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Sync is a web-based global phonebook network with a directory from which users can search and obtain information about various persons. Sync specializes in providing caller ID display, blocking spam calls, and searching for specific contact information using identifiers. This platform hosts details of persons from various countries worldwide and offers its services in each one. As per its function as a web-based phonebook, Sync contains personal contact information, including full names, phone numbers, email addresses, identification photos, Microsoft contact information, and social media profiles.
Interested parties can access Sync services either through the website, sync.me or through the application. The caller ID function of Sync shows information about a caller, including the name and the social media profile picture of that caller for identification, even if that caller is not on the contact list of the call recipient. Sync also blocks spam calls by identifying a caller's number and comparing it against its database of recognized telemarketers for each country. Users can also carry out manual searches on Sync to identify the owners of unknown numbers. This search service can only be used to determine the owner of a number but cannot reveal the number of a person by searching for their name.
The directories of Sync contain the personal details of millions of mobile users from all around the world. This information is gathered from multiple sources, much of which is obtained without the consent of the owner of the information. The sources used by Sync are:
- Publicly Available Directories: Some of the details available for sharing by Sync are collected from publicly available telephone books which keep a record of telephone subscribers in some geographical regions.
- From Users (Without the User's Involvement): Sync collects information directly from users of its services without any direct involvement of the user. Sync obtains this information when a user registers an account, logs into their account, uses any of its services, or connects their phone list to the Sync database. Sync retrieves these details from the user's mobile browser (information such as cookies) and copies the names and numbers on the person's contact list.
- From Users (With the User's Involvement): Users can make submissions to Sync to update its database. Interested persons can submit the contact information of people they know to include them in the repository.
How to Opt Out of Sync
It is possible to delete the personal information and accounts on Sync. The procedure to perform either of the two actions differ from each other.
How to Delete Contact Information on Sync
- Open Sync.me on a web browser.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the Opt out link.
- On the new page opened, fill in the required information into the fields provided. The necessary details are the requester's name, the email of the requester, the country, and the phone number.
- Complete the Captcha provided and click on Send.
- The information should be deleted within 24 hours after the submission.
To delete an account opened on Sync, users must send a request for deletion by email to Sync at privacy@sync.me. The required account information to complete the removal process include the name on the account, the phone number, and the email address. The email should also state the requester's right to that account and the reason for the request. A query submitted must be considered valid for it to be processed.
Sync sells the information it gathers to third parties, particularly to CRM platforms, and there is no way of directly stopping such an exchange. The only way to prevent information from being sold is to remove the information held by Sync. This is achievable by following the procedure outlined above, submitting a deletion request, and not using the platform's services to avoid data collection.
What Difficulties Exist when Opting Out of Sync
Opting out of or deleting information from Sync is relatively easy. Both actions require the submission of a request to Sync to obtain a response. The primary challenge which might exist on the request of either action is the time-lapse before the action is effected. However, the period usually does not exceed 24 hours.
The other difficulty that might exist for deleting information stored on Sync is the uncertainty of such details. While some of Sync's services are free, others are only accessible through registration. This implies that there can be no way of personally checking to see if the platform holds one's information without having an account. Creating an account also requires submitting personal information, which will be stored by Sync. Thus, a person whose information was previously not included might inadvertently supply the details they were hoping to erase.