Control Your Privacy Series: What is RocketReach and what are your opt-out options?

RocketReach is a B2B contact database and lead generation platform that collects and displays professional information such as names, job titles, employers, social media profiles, email addresses, and phone numbers. While recruiters, marketers, and sales teams use RocketReach to find business contacts, the same exposed data can also be misused for phishing, spam, doxxing, stalking, impersonation, or targeted scams. If your profile appears on RocketReach, you can request removal through its opt-out process, but you should also monitor your digital footprint because data broker listings can reappear if your information is collected again from public or third-party sources.

Key takeaways

• RocketReach is a people-search and B2B lead generation platform that aggregates professional contact details from public sources, third-party databases, and online profiles.
• Having your information on RocketReach can increase your exposure to spam, phishing, social engineering, identity theft, doxxing, and unwanted contact.
• You can opt out by locating or claiming your RocketReach profile and requesting removal, but removal may not stop your data from appearing on other data broker sites.
• Tools such as Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection can help you monitor where your personal information appears online and get alerts if your data is exposed in breaches or on the dark web.

Every day, internet users generate tremendous amounts of data which is ultimately collected, stored and traded by big data companies from all around the world.

Once in their possession, these companies analyze your data to create comprehensive user profiles that are usually sold to advertisers and other interested parties.

In this article, we focus on RocketReach, a US-based data broker that curates a massive database containing the contact information of over 700 million professionals.

Even if you haven’t heard of RocketReach yet, they’ve probably collected plenty of data points about you in their database. Its official website describes RocketReach as “the world’s best contacts, curated for you,” and by you, they mean marketing, sales and recruiters in all industry verticals.

The “curated” information combines scraped data from public sources which may include LinkedIn and “X” (formerly Twitter), and may include, among others your name, email address, phone numbers and social media links.

So what makes RocketReach a potential privacy/security threat for the average consumer?

For starters, most people who find their information on the platforms are not aware that they are being profiled and that their data is sold to third parties.

Secondly, for as little as $35, anyone can look up users in their database. This includes cybercriminals, scammers and other malicious individuals you have cut off from your life.

If you are worried about your data being misused or exploited, there is an opt-out option for individuals who already have a profile with RocketReach.

Here’s what you need to do to remove your information from RocketReach:

1. Locate your profile on RocketReach

- Head to rocketreach.co/person and type in your name (you can use the dedicated filters to refine your search) -> click Add

- You need to sign up to look yourself up on the platform

- You can use the filter options for a more refined search

2. Once you’ve found your profile copy the URL and head to rocketreach.co/claim-profile

- Here you need to fill out some personal information, including name email address and copy-paste the URL

- Click on Submit Request

3. Check your inbox for verification emails from RocketReach and follow the instructions

- You should see a Claim Profile button

4. In the nest page, you should select the Remove My Profile option

- You will automatically receive a message reading “Your profile has been removed”

- However, please note that the company emphasized that it may take “several weeks” for these changes to take effect.

Do you want to keep track of your digital footprint and find out what data is publicly available and ready for harvesting by data brokers and other third parties?

Get Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection, so you will always know what happens with your data. Digital Identity Protection helps you keep tabs on personal information with a 360-degree view of your digital footprint. The dedicated tool also proactively scans the web for personal data leaks and data breaches so you can immediately act to secure your accounts and identity.

Keep track of your digital footprint today with just your email address and phone number!

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

How did RocketReach get my information?

RocketReach may get your information from public websites, professional profiles, company pages, social media, third-party data providers, and other online sources. This can include your name, job title, employer, work email, phone number, location, and social media links. Even if you never created a RocketReach account, your details may appear there if they were already available online or collected from another data source.

What is the purpose of RocketReach?

RocketReach is designed to help users find professional contact information for sales, marketing, recruiting, business development, and networking. People use it to search for employees, decision-makers, companies, email addresses, phone numbers, and social profiles. While this can be useful for legitimate outreach, the same data can also be misused for spam, phishing, impersonation, social engineering, or unwanted contact.

Why am I listed on RocketReach?

You may be listed on RocketReach because your professional information was collected from public sources, company websites, social media profiles, business directories, data brokers, or third-party databases. You do not need to sign up for RocketReach to have a profile there. If your details are visible in multiple places online, data broker platforms may aggregate them into a searchable profile.

How do I remove myself from RocketReach?

To remove yourself from RocketReach, search for your profile on RocketReach, copy the profile URL, go to RocketReach’s claim or opt-out process, verify your email, and choose the option to remove your profile. After removal, search engines may take time to stop showing cached results, and your information may reappear later if it is collected again from public or third-party sources. You should also check other data broker sites and consider a monitoring tool such as Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection to track where your personal data appears online.