As everything from business affairs to everyday interpersonal communications moves online, phone books have largely been replaced by online directories. Gone are the days of flipping through the yellow pages looking for a company’s phone number; nowadays, all it takes is a quick internet search to turn up contact information for just about any business.

Despite their convenience, the ubiquity of online directories can be a problem for business owners, especially for individuals who don’t want their personal information to be accessible on the internet. You have a right to control how much of your information is available for strangers to discover online and to have your phone number and address removed from listings websites if you don’t want them posted.

Have you encountered your personal information or a listing about your business on a listing site? For example, you may have seen yours on Dex Pages. You can always reach out to The Reputation Management Company for assistance in creating a plan on how to proceed.

Keep reading for a closer look at Dex Pages and its parent company, as well as detailed steps for removing your information from the website.

What are Dex Pages?

Dex Pages, which has been rebranded as DexKnows, is a listings service similar to the yellow pages in a phone book. Businesses are listed along with their phone numbers, addresses, customer reviews, and ratings. Clients wishing to search for specific services can input their locations and choose from a wide array of relevant professionals in their area.

Dex Pages used to be owned by DexOne Corporation, which merged with a company called SuperMedia in 2013. The newly formed company now operates under the name Thryv Inc.

Reasons for Removing Your Personal Information

Business owners often benefit from having their companies included in online directories like Dex Pages. For one thing, such directories make it easier for customers to find the business in question when they require services. Having your business listed in a directory can also increase your domain authority by driving more traffic to your website.

However, Dex Pages does not directly contact business owners to alert them about their listings; a third party generally provides the information. Consequently, the number and address listed for a given company on Dex Pages are not always accurate. Sometimes what is listed as a business number is actually the owner’s personal information, which can constitute an unwelcome breach of privacy.

Here are some reasons you may want The Reputation Management Company to assist you in creating a plan to suppress any negatives that are showing up on your search results, including dex.

1. Privacy

One of the most common reasons for wanting to remove personal information from the internet is to protect your privacy. For example, if you run your business out of your house, the number and address for your company might be the same as your personal cell phone and home address. It makes sense that you would want to control who has access to this information and that you may not be comfortable having it displayed on a high-traffic website like Dex Pages.

A long-term solution to this problem would be to have a separate phone line for calls related to your business and a post office box for business-related mail. 

2. Undesirable Listings

As previously mentioned, Dex Pages includes a rating system that allows clients to go onto the website and rate each business. The ratings are up to five stars, and a listing with a high rating can be beneficial to a company’s online reputation.

However, mistakes can happen, and some disgruntled consumers will leave negative reviews for a company they feel did a poor job serving them. This can result in a highly undesirable listing on Dex Pages, which can be detrimental to your business’s success. A negative experience causes 86% of customers to stop doing business with a company. A negative review signals that potential customers may have the dreaded negative experience. 

Nobody wants their personal information to be associated with negative feedback, especially when it can hurt their business ventures. If your company has a bad rating on Dex Pages, consider enlisting the help of The Reputation Management Company to help you create a plan to suppress the listing.

3. Old or Outdated Information

Businesses constantly move and change location. Keeping your online listings up-to-date is important to ensure customers know where to find you and how to contact you for services. However, Dex Pages doesn’t update old listings automatically; you need to alert the site hosts and get the original listing taken down first.

This is especially relevant if your business has changed its name or closed its doors entirely. When dealing with an important transition like closing or rebranding your company,  the last thing you want is to redirect confused customers away from misleading listings. Getting outdated information removed from Dex Pages will save you a lot of headaches down the line.

4. Doxxing, Harassment, and Other Cyber Security Threats

Unfortunately, having your personal information included on listing sites like Dex Pages can risk your cyber security and even your physical safety. 

The process of having your name, phone number, address, and other identifying information posted in a public forum with the intent of inciting others to harass you is known as doxxing. A staggering 43 million Americans have reported being doxxed as of 2022. Doxxing can seriously affect your job, relationships, and mental well-being.

If you have experienced cyberbullying, harassment, cyberstalking, or other threats related to online activity, you may not want your personal information to be available on a site like Dex Pages. The Reputation Management Company has experienced and sympathetic agents on staff who can assist you in your online reputation.

Deleting Personal Information from Dex Pages

Removing your information from Dex Pages can be a much more complicated process than it seems. Dex Pages is a listing aggregator, which means it pulls together its listings from a wide variety of online directories. That means there’s usually more than one step involved in deleting your personal information from the site.

To opt your business out of a listing on DexKnows, you first need to check to see whether you are listed in any White Pages or Yellow Pages directories online. You’ll need to contact those listing sites individually and ask them to delete your information. This may involve proving your identity or that you own the business.

Next, you’ll need to contact Dex Pages through their Contact Us page. You’ll need to provide a reason why you want to remove your listing and some additional information to verify your identity and complete the request.

The last step is to do a final sweep of all available online directories and complete every opt-out form you can find, including National Yellow Pages Consumer Choice, the Local Search Association, and Yellow Pages Opt Out.

How The Reputation Management Company Can Help

As you may have surmised, completing the process of opting out of Dex Pages and other online directories is very time-consuming. It can easily become overwhelming trying to work your way through the multitude of online directories. This can be particularly taxing if you’re dealing with cyber security threats or negative reviews for your business, which are problems that already require a great deal of attention and time to resolve.

If you need help getting your personal information deleted from Dex Pages, The Reputation Management Company can help you create a plan of how to best handle the Dex listing. You’ll be free to deal with running your business and handling your personal affairs, and you can rest easy knowing a professional reputation management agency is tackling the problem. The company has a wide knowledge of the current online directories.

In Conclusion

Having your business’s phone number, address, and other relevant information listed in an online directory can be beneficial. However, you can easily run into problems if the data is old or outdated or if the listing comes with negative ratings from disgruntled customers. 

Getting your personal information removed from a listing aggregator like Dex Pages is a chore unto itself. It’s easy to become discouraged and give up rather than go through the process of reaching out to online directories over and over and trying to get your information deleted from each one.

When you need a listing removed from Dex Pages, the best course of action is to enlist The Reputation Management Company to help you with your online reputation. Reach out to our agents today for more information about how to get personal information suppressed or removed from the internet.