About Barnveil
Founded by a PI who was tired of seeing the same problem go unsolved.
"I spent years as a private investigator finding people who didn't want to be found. Then I realised the bigger problem was the other way round. Good people who had no idea how findable they were."
Aaron Barnes-Wilding
Founder & Lead Investigator
I started as a private investigator. Online harassment, fraud, stalking. The cases where someone's life gets turned upside down because the wrong person found the right information. I did that for five years. 400+ investigations.
The pattern was always the same. Someone would come to me after the damage was done. An ex-partner found their new address through a data broker. A scammer built a profile from public records and social media. A stalker pieced together a daily routine from check-ins and tagged photos. Every time, the information had been sitting there for anyone to find.
I also worked as a financial crime investigator at a major UK bank. That showed me the other side: how methodically bad actors harvest personal data, and how little most people understand about what's already out there with their name on it.
So I built The Barnveil Protocol. I use the same techniques I used to find people, but I point them at you, find everything a bad actor could find, and then help you clean it up. Every client works directly with a senior investigator. No junior staff. No automated scans. Just PIs doing what PIs do, except this time you're the one who benefits from it.
How We Work
You deal with a senior investigator directly
No account managers. No junior analysts. A senior investigator runs your investigation personally. The person who writes your report is the person who walks you through it.
We will tell you the truth
If we don't think you need this, we'll say so. If something can't be removed, we'll explain why. We'd rather lose a sale than waste your money.
We think like the threat
Software scans databases. We think like the person trying to find you. That means checking the places automated tools miss: court records, archived posts, social connections, data brokers most people have never heard of.
No scare tactics
Some privacy companies sell fear. We sell clarity. You'll know exactly what's out there, exactly how serious it is, and exactly what we can do about it. Then you decide.
"I've seen what happens when someone's personal information ends up in the wrong hands. It doesn't stay online. It follows them home. I built Barnveil so people could find out what's exposed before someone else does."
— Aaron Barnes-Wilding