2025 Doxxing Report: 11 Million Americans Have Been Doxxed

Prevalence of Doxxing in 2025

Our 2025 survey found that roughly four percent of U.S. adults have ever been doxxed, which aligned closely with the results from our 2024 research. That figure equates to about 11.7 million Americans. The ripple effect is even larger: 16 percent of respondents said they know a friend or family member who has been doxxed, and nine percent knew of a colleague or acquaintance. Three-quarters of adults today say they have never known a doxxing victim.

Americans’ Experiences With Doxxing (2024 vs. 2025)

Note: Multiple responses allowed

When we asked victims why they thought they had been targeted, their stories fell into five main categories:

• Online fights, often escalating from disagreements in gaming, fandoms, or politics.
• Personal disputes, including harassment by former partners or coworkers.
• Financial schemes, in which information was stolen through scams or data breaches.
• Discrimination, such as attacks targeting women, LGBTQ+ people, or people of color.
• Unknown reasons, with some victims blindsided by leaks they couldn’t explain.

Recent events highlight how rapidly online exposure can lead to real-world harm. After conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death in September 2025, critics and college faculty who posted about him were targeted in a coordinated doxxing campaign. A website titled Expose Charlie’s Murderers published their names, employers, and other personal details, leading to firings, suspensions, and harassment.

This wasn’t an isolated event. More than 5,000 critics of Israel, many of whom were students, were listed on a doxxing site in 2024. Their information was shared in “blacklist” campaigns that jeopardized jobs, immigration status, and safety.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have also faced targeted doxxing, and the Department of Homeland Security reports that assaults against agents have increased 700 percent as a result.

Doxxing Demographics and What Gets Exposed

Not everyone faces the same risk. Our survey shows that women are slightly more likely than men to be doxxed (5.2 percent vs. 3.6 percent). Younger adults, particularly those under 45, are also disproportionately affected.

Information most likely to be exposed in doxxing attacks

1. Full name
2. Home address
3. Phone number
4. Email address
5. Photos or videos
6. Workplace information

Other victims said information about their family members, Social Security numbers, health records, or financial information was publicized by doxxers.

Victims in our study reported several far-reaching impacts: many noted mental health struggles, describing anxiety, sleeplessness, and even hospitalization. Others faced financial consequences when criminals used stolen information to commit fraud, forcing victims to fight for months to recover their funds. Some saw their professional reputations destroyed, with employers reprimanding or even firing them after leaks. And for many, the most terrifying impact was the loss of physical safety: threatening calls, strangers showing up at their homes, and in extreme cases, stalkers camping near their property.

Most victims we talked to took immediate steps to remove or lock down personal information and tighten privacy settings on social platforms. Many alerted friends and family so they wouldn’t be blindsided. Some changed phone numbers or email addresses, and others added security measures at home. Others consulted attorneys or sought mental-health support, but only a very small number contacted law enforcement.

Americans’ Doxxing Concerns and Prevention Measures

Even the threat of doxxing can take a mental toll. In 2025, 77 percent of Americans said they are at least somewhat concerned about the danger. Personal safety fears rose the most, climbing eight percentage points to 70 percent. Concerns about cyberbullying as a result of doxxing also jumped from 22 to 32 percent of respondents.

Most Concerning Aspects of Doxxing (2024 vs. 2025)

Note: Up to three responses allowed

Despite growing concern, most Americans are not increasing their defenses. The majority continue to take some basic precautions, such as limiting what they share online (72 percent) or adjusting their social media privacy settings (55 percent). However, these numbers have not meaningfully increased since our last study.

Protective Actions Against Doxxing (2024 vs. 2025)

Note: Multiple responses allowed

This disconnect—high fear but flat or declining action—reflects what experts describe as “privacy fatigue”: a sense that the risks are inevitable, or that individual precautions are not enough.

The survey also uncovered a troubling preparedness gap. More than half of Americans—57 percent—say they avoid sharing political views online out of fear of being targeted. At the same time, 81 percent believe the risk of doxxing will increase in the future.

Attitudes About Doxxing Risk & Preparedness

However, confidence in handling an attack is much lower. Just 25 percent say they could successfully remove their personal information from the internet, and only 22 percent believe they would know what steps to take if they were doxxed.

Who Deserves to Be Doxxed?

While most Americans say no one ever deserves to have their private information exposed online, SafeHome.org’s 2025 survey shows that public opinion is far from unanimous. Sixty-one percent of respondents agreed with the statement “No one ever deserves to be doxxed.” But nearly one in five disagreed, leaving space for the idea that some circumstances might justify exposure.

Public Opinion on Who Deserves to Be Doxxed

When presented with specific scenarios, attitudes shifted. A small minority—about 15 percent—said people who cheat on their spouse deserve to be doxxed. Younger adults ages 18–29 were more likely to endorse this idea (20 percent) than older groups, but strong majorities disagreed across all demographics. This suggests that while some view doxxing as a kind of vigilante justice for personal betrayals, most Americans reject it as a proportionate response.

The public was more divided when the scenario involved crime. Three in ten Americans said it was fair to doxx someone who had committed a crime but avoided legal consequences. Younger adults again expressed more support, with 36 percent of 18–29-year-olds agreeing compared to just 26 percent of those over 60. Still, nearly half of the respondents disagreed, indicating that most people remain wary of replacing the justice system with online shaming.

When asked about public figures, opinions split almost evenly. Forty percent agreed that politicians, celebrities, and other public figures should expect their private details to be exposed if they behave unethically, while another 40 percent disagreed. Older respondents were slightly more likely than younger ones to strongly support this idea, highlighting how public accountability is seen differently across generations.

Finally, respondents were asked in general whether doxxing can sometimes be justified when the person exposed has harmed others. About 38 percent agreed, but an almost identical share (40 percent) disagreed. Here again, younger adults were more inclined to see doxxing as justified, while older adults were more skeptical.

How to Protect Yourself From Doxxing

Our data revealed many people experience anxiety about the threat of doxxing, but practicing basic online safety and hygiene can go a long way toward reducing the risk. Many attacks begin with information that’s already publicly available, so taking simple steps to limit your digital footprint, lock down accounts, and prepare a response plan can make you a much harder target.

Doxxing Prevention Checklist:

Limit what you share online. Avoid posting your home address, phone number, workplace, or other identifying details on social media or public forums.

Tighten privacy settings. Review your profiles on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other platforms to control who can see your posts and personal information.

Use strong, unique passwords. Protect accounts with long, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible.

Scrub your personal data. Search for your name online and request removal of your information from data broker sites (many offer opt-out forms).

Use separate contact info. Consider a secondary email address or phone number for online sign-ups, leaving your main accounts less exposed.

Be cautious in heated debates. Online arguments — especially about politics — are a common trigger for doxxing attacks. Discussing your opinions with trusted family and friends can be much safer than posting them online.

Our Data and Methodology

This study was designed to measure the prevalence, attitudes, and consequences of doxxing among U.S. adults in 2025. A quantitative approach was employed, utilizing two online surveys administered to a target population of adults aged 18 and older residing in the United States. The questionnaires included questions on doxxing prevalence, incident motivations, emotional and financial impacts, and reporting behaviors.

Participants were recruited through an online research platform to ensure a diverse and representative sample. To ensure national representativeness, the sample was stratified to match the 2020 U.S. Census benchmarks for age, gender, and race/ethnicity.

Data collection occurred during two periods: September 9-10, 2025, and September 17-19, 2025. The online surveys covered key modules such as incident details, perpetrator relationships, channels of attack, and awareness of AI's role in doxxing. Only fully completed surveys from screened and eligible participants were included in the analysis to maintain data integrity.  Findings were compared with SafeHome.org’s 2024 survey of 1,003 adults to track year-over-year trends.

The resulting analysis carries a margin of error of ±3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Combining a large, stratified national sample, demographic weighting, and robust data collection procedures ensures the rigor and reliability of this report's findings.