Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/26/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  As a resident of **********, I am requesting a "Right to Deletion of ************** from SocialCatFish and their subsidiaries. SocialCatFish not sell my personal information in accordance with applicable state laws due to privacy concerns and potential identity theft. The Delete Act is a data privacy law that allows consumers to request the deletion of their personal information from data brokers. Thus, I do not consent and/or authorize this people search engine from retaining, publishing, brokering and profiting off my information. Inclusive of my email ************************* please remove all subject matter, reports, profiles, contact information and data. My information is being sold for a subtotal of $5.73. Requesting that my parents' information be removed as well; (******* J ******* and ****** E *******. Requesting a speedy resolution, thank you for your cooperation. See attached images and url link. ***************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/19/2025

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ************************** refuses to remove my personal information from their site. On Jan 30, I completed the Request to Opt Out form on their site. I completed the Request for Deletion form. Over the past several weeks, I have repeatedly contacted Social Catfish via their website forms, email, and phone trying to get help with my request. I emailed **************** at *********************************** I emailed the Data Privacy Team at ******************************************* I called **************** at ************. I have received no help. Just confusing replies saying I reached the wrong department. Or, autoreply emails saying that my privacy request is under review because I have been erroneously identified as a third-party data company. I am not a company. I am a private citizen seeking to remove my personal information from **************************, which is my right by Colorado law. I demand that my information be removed immediately from these two pages of the site. Thank you for your assistance. ********************************************************************************************************************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/03/2025

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  PLEASE REMOVE MY NAME FROM YOUR SITE ASAP:************************************************************************************************************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/10/2025

  Hi **** *********,

  I understand you are following up in regards to your Data Privacy request. Upon review, I can confirm that the team received your request to opt-out from ****************** on January 3, 2025,

  The Data Privacy team has streamlined the process to handle all requests, following the highest standards for data privacy. Our team will ensure its processed in accordance with the applicable state laws. While we aim to have requests fulfilled within 10 days, our team averages 5.5 days. (Due to an increase in requests this past month, they are average 8.5 days.) Of course, if you need to provide updated information or would like to request an update, in the interest of time, it is best to follow up with the team directly. 
  
  Please note, BBB submissions are not a recognized platform to request a data removal. Please be on the lookout for updates and/or confirmation on your request in the thread with the Data Privacy team. Were committed to privacy and look forward to assisting you.
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/22/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Site publicly displays my personal information along with immediate family members. I submitted an opt out request with the listing still available. I am requesting to honor the opt out and remove the listing from the website as i have filled out the opt out form with needed info Listing: *************************************************************************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/22/2025

  Hi *****,

  I understand you would like to request to have your information removed. Please note that complaints through the BBB is not a recognized platform to submit information removal requests. If you have submitted a request through Social Catfish, you should reference your email for updates.
  
  I was able to locate your request and see that the data removal was successful. Our team replied to your request confirming removal on December 1st. The *** provided does not have any information. You'll find that when clicking the link, you will be directed to a "No Results" page. This is an indication that while the link once had information, the record has already been removed. 
  
  If you believe we missed something, please reply to the Data Privacy team directly with the active url and they can proceed from there. If you are under the impression we have your information based on a third party's report (or screenshot), you may want to confirm if they are holding onto outdated records of yours in their system. 
  
  Thank you once again. Please let us know if we can help clarify anything further.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/20/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  social catfish is illegally and unethically obtaining my data without my consent or knowledge, endangering my family and my life safety, and committing slander and libel by falsely claiming on their website that i have untoward activity in society which i do not. social catfish is endangering my ability to put a roof over my head and damaging me as a disabled veteran and person in the community. they are slandering me as a disabled person and veteran and refusing to remove my name number emails address and locations from their evil website. i'm a disabled person and veteran and your website contains false slanderous and libel information which you are profiting off my demise and endangering my safety and my families life safety!! stop or and remove it! you've been reported to the CA and FL attorney generals offices and the federal trade commission! remove all my data now as requested from the states of florida and maryland!

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/23/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Indecided to use Social Catfish to perform a reverse image search and find someone. After paying, I uploaded the photo, and the first search returned over 300 results, but I didnt find anything relevant. I tried uploading the photo again, and this time it gave me 75 results, but still nothingjust images of celebrities and random people who didnt match my friend.When I called customer service, they told me they couldnt issue a refund, claiming the person I was searching for might not have any open social media profiles. I explained to the representative that I had already found my friend instantly on PimEyes and FaceCheckID. In response, the Social Catfish representative hung up on **** demand a refund for false advertising and failure to deliver the promised service. I have proof that I found my friend using the other two platforms, but not through Social Catfish. The service only provided a large number of irrelevant images, including photos of celebrities, and did not conduct a proper reverse image search. Additionally, I have proof in the downloaded images here ************ has a lack of transparency and who knows how long they have been doing this this to other people I want my money back and I wont stop until I get it false advertisement from this company

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/22/2025

  Hi ****,

  Thank you for taking the time to provide detailed feedback and for sharing your experience with our service. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and frustration you encountered while using our platform. We understand how important it is for our customers to trust and rely on our service, and we are sorry that your expectations were not met.

  The issue you described regarding the reverse image search results was a known issue that our Engineering team identified during that time period. Thankfully, the team was able to investigate and resolve this issue, but we regret that it impacted your experience.

  In reviewing your interaction with our customer support team, we take your feedback seriously and will be following up internally to address this matter appropriately. That said, it appears that during the conversation, our agent requested you share the data you mentioned locating on other platforms to escalate for further review and consideration of a refund. Unfortunately, we did not receive this information from you at the time.

