How to Disappear from OSINT Services in 2025
How to Disappear from OSINT Services in 2025
A Practical Guide to Becoming a Hard Target
Most people are found in under 30 minutes by a skilled investigator. If you follow this guide strictly, you will force even experienced OSINT firms to spend days or weeks — and most will simply give up or charge a fortune. Perfect invisibility is impossible, but extreme obscurity is very achievable.
Phase 1: Stop the Bleeding (Week 1)
Freeze your digital life for 7 days. Post nothing, register nothing.
Delete or deactivate every old account you can reach (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, TikTok, LinkedIn, forums, gaming accounts, dating apps). Tools: JustDelete.me + manual requests.
Remove your real name, photos, birth date, schools, and employers from any account you decide to keep.
Strip EXIF from every photo you have ever uploaded (use Scrambled Exif or ImageOptim).
Google yourself + every nickname weekly and file removal requests (Google form, GDPR/CCPA, direct emails to webmasters).
Phase 2: Build the Wall (Week 2–4)
Buy a cheap Android phone with cash, far from home. Install GrapheneOS or a clean iPhone in Lockdown Mode. This is now your “clean” device.
Never log into real-name accounts on the clean device and never log into fake accounts on your old phone.
Create one consistent cover identity (e.g., “Alex Rivera, born 1993”) and use it for every new registration forever.
All new accounts use:
ProtonMail or Tutanota @alias addresses
Virtual numbers (MySudo, Hushed, SMS-Activate)
No real face photos, no location tags
Phase 3: Daily Habits That Break OSINT
Location services OFF for every app.
Mobile data + Wi-Fi OFF when you are at home (use Faraday bag for phone overnight).
Never post identifiable backgrounds: house interior, street signs, car plates, workplace logos, school uniforms, pets with names.
Never reuse usernames, passwords, or profile pictures across identities.
Turn off “People You May Know” and contact-upload features everywhere.
Pay cash whenever possible; avoid loyalty cards.
Phase 4: Poison the Data Brokers (Ongoing)
Opt out manually every 6–12 months from the biggest U.S. brokers: Spokeo • Intelius • BeenVerified • PeopleFinders • MyLife • Whitepages • TruePeopleSearch • FastPeopleSearch • ThatsThem • Radaris • Nuwber • Xlek • LexisNexis • Acxiom
(EU residents: send GDPR erasure requests + Google “Right to be Forgotten”.) Paid services like DeleteMe or OneRep can automate this if you have money.
Phase 5: Defeat Facial Recognition
Stop uploading clear, front-facing photos of yourself anywhere.
If you must appear online, wear sunglasses + hat + medical mask or shoot from extreme angles.
Flood PimEyes / FindClone / Search4Faces with AI-generated or stock photos of your cover identity to dilute results.
Phase 6: Advanced Layer (Optional but Powerful)
Use Tor or Mullvad VPN for all cover-identity activity.
Communicate only via Signal with disappearing messages.
Never store contacts in the cloud.
Legal name change + relocation if you are in real danger.
The Harsh Truth
Past leaks, voter rolls, property records, and family members’ posts will always leave some breadcrumbs. You cannot erase history, only stop creating new traces and make the old ones outdated or contradictory.
Do Phases 1–4 religiously and you will move from “trivial target” to “professional-grade hard target.” Most private investigators, journalists, stalkers, and skip-tracers will abandon the search because the time/cost ratio no longer makes sense.
Stay disciplined. One sloppy post or one reused phone number undoes years of work. Privacy in 2025 is not a product you buy — it is a lifestyle you maintain every single day.