Last year Optery was removed because it added some small AI feature opt-out, but this was changed mere months after and this was even acklowdged. PSA: Optery now sends your data to OpenAI [Service Delisting] and Reddit - The heart of the internet . Why was there no comment on whether Optery would be added back ever? I’ve followed the guide by using the recommended EasyOptOuts, but it’s patently insufficient at getting rid of spam calls and all my data out there. So I want another solution added back. And it seems like there’s no issue anymore and you guys should really add back Optery because right now you have no alternative posted (in breadth… maybe Privacy Bee, but it’s expensive).
Have you tested Optery, or why do you assume using Optery would fix this problem for you?
No, but that’s not really an answer to the question. Amd neither has the recommend option fully (EasyOptOuts), which is why I think not adding Optery back is baseless cause I can’t see a reason? I plan to purchase it though. And had remember I’d seen it recommended here of all places so needless to say I was pretty confused when I saw it removed.
I see no reason to add it back because I do not think it makes a significant difference compared to our current recommendations. I’m still waiting for someone to claim otherwise.
1 Like
I’ve followed the guide by using the recommended EasyOptOuts, but it’s patently insufficient at getting rid of spam calls and all my data out there
I’m a big fan of Optery. I’ve been a paying customer for a few years now and vouch their product to everyone I know looking for a data removal service. However, the above issue wouldn’t be fixed simply by using Optery. If you’ve had your phone number for a long time, it’s probably been traded and sold a thousand times over by various companies looking for leads to sell their products. Getting rid of it off people search sites doesn’t remove it from the marketing rolls of various companies who already acquired your number. Simply put, it might stop the bleeding but its not also going to magically clean up the blood that was spilled on the floor. What helped me stop getting spam calls was getting a new phone number and limiting where I share my real phone number (instead opting to share a VOIP number where possible).
Well I’ll get back to you in a couple months then, but measuring these things objectively and accurately is very hard because the nature of spam is never consistent and can vary extremely within even long time spans
Want to leave an update! So Optery has found several HUNDRED websites that were not covered by EasyOptOuts, which is now the only service recommended by Privacy Guides. I purchased them (meaning EasyOptOuts) almost the better part of a year ago now, and so clearly it hasn’t been sufficient to remove the true breadth of websites that are out there. Here is a screenshot of my results. I can confirm by visiting the sites that my information was removed too, and they provide pictures that show my results on those hundreds of websites prior to removal. I’m (obviously) not providing those, but if this isn’t proof enough for you that this service is doing a significantly better job than the current recommended solutions by the site, then nothing will be good enough for you I feel. (And no, the average person is not going to follow the portion of the guide to manually opt out from hundreds of websites–it’s just not happening.) In any case, I’m mostly satisfied with Optery after only one month, and think I’ll probably let my subscription lapse here since my request that are pending have already been submitted I assume, and so keeping it won’t provide more benefit. If I were particularly anal, I’d probably keep it for 2, maybe 3, months. But I’m on a tight budget so this is better than nothing for me. I feel like these services are best used as a “once a month per year" or so type of thing anyway. Well, that’s it from me. Ciao
