How to remove your info from data broker and people-search sites

Type your name into a search engine and you'll probably find yourself on sites like Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, Radaris, TruePeopleSearch, FastPeopleSearch, MyLife and Intelius. They show your current and past addresses, phone numbers, age, relatives and sometimes email addresses, often for free, with more behind a paywall.

They build those profiles from property records, voter files where states allow it, court records, old phone directories, marketing lists and other data brokers. Most of it is legal to collect. That doesn't make it harmless. These listings are how stalkers find new addresses, how scammers make a call sound convincing ("I'm calling about your mother, Linda, in Tucson"), and how fraudsters answer security questions.

Several sites belong to the same company. PeopleConnect, for example, runs Intelius, Instant Checkmate and TruthFinder, and handles opt-outs for its brands from one suppression page. One request can clear more than one site, so check the opt-out page for a list of sister brands.

• Create an email alias just for opt-outs. Most sites