  However, after reviewing the details you provided in your BBB complaint, including the attachments, we were able to verify that the issues you encountered align with the challenges we addressed during that period. As a result, we have issued a refund to your account.

  We appreciate you bringing this to our attention and for helping us improve our service. If you have any additional concerns or questions, please dont hesitate to reach out to us directly.

  Thank you again for your feedback, and we apologize for the inconvenience caused.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/20/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  This Data Broker keeps putting my information back online when I had reached out numerous times to remove it before.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/22/2025

  Hi Jevann,

  I understand you would like to request to have your information removed. Please note that complaints through the BBB is not a recognized platform to submit information removal requests. If you have submitted a request through Social Catfish, you should reference your email for updates and can work with the data privacy team directly via that thread.

  Upon review, I was able to locate your data privacy request. The team replied confirming your information was not available on our site based on the information provided. That said, I was able to locate your name in the directory and was able to have the team prioritize removing it. Apologies for missing this on our end. This feedback has been escalated so that the team can address this accordingly. Privacy is important, so we appreciate you flagging this so that we can act quickly. I've triple checked and can no longer find your name listed. 

  Thank you and apologies once again for any inconvenience. If we can assist with anything else, please reach out. We can be contacted by email at ********************************** or by phone at ************.

   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/02/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am requesting removal of all information that pertains to me, including the information shown in the attached file, from the Social Catfish website. I had requested removal of said information, via e-mail, on Sept. 18, to no avail, after having had no success removing said information via their Opt-out process and receiving error/invalid URL messages. I am also requesting that no information that pertains to me would appear on said website in the future.They are in violation of Oregons Consumer Privacy Act that went into effect earlier this year.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/07/2024

  Hello ******* ******,

  This is in regards to your BBB complaint. I understand you would like to request to have your information removed. Please note that complaints through the BBB is not a recognized platform to submit information removal requests.

  Upon review, we were able to locate your request submitted under ***************** from Friday September 23, 2203 last year. There are no other requests following. I can confirm that your data was successfully removed upon receiving your request last year. 

  Social Catfish sources and aggregates public data. So if new information has been made available on the web since, it's possible we located it. In fact, this is why many of our customers use our services - so that they can monitor and control what information they have on the web.

  If you are looking to request that your information be removed again, you will need to reach out to the company directly. We offer several options to have your information removed. You may email to *********************************** use the self opt out form at ******************************************, or complete the opt out process by visiting ******************************************/?id=request_optout.

  Thank you and please don't hesitate to reach out to the company directly if you have any further questions or concerns.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/07/2024

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Attached herewith are copies of my recent requests/e-mails for removal of information which the Social Catfish team is falsely indicating that they have not received. My request via BBB is effectively my fourth attempt at such request for removal of my information, since I had also requested removal of my information using their Opt-out process, to no avail. They continue to be in violation of Oregon's Consumer Privacy Act.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/01/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Over the last several months, I have been making attempts to remove my family's personal information from SocialCatfish The process is lengthy and time consuming to perform, as you can only opt out one record at a ******* family does not wish to have their personal information visible on your website, and you (SocialCatfish) need to remove our information immediately. I have listed the records below: ****************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** *******************************************************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/09/2024

  Hi Kyle Reger,

  This is in regards to your BBB complaint. I understand you would like to request to have your information removed. Please note that complaints through the BBB is not a recognized platform to submit information removal requests.

  I can see that you wrote into the Data Privacy team from a different email address. They confirmed your data was removed and while communications went back and forth, I see we have been waiting on your reply to be able to help with any remaining removals for the last week. (screenshot attached). 

  Furthermore, upon checking the URL's you provided, I'm redirected to a "No Results" page. This is an indication that the data has been removed. I encourage you to click and open the links you've shares so that you can have this confirmation for yourself. 

  If you have any questions or need further clarification, it's recommended to reply back to the team and company directly. Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/30/2024

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am now getting an attorney involved, this business refuses to honor opt out requests. I am in a child custody situation and this opt out process has created great stress for my family. This has gone on for months, the company removes my name only to repost it again a month later. They promise it will be removed, and every time it shows up again. This is ridiculous.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/30/2024

  Desired outcome is for social catfish to completely and permanently remove my info from their website, ie. honor their opt out policy.
  

  Company refuses to honor their opt out request. They ignore emails and when they do finally answer after multiple attempts—they temporarily remove my info only to repost it a month after later. I am now getting an attorney involved. This has taken up way too much of my time as I have my own business to run. This has caused undue stress due to child custody dispute and therefore escalated privacy concern.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/09/2024

  Hi ******** ****************

  This is in regards to your BBB complaint. I understand you would like to request to have your information removed. Please note that complaints through the BBB is not a recognized platform to submit information removal requests.

  We located your request under "***************" submitted most recently on 9/30/2024. Based on the information you initially provided, the team was not able to locate any records belonging to you with either name variation. Your response with further verifying information was used to conduct a more thorough search which the team was still unable to locate records belonging to you. While there were a number of "******** ********" found, all had different middle initials, were of different age ranges, and resided in different states. 

  You later provided a URL(************************************************************** that contained no information (screenshot attached). If you open the URL, you'll either see it redirects you to either a "Oops" - No Information Found page or the "No Results" page. The page you'll see depends on if you are logged into a Social Catfish account or not. Either way, both pages are proof that your information has been removed. Just click and open it so you can see for yourself. 

  If you believe information is available due to information provided by a paid 3rd party, it is recommended to follow up with them directly as they may have outdated information stored in their system. The screenshots are attached for your reference. Thank you.