What is Doxxing?
The malicious act of publicly revealing someone's private information — such as home address, phone number, or workplace — without their consent, often to enable harassment.
Also known as: Doxing
Doxxing is one of the most personal and damaging privacy violations. It turns online conflicts into real-world danger.
How Doxxers Find Information
- Data broker sites: Spokeo, WhitePages, BeenVerified sell personal details for a few dollars
- Public records: Property records, voter registration, court filings
- Social media: Photos with metadata, check-ins, friend connections reveal locations
- WHOIS records: Domain registrations expose name, address, phone
- LLC filings: Business registrations in most states are public record
- Data breaches: Leaked databases contain names, addresses, passwords
Who Gets Doxxed
- Content creators and streamers
- Journalists and activists
- Anyone involved in online controversy
- Business owners (via public filings)
- Dating app users (via location data)
How to Protect Yourself
- Remove yourself from data brokers — Use a removal service or opt out manually from each site
- Use an anonymous LLC for business filings — a Wyoming LLC with a registered agent keeps your name and address off public records
- Use privacy-focused domain registration — Register domains through a privacy registrar
- Lock down social media — Audit what's publicly visible, remove location data
- Use separate identities for online activity — different email, username, and persona per platform
- Monitor your exposure — Regularly search for your own information online
If You've Been Doxxed
- Document everything (screenshots with timestamps)
- Report to platforms where the information was posted
- Contact law enforcement if threats are involved
- Engage a digital erasure service for comprehensive removal
- Consider an emergency name change in extreme cases
Related Terms
Data Broker
A company that collects personal information from various sources, aggregates it into detailed profiles, and sells it to third parties. Data brokers operate largely in the shadows, compiling information about people who often don't know they exist.
Operational Security
The practice of protecting sensitive information by thinking like an adversary to identify vulnerabilities in your own behavior and communications. OPSEC goes beyond technical tools to address human factors that could expose you.
PII (Personally Identifiable Information)
Any data that can be used to identify a specific individual, including name, address, phone number, email, Social Security number, and biometric data.
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