More than you realize is public information online. Here are five private details anyone can find out about you and your home online.

Luckily, there are steps you can take to protect your privacy. Tap or click for steps to blur your home on Google Maps and Apple Maps.

If you’re not trying to sell your home, there’s no reason to leave interior photos and other details on real estate sites like Realtor, Zillow and Redfin. Just think about how valuable your floor plan might be in the wrong hands. 

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Public information

When you're selling your home, you want potential buyers to have all the information they need, including condition, photos, floor plans, furnishings and appliances. But if you just bought a house, you might not want all that information posted for anyone to see.

Do you want just another to see every entry point for each room? This information puts you at risk from criminals who can put together strategies based on your floor plans. 

You might assume your real estate agent or seller would remove your home’s info from real estate sites after you’ve made a deal, but that’s not always the case. 

Wonder who are your neighbors? You can walk over and say hi, but you can also find your neighbor’s name online.

A listing network

When your home is for sale, the broker uploads your home’s information (photos, floor plans and lots more) to a Multiple Listing Service. An MLS is where houses and pictures are posted.

This group then distributes the details to online real estate sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin and others. Brokers and agents who subscribe to that MLS for a membership fee can access all the information.

Real estate agents can also use the information to post their listings on social media and other online outlets.

More privacy know-how: How to remove everything you’ve found about yourself on Google

Removing yourself from an MLS

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Only licensed agents and brokers can access an MLS and make changes, such as removal. Whether you’re a buyer or seller, ask your listing agent to close out the listing on the MLS. This may not necessarily get everything removed right away, but it’s a start.

Just because your home’s information is removed from the MLS doesn’t mean it’s not posted elsewhere. You may still find it on publicly accessible real estate sites.

Once again, you can ask your listing agent to remove your photos and other home information from websites they have access to.

If your agent is dragging their feet, you can take matters into your own hands and remove the information from each site. You will need to create accounts.

You may have to claim ownership of the home before making any changes. This opens up tools to track the value of your home and gives helpful information on pricing, including the value of nearby homes, purchase history and personalized recommendations.

Claiming your home is also the first step in removing information and photos. Here’s how to do it on a few popular sites.

Zillow

Log into your profile at zillow.com and search for your address to find your home's property page. Then:

Once you’ve claimed ownership, you can start removing photos from Zillow.

Having problems getting this done at Zillow? Go to zillow.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new to submit a ticket for help.

Realtor.com

Go to realtor.com/myhome, type in your address and click the magnifying glass to start claiming your home. 

Now do the following:

Submit a ticket at support.realtor.com/s/contactsupport if you need assistance.

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Redfin

Go to your Owner Dashboard to claim your home. 

After claiming your home, you can make changes from your Owner Dashboard:

Keep your tech-know going

My popular podcast is called "Kim Komando Today." It’s a solid 30 minutes of tech news, tips, and callers with tech questions like you from all over the country. Search for it wherever you get your podcasts. For your convenience, hit the link below for a recent episode.

PODCAST PICK: Smart toilet, home selling danger, make money from home

What's in your toilet? A ton of data. Just connect this device to your iPhone — and then your toilet. Plus, a Mercedes-level stroller for babies, AI ovens, color-changing cars, 3D tours pose significant security risks, how to make more money in the new year and my smart advice for callers like you.

Check out my podcast "Kim Komando Today" on Apple, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player.

Listen to the podcast here or wherever you get your podcasts. Just search for my last name, "Komando."

Get more tech know-how on The Kim Komando Show, broadcast on 425+ radio stations and available as a podcast. Sign up for Kim’s 5-minute free morning roundup for the latest security breaches and tech news. Need help? Drop your question for Kim here.

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