Doxxing & Protecting Your Personal Information

Doxxing (also spelled doxing) is publishing someone’s private personal information online, such as their home address, phone number, workplace, family details or photos, to harass, intimidate or endanger them. It often follows an argument online, a viral post, a workplace dispute or a personal grudge. The best defense is making it harder to find your details in the first place.

• Everyone
• Public-Facing Workers
• Parents

What doxxing looks like

• Someone posts your home address, phone number, email, workplace or school on social media, forums, group chats or websites.
• They share photos of your home or car, license plate, family members’ names or your children’s school.
• They call for others to harass, threaten or visit you, flood your phone and email, contact your employer or file false reports.
• “Swatting” is a related and dangerous act in which someone makes a false emergency call to send armed police to a victim’s home.
• Doxxing can happen to anyone, including workers whose jobs involve public contact, gamers, streamers, people in disputes, abuse survivors, journalists and election workers.

How people find your information

• People-search sites and data brokers list addresses, phone numbers and relatives. See Online Privacy & Data Brokers.
• Public records: property, court, voter, business and professional license records.
• Social media posts: tagged locations, photos with house numbers, street signs or landmarks, check-ins, and details in the background. Photo metadata can include GPS coordinates. See Social Media Privacy and Jobsite Photos Online.
• Reused usernames and emails that link accounts together.
• Data breaches and leaks. See Data Breaches.
• Domain registrations, business filings, resumes and professional pages that list a home address.
• Social engineering: tricking friends, customer service reps or employers into revealing details. See Impersonation Scams.
• Hacked accounts and stalkerware. See Hacked Accounts and Stalkerware & Trackers.

Reduce your risk

• Remove yourself from people-search sites and data brokers, and recheck regularly. This is the most effective step for most people. See Online Privacy & Data Brokers.
• Use separate identities. Don’t reuse usernames, emails or phone numbers across personal, work, gaming and public accounts. Use email aliases and a separate phone number for public use.
• Lock down social media. Make accounts private, review old posts and tags, remove location tagging, turn off geotagging in your camera, and trim friend lists. Be careful about posting your home, car, children’s school and routines.
• Think before you post photos. Look at the background for street signs, house numbers, license plates, mail and landmarks. Post trips after you return.
• Protect your accounts: strong unique passwords, two-factor authentication, and a password manager. See Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication.
• Use a P.O. box or business address for registrations, and domain privacy for websites. Ask about address confidentiality programs for people at risk.
• Limit what employers and groups publish: ask your workplace, school, clubs and associations to not post your home address, personal phone or family information in directories, and to protect staff lists.
• Teach family and friends, especially teens, not to share your details or tag your location. See Kids Online Safety and Teens & Social Media.
• Check for tracking devices and apps if you have an abusive or controlling partner or ex. See Stalkerware & Trackers.

If you’re doxxed

1. If you’re in danger, call 911. Threats of violence, swatting, stalking or anyone showing up at your home are emergencies. Tell dispatchers you’re being doxxed so they can note it on your address.
2. Document everything. Take screenshots with the date, the URL and the username, and save messages and emails. Don’t engage with the harasser, which usually makes it worse. Keep the evidence in a safe place.
3. Report it to the platform. Most social media, forums, hosting companies and search engines have rules against posting private information and will remove it. Use the report tools, and ask friends to report as well. Search engines also have forms to remove personal details from results.
4. Report it to police. File a report, especially if there are threats, stalking or swatting, and ask for a copy. You may also report to the FBI’s IC3 (ic3.gov) for online crime. See Reporting Cybercrime.
5. Secure your accounts. Change passwords, turn on two-factor authentication, sign out of all devices and check for unfamiliar logins. See Hacked Accounts.
6. Make your accounts private and consider taking a break from posting. Ask a trusted friend to monitor your accounts and help you report messages.
7. Notify people: your family, neighbors, workplace, school and your children’s school, so they’re alert to fake calls, visitors and requests for information. Tell your employer’s security or HR department.
8. Protect your home: consider temporary safety steps, such as staying with friends, changing routines, alerting neighbors and improving locks and lighting. Consider a security camera. See Home Security Basics and Smart Home Devices & Cameras.
9. Get support. Being doxxed is frightening. Talk to people you trust, a counselor or a victim advocacy organization. Crisis lines such as 988 are available if you feel overwhelmed. See Online Harassment.
10. Consider legal advice. Depending on where you live, doxxing, harassment, stalking and threats may be crimes or grounds for protective orders or lawsuits. A lawyer or a legal aid group can explain your options.

Doxxing others

• Don’t post or share other people’s private information, even if you’re angry or think they deserve it, or if someone else posted it first. Innocent people have been targeted by mistake.
• Doxxing can break platform rules, and, depending on the place and the circumstances, can be illegal (harassment, stalking, threats, or specific doxxing laws).
• Don’t join online mobs. If you see private information shared, report it instead of resharing it.
• Don’t take screenshots of private details and send them around, even to “warn” people.

Doxxing prevention checklist

• I removed myself from people-search sites and recheck every few months
• My social media is private, with location tags and geotagging turned off
• I don’t reuse usernames, emails or phone numbers across public and private accounts
• My accounts use unique passwords and two-factor authentication
• My employer, school and groups don’t publish my home address or family details
• I know to document, report to the platform and police, secure my accounts and call 911 if threatened

Last updated: October 5, 2026