Privacy has become challenging to maintain in the digital age, with every seemingly innocuous personal detail possibly giving away more information than a person would like. Because of the rapidly advancing tech that everyone is gaining access to, it can be hard to keep up with the basic guidelines of maintaining a barrier between our personal lives and public information.
One of the more concerning aspects of easy access to private details is how revealing a phone number can be in the wrong hands. For those looking to better understand what is at risk with divulging a phone number, we will cover if someone can find your address by your phone number.
How Can Someone Find Your Address by Your Phone Number?
The truth is that finding a person’s address from their phone number is eerily simple for even the most inexperienced web users. A phone number can divulge a person’s address, work history, full name, and more through a few different methods. While no one wants to cause undue fear, being cautious when giving out your phone number to services or strangers is essential.
Outside of finding out a person’s address, numbers can be used to rob someone of their identity, stalk them online, and even track their location. Because of this, people should double-check the authenticity of sites requiring personal details and reserve their number for trusted friends and family.
Using a People Search Engine
People search engines are becoming one of the most efficient and quick ways to discover information about a person, and anyone can do it with a quick Google search. These tools allow people to find extensive information about a person with little more than a name, address, and – you guessed it – a phone number.
Reverse phone lookups, like Information’s lookup, are one of the more popular tools on people search engines and can be used to give previous work history, all listed addresses, public criminal records, and more. While nearly all people search engines comply with the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act), that doesn’t mean the individuals using them will always comply with federal guidelines.
If you are concerned about your information being easily available to the public, most search engines offer a way to remove your information from the site. This feature will help prevent future searches on you and keep your personal information private and away from prying eyes.
Also read: How to find someone on Google maps without them knowing
Finding People Through Social Media
Finding a person on social media is incredibly simple if you have their phone number. Whether on Facebook, Instagram, or any other alternative, a phone number will give away any account with their number listed. This can be used to find out a person’s place of work, regular habits, and, depending on how active they are on their socials, intimate details about their life.
Even worse, going through social media can show tagged posts that have residences, restaurants, and previous places you have attended. If someone is diligent enough, they can likely discover where you live with nothing more than a phone number and a quick search through Facebook.
To minimize risk, try to boost the privacy of your social media profiles by limiting visibility to close friends. Even better, remove any personal details and non-public numbers from social media if you want to be more vigilant. Whether we want to believe it or not, once something is on the internet, it rarely remains private.
Summary of Finding Your Address With Your Phone Number
We live in a world that is almost unrecognizable from one decade to the next. The innovative nature of tech has made it so that people must stay informed and aware of the emerging risks of new applications, software, and electronic devices. By keeping a tight leash on revealing information, you can avoid unwanted intrusions in your life.
At worst, only give your phone number to heavily vetted or regularly used sites. Even if a site is a household name, such as Facebook, be wary about what you leave there for others to see. By remaining vigilant with your phone number and keeping it to a trusted circle, you can minimize the risk of your information being made public and your address being discovered.
