This week we showed you PassProtect, an Okta extension for Google Chrome that tells you if you're using a compromised password. Now we present Have I Been Sold?, a new free web service that lets you know if your email has been sold to third parties.
How Does It Work?
You've probably received an unsolicited email at some point and wondered how the sender obtained your address. There are many possibilities, but one of the most common is that some companies sell your data to intermediaries so they can fill your inbox with spam. If you want to find out if your email has been sold, give it a try and head over to Have I Been Sold?. Clearly inspired by the portal Have I Been Pwned, this site works in a similar way: type or paste an email address into the search box and click the blue button that says Have I been sold? to find out if the email is in any of the service's databases.
What Else Can You Do?
If the email you entered isn't in the Have I Been Sold? database, you can authorize the service to notify you if that email appears on a list in the future. If it is, you can report the company that sold your data. An interesting detail is that the site lists some steps to prevent your email addresses from being sold: use custom email domains; use custom email providers; create alternate email addresses exclusively for each new service you sign up for, and so on.
Have I Been Sold? might be useful for some, but it's probably not something most internet users will want to use. After all, if you're already receiving unwanted emails, you're likely aware that your email has been sold or leaked in some way. The only real value of this site is that it shows you which company or service sold your email address so you can report it.
Have I Been Sold?
