Friday, December 7, 2007
Phone Number Privacy
I am not a particularly paranoid person, but this e-mail from Partners in Ending Hunger seems worth sharing..
You may know this already, but just in case you do not:
Google has implemented a new feature which enables you to type a telephone number into the search bar and hit enter and you will be given the person's name and address. If you then hit Map, you will get a map to the person's house. It's a nationwide reverse telephone book.
If a child gives out his/her phone number, someone can now look it up to find out where he/she lives. The safety issues are obvious, and alarming.
Note that you can have your phone number removed or blocked.
In order to test whether your phone number is mapped, go to Google, Type your phone number in the search bar (i.e. 555-555-1212) and hit enter.
If you want to BLOCK Google from divulging your private information, simply click on your telephone number and then click on the Removal Form. Removal takes 48-hours. "