeopleSmart, you agree to our Terms of Service. To understand how PeopleSmart protects the privacy of its users, please visit our Privacy Policy. For any other questions, please contact us at 267-846-5087 or support@peoplesmart.com.