Doxxing: What to Do If Someone Posts Your Personal Information to Harm You

What doxxing is

Doxxing means publishing someone's private information, such as a home address, phone number, workplace, or family members' names, with the intent to harass, intimidate, or harm them. It often happens after an online argument, a viral post, a breakup, or work in a public-facing role. Sometimes it is one post. Sometimes it is a coordinated effort across several sites.

Google's own policy describes doxxing as sharing your private information to harm you, and allows removal requests for pages that show your personal information alongside explicit or implied threats, or calls for others to harm or harass you, as well as pages that collect a significant amount of personal information without a legitimate purpose.

Step 1: Put safety first

If someone has threatened you or shown up at your home, call 911. Do not wait to finish documenting. If you feel unsafe, consider staying with a friend or family member for a few days. Let your workplace know if your work address was shared, so security or reception can be alert.

If the person doxxing you is a current or former partner, the National Domestic Violence Hotline can help with safety planning. If you are being followed, monitored, or repeatedly contacted, resources on stalking, such as those from the U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, explain what stalking is and where to get help.

Step 2: Document everything

It is tempting to report a post immediately so it disappears. But once it is gone, it is harder to prove it existed. Before reporting:

Store copies in a secure place, such as an encrypted folder or with a trusted person. This record can help with platform reports, Google requests, police reports, and any legal action.

• Take screenshots that show the full post, the account name, the date and time, and the web address.
• Save the links in a document.
• Capture replies or shares that add threats.
• Note when you first saw it and how you found out.
• Save any related messages, emails, or voicemails.

Step 3: Report to the platform

Most major platforms prohibit posting someone's private information and have a reporting option for it, often under harassment, privacy, or personal information. Use that specific option rather than a general report if it exists. Include the links and a short, factual description: "This post shares my home address and phone number and encourages people to contact me."

If the post is on a small site or forum, look for a contact or abuse email. Some hosting companies also accept abuse reports when a site ignores you.

Step 4: Ask Google to remove the results

Even if a site refuses to remove a post, Google may remove it from search results. Google's personal information policy covers doxxing content. Submit the web address of each page through Google's removal process and explain that the page shares your information with threats or calls for harassment. You can include screenshots. You or an authorized representative can submit the request.

Also set up Google's Results about you to monitor for new results with your phone, address, or email. See Google's results about you.

Remember that Google removal only affects Google Search. The content may still exist on the original site and in other search engines.

A sample report you can adapt

Platform and Google reviewers read many reports. A short, factual message is easier to act on than a long one. You can adapt this:

"This post, at [link], shares my home address and personal phone number without my consent. It was posted on [date] by [account name]. Replies encourage others to contact me and show up at my home. I am the person whose information is shown. I am asking you to remove it under your policy on private information and harassment. Screenshots are attached."

Keep a copy of every report you send and any reference number you receive. If the platform does not respond in a reasonable time, report again and include the first reference number. If the content is still in Google results, note in your Google request that you have already reported it to the site.

Step 5: Secure your accounts

Doxxing sometimes comes with attempts to break into accounts. Protect yourself:

If you see signs of identity theft, use the FTC's IdentityTheft.gov to report and get a recovery plan.

• Change passwords on email, banking, social media, and phone carrier accounts. Use a unique password for each.
• Turn on two-step verification. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency encourages everyone to turn on multifactor authentication for important accounts.
• Review recent login activity and sign out of unknown sessions.
• Ask your phone carrier about a PIN or port-out protection on your account.
• Set social media profiles to private for now and remove your location, workplace, and family details.

Step 6: Reduce what else can be found

Doxxers often pull information from people-search sites. Removing those listings makes repeat attacks harder.

• Opt out of people-search sites that show your address and phone. See how to remove yourself from people-search sites.
• Remove your phone and email from search results. See removing your phone number and email.
• Help family members do the same, since their listings often point back to you. See keeping family out of people-search.

Step 7: Tell the people around you

Doxxers sometimes contact family, employers, or neighbors. Let them know what happened in a short, calm message, and ask them not to engage, share, or confirm anything. If someone is impersonating you as part of the attack, see reporting impersonation of you.

When to involve police and a lawyer

Doxxing on its own may or may not be a crime, depending on your state and the details. Threats, stalking, harassment, and some forms of publishing personal information with intent to cause harm can be crimes under state or federal law. Report threats to local police and bring your documentation. Internet-based crimes can also be reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

A lawyer can explain options such as protective or restraining orders, cease-and-desist letters, and civil claims. If cost is a concern, local legal aid organizations and victim advocates may help.

Do not engage

It is natural to want to respond, correct, or fight back. In most cases, replying gives the doxxer attention and can make the situation spread. Let platforms, Google, and if needed police handle it, and keep your energy on safety and documentation. Our guide on whether to respond to negative posts covers this in more depth.

Afterward

Once the immediate danger passes, keep monitoring. Set Google alerts for your name, keep Results about you active, and run the quarterly privacy recheck. Doxxing can feel overwhelming, but taking it one step at a time makes a real difference.

Common questions

Sources

1. Remove my private info from Google Search (Google Search Help)
2. Stalking (U.S. Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women)
3. National Domestic Violence Hotline (National Domestic Violence Hotline)
4. Turn On MFA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency)
5. Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
6. IdentityTheft.gov (Federal Trade Commission)