Your home address is not only private information, but also valuable data, especially if you’ve recently moved. From banks to the US Post Office, everyone is happy to sell your address to data brokers, who then pass it on to advertisers and marketers.

But leaving your home address on the web (like when you create a profile or use an account to ship a package) has other dangers. Burglars may want to spy on your homewhile identity thieves might want to intercept emails or spoof an address. You may even want to hide your address for more personal reasons, such as avoiding a stalker.

From map apps to Google searches, our experts have found the best tools and tips to get your address off the web and keep it long-term. Here’s what works best and how to do it.

Give your address only when required

This first step helps all the other tips work: keep your home address secure, giving it out only when absolutely necessary. For most people, that includes opening a bank account, registering to vote, and other important life tasks.

But in many other cases, you can provide an alternate address that doesn’t indicate your exact home location, but still gives you the access and email destination you need. You can provide this address when you want shipments or mail, or when other organizations, such as a gym, health clinic, or local sign-up sheet, ask you to. Start this habit when you implement any address protection measures.

Blur your current address in map apps

Street view features in map apps can be very useful if you’re a little lost, but they can also feel like a privacy irritant when anyone can type in your address and get a view of your house. That’s why Google and others have provided ways to blur your house in street views and image capture so users can’t get too a good look

As you will find in our complete guideyou can go to Google Maps on your desktop computer and enter the address. Then just use Report a problem link and you can manually choose which parts of Street View to dim so you and your home are protected.

Apple Maps, with its Look Around tool, offers a similar privacy feature, but you’ll have to specifically request it. Send an email to [email protected] and provide your home address and a detailed description of your home in the Look Around feature. Apple will then blur it out for your privacy.

Report the address when you find it in the search results

Googling your contact information is always a good idea if you’re concerned about privacy. If you notice that your address appears in a Google Search result — especially when you Google your name or other general information — you can make a specific request to Google to have it removed.

To do this, go to your Google Account, where you can find the icon option Manage your Google Account. Then you can select Data and privacy > History settings > My activity. Choose Another activity in the left menu, scroll all the way down until you find Results about you section and select start.

This option allows you to create an alert whenever Google notices your address in a search. From the alert section of the Results About You menu, you can request that information be scrubbed from the Internet using Remove the result option. Google won’t ever do this: It will leave addresses found on government, news and some business websites, but it’s a quick way to remove your address if it appears in annoying places.

Hide your address on social networks

Now is the perfect time to check your social media accounts and see if your address is included in your profile information. You may have added it a long time ago without really thinking about it, but social profiles don’t need your address or, for that matter, photos of your house and street. Go to your account information. , “about you” pages and other places to make sure your address doesn’t appear there.

Check the white pages

The White Pages (as opposed to the business-oriented Yellow Pages) is one of the largest collections of home addresses online and often the first stop for someone trying to search for a particular address. The good news is that even though your address is probably in the White Pages, it only takes a few seconds to remove it. Only visit White Pages Suppression Request webpage and paste the URL of your Whitepages profile, then request its removal.

Remove accounts or request removal of your address

Chances are you enter your home address when signing up for a variety of websites and services. Some of these accounts are important — you probably want Amazon to keep your home address if you get a lot of shipments, for example. But others are useless, especially if you don’t use that account much anymore.

In these cases, we recommend that you delete your account or contact customer service and request the removal of your profile. You can also go through promotional emails to receive some reminders about services that you may be interested in. registered with your address. Common targets for cleaning include:

• Shopping site authentication
• Old apps you no longer use
• Political organizations
• Nonprofit and religious organizations
• Legacy subscription services for online goods or content
• Profiles sports sites
• Contest websites

Invest in a mailbox for deliveries

If you’ve never signed up for a mailbox before, you might be surprised at how easy it is. You can apply online at USPSchoose from five different local box sizes and get a box number for your local post office. Prices vary by size and location, but tend to cost around $30 per box large enough to receive packages, up to about $15 for a box of envelopes. A mailbox also allows you to save a signature for important delivery and a few other tricks.

When you have a PO Box, you can replace it with almost any account that wants a shipping address, keeping your home address information offline and out of the hands of advertisers. If you’re willing to pay, it’s one of the most effective privacy options available.

Some people also prefer to give an address of a local third-party shipping store so that packages are delivered to the store and can be picked up there. This can work, but it’s important to contact your local shipping store and ask if they allow it, or it could create a delay fiasco.

Set up a virtual mailbox (no, not your email)

Virtual mailbox services are common for some businesses, frequent travelers, and those who are very protective of their address. A virtual mailbox receives your emails, discards junk and scans important pieces of email, then forwards them to your account so you can view them online wherever you are.

Virtual mailboxes typically cost between $10 and $20 per month. You’ll need to find a virtual mailbox company that offers service in your area and jump through some legal hoops to authorize them to handle your mail — steps the service should guide you through. Common options include Mailbox anytime, PostScan Mail, PhysicalAddress.com, LegalZoom Virtual Mail (formerly Earth Class) and IPostal1.

Avoid using smart home location settings

A range of smart home devices including powerful security cameras and RINGwill ask or request your home address. They do this to enable more advanced mapping features, settings like Ring’s Bird’s Eye view, weather reports, climate information and other capabilities. However, if you want to protect your home address from prying eyes and potential sales, try to avoid smart home technology that requires a location.

You can usually find alternatives to devices that want your address, like security cameras for local storage, with simplified account setup. However, signing up for any kind of professional monitoring or subscription service may require address information: you may be able to get away with entering a PO Box or similar alternative, but security systems will generally want your real address.

Enable a VPN for extra protection

ISPs don’t just know your IP address, they can also find out your physical address, or at least its proximity. If you want to keep this information to yourself, one of the best options is a VPN or virtual private network.

These services encrypt all your online data and allow you to hide your location in many different ways. Some are free, but the best VPNs usually come with a monthly subscription that starts at just a few dollars. Take a look at our list of the best VPNsor check your browsers to see if they offer built-in VPN capabilities.

Since your home address is more private online, consider adding protection with the best rooms without subscription, tips for deterring thieves and the the top home security mistakes we all make.