Question 1

What is a Privacy Risk Score?

Accepted Answer

Found front and center on the Exposure Dashboard, the Privacy Risk Score measures how dangerous your personal data exposures are today. This is determined by Privacy Bee scanning and monitoring sites across the internet, which identifies anywhere and everywhere your information is found, open, and available. A full scan is conducted once you set up your account (and regularly after that) to ensure the dashboard shows the latest updates.

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The Privacy Risk Score is based on the number of exposures identified, the popularity and size of the sources, the amount of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) contained in each exposure, and a variety of other proprietary factors, all aimed at assessing how at-risk you are from an External Data Privacy standpoint. The higher the risk score, the easier it is for a cybercriminal or threat actor to find your information online and target you, your family members, or your business with an attack. Cyberattacks infused with exposed PII are significantly more effective than those without it, including phishing, smishing, vishing, ransomware, spoofing, and numerous other identity-based attacks.

To improve your Privacy Risk Score, you must remove your personal data from the sites that expose it today. The most effective way to do this is to upgrade to a license and enlist the Privacy Bee team of trusted professionals to manage the data deletion process on your b

Question 2

Can I Make Specific Deletion Requests?

Accepted Answer

Privacy Bee will do all that is lawfully possible to delete your information. Privacy Bee automatically begins with our list of 910+ Data Brokers and People Search Sites because we consider them an imminent threat to one's privacy and security. If you have a company that is a top concern, please send us the link, and we will try to prioritize the data removal request or offer guidance on how to trigger Privacy Bee to send a data removal request.

When you have those sites you find that you want to be moved up in priority or want your information removed from a site, please send in a request with the specific links or company name.

Some companies are not in our core site categories, and for those companies, you must actively request data deletions from them. This can include companies like Target, Macy's, and Netflix. For further guidance on requesting data removal from these companies and why we ask you to do so manually, look at "How Do I Configure My Trust Network And Privacy Preferences?".

Question 3

Why Has My Risk Score Not Improved?

Accepted Answer

The Privacy Score on your dashboard can fluctuate or remain consistent throughout your time with us. It will never be zero, but we aim to lower your score as best as possible. Your score may increase as we add more Data Brokers to our database or as re-exposures occur and are identified for our team of privacy professionals to address.

It can also remain static for various reasons. One is that we find more vulnerabilities as we successfully remove information. It can also remain static if the data brokers or other sites from which we request information removal are incredibly difficult and prevent movement or progress for several months.

Look at this article for more information on how long the "Requested" requests can take and why it can feel like such a long process.

We have your back, and even if you see movement in your score that goes up or no movement at all, know we are never backing down from protecting your privacy.

Question 4

How Do I Use The DIY Guides?

Accepted Answer

Even without a Privacy Bee Pro Account, we provide manual removal options for most sites we scan to let all our customers take their privacy into their own hands. This article will explain where you can find the removal guides for each site when available.

Looking at your exposure dashboard, every scan we've done that is incomplete or in the process of being removed appears in the "Pending" column, as you can see in the screenshot below.

| If you want to remove your information from a specific site manually, you must first expand the entry of whichever site you wish to remove your information from. When it is expanded, you should see something similar to the view on the right. | | | | With the exposure extended, you can see a "Free Removal Guide" button that will lead you to the company profile page when clicked. On this page, you can see the trust score the company has earned, a description of how safe they are and if they comply with our data removal requests, and the removal guide as you scroll down further. |

If you scroll down on the page, you find the complete guide to removing your information from the site you clicked on! It has a series of steps to guide you through the process. Each website will have a guide for their removal process, if available.

![](https://storage.crisp.chat/users/helpdesk/website/17d2847a359bb700/585895f8-ca70-4eee-be2e-402ed

Question 5

How Does the Scanning Process Work?

Accepted Answer

Understanding every part of the scanning process can seem intimidating, but we are here to walk you through every step so you can know precisely how we are finding your information and working to keep it safe.

The information below applies to a Pro or Free account, though some aspects (like the removal requests process) can only be found in a Pro Account. Please take a look at this article if you'd like more information on our plans and what they do.

When you first sign up and as we continue scanning for your information, all of these exposures appear in what we call the "Pending" section. When an exposure is "Pending", our scans have found it, but action has yet to be taken. Next, we have to determine the best method to send a data removal request because it's different for every site. If you have a Free Account, then this is where you will find the sites to begin your manual removal process using our DIY guides.

If you want more information on the manual removal process, look at this guide!

After we begin processing the "Pending" exposures, we will move them to the "Requested" category as we work to send in removal requests. The time they stay in the "Requested" category will vary depending on the site. To understand that process, look at our ["When Will 'Requested' Be Completed

Question 6

How Do I Add A Family Member?

Accepted Answer

Adding a family member is simple!

When you open the Protect Your Family page, you are greeted by the page seen in the screenshot below:

If you choose not to add family members, the table at the bottom of the page should only show your full name entered and all emails associated with your name on our platform, and then it will show your active Privacy Bee Pro Account.

| | To add a family member, click the button above the table of family members that reads "Add Family Member." A pop-up on the left appears; so just fill it out! All information is necessary, but you can use a middle name or initial for your family member! Once you complete everything, click "Add A Family Member" and you will be redirected to their page. |

Once you have returned to the "Protect Your Family" page, the newly added family member should appear in the menu! You have successfully added them to your family, but they must log in and complete their account information. They can add working phone numbers, active email addresses, or previous addresses to their profile.

Upon adding a family member, they will have a Free account. They will not automatically have a Pro Account and must purchase one to gain the Pro Account benefits. To know more about the pricing for Family Members, look at ["Cost for Family Members"](https:/

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