A Guide To Doxxing: What It Is, And How You Can Avoid It

Doxxing used to be something only tech-savvy trolls worried about. But it’s now become a serious threat affecting millions of content creators, business owners, and everyday social media users. What started as a niche internet problem has evolved into a widespread security crisis that can destroy reputations, compromise safety, and derail careers in a matter of hours.

Consider this: Roughly 11.7 million U.S. adults (4%) have been doxxed, or had their personal information maliciously exposed online. And one in six Americans (16%) knows a friend or family member who has been doxxed.

So in this guide, we’ll go over what doxxing is, why protecting your personal information matters more than ever, and the specific steps you can take to shield yourself from this growing threat.

What is Doxxing?

Doxxing is the act of publicly revealing someone’s private information without their consent. This can include home addresses, phone numbers, workplace details, family member names, financial records, or any other personal data that wasn’t meant to be public. The term comes from “dropping documents” or “docs,” referring to the practice of exposing someone’s private documents online.

Attackers gather this information through different methods. For example, they scrape social media profiles for breadcrumbs of personal details, search public record databases (like Whois registrars), exploit data breaches, or piece together information from multiple sources. Once collected, they publish this data on forums, social media, or websites where anyone can access it.

As a result, victims face harassment campaigns, physical threats, identity theft, professional damage, and loss of personal safety.

Why You Should Protect Your Personal Information

The reality is that content creators and business owners face unique vulnerabilities. Your public presence makes you a visible target, and your success can attract malicious actors who want to harm your reputation or business. One leaked piece of information can cascade into a full exposure of your private life.

In fact, data shows that millions of Americans have already experienced this. Roughly 11.7 million U.S. adults have been doxxed so it’s clear this isn’t just happening to high-profile celebrities or controversial figures. One in six Americans knows a friend or family member who has been doxxed, meaning the impact of these attacks spreads through communities.

How To Avoid Getting Doxxing

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security provided very effective ways to protect yourself from getting doxxed. Here’s what you should know:

1) Monitor for leaked accounts on the dark web

Your login credentials and personal information could be circulating on the dark web right now without your knowledge. Data breaches happen constantly, and your information from one compromised service can be used to access your other accounts or piece together your identity. The good news is that monitoring for these leaks gives you early warning before attackers can exploit your data.

There are many ways to do this but the best way is to use a social media security tool like Spikerz that monitors the web for leaked credentials and protects your social media accounts. These tools actively scan for your information in breaches and alert you immediately when your credentials appear in compromised data. After that, it’s just a matter of taking action to secure your personal data.

2) Adjust your social media settings (personal profiles)

Social media platforms make it easy for attackers to build a profile of who you are and where you can be found. Default privacy settings often expose more information than you realize, giving doxxers the exact details they need to target you. Thankfully, a few minutes spent reviewing your settings can close off major vulnerabilities.

So ensure that your profiles, usernames, and handles are kept private to limit who can see your personal information. Remove any addresses, places of work, and specific locations from your accounts (these are the first things attackers look for when building a doxxing file). Set your posts to “friends only” so strangers can’t mine your content for personal details.

Also, avoid discussing personal information that could be used against you, as well as anything that can identify your address, workplace, or contact information. This is because even seemingly harmless details like your favorite coffee shop or gym can give attackers location data to work with.

3) Update your passwords regularly

Passwords are your first line of defense against unauthorized access to your accounts. So regularly update your passwords to limit the window of opportunity for anyone who has obtained your credentials through a data breach.

Also, never reuse passwords across different platforms. When one service gets breached, attackers immediately try those credentials on other popular sites. This can quickly lead to multiple compromised accounts and more information for doxxers to exploit.

Create random passwords by combining uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Aim for at least 16 characters, and consider using a password manager to securely generate and store complex passwords you might not be able to remember otherwise.

4) Use different usernames across platforms

Using the same username across multiple platforms creates a digital trail that’s easy to follow. Attackers can search for your username and instantly find all your associated accounts, building a profile of your online activity. This in turn makes it simple to connect your different personas and gather personal information from each one.

However, if you use different usernames, you make it significantly harder to identify and associate your accounts. So while it requires more effort to remember multiple usernames, the security benefit is really worth it. Even slight variations can disrupt automated searches that doxxers use to map your digital footprint.

5) Create a unique email address for your most important accounts

Attackers who gain access to your main email address and password can reset passwords, access sensitive communications, and gather personal information from years of correspondence. That’s why it’s crucial to have a unique email for important accounts.

This limits exposure if one email gets compromised. Instead of giving attackers access to everything, they only get access to the specific services associated with that email address. Do this for your banking, social media business accounts, and other critical services.

6) Monitor and remove your personal data collected by websites and data brokers

Data brokers collect and sell your personal information to anyone willing to pay for it. These companies gather data from public records, purchase histories, social media, and other sources, then package it for sale. This creates a marketplace where anyone (including people who want to doxx you) can buy detailed profiles about your life.

The good news is, there are services like Incogni and DeleteMe that help people find data brokers selling their personal information and ask them to delete it. These services automate the tedious process of identifying which brokers have your data and submitting removal requests. They also handle the back-and-forth communication required to get your information removed.

Do this periodically to ensure your personal information is never sold or shared. Data brokers constantly acquire new information, so a one-time cleanup isn’t enough.

Conclusion

Doxxing is a danger that affects millions of people every year. 11.7 million U.S. adults experienced this violation in 2025, and the number continues to grow as more of our lives move online. That’s why you must do everything you can to protect yourself and your business.

Protection starts with understanding the threat and taking concrete steps to minimize your exposure. Like:

• Monitoring for leaked credentials
• Adjusting your privacy settings
• Using strong and unique passwords
• Diversifying your usernames
• Creating dedicated email addresses for important accounts
• And removing your data from broker databases

All these things work together to build a defense against doxxing attempts. They're necessary steps for anyone with an online presence worth protecting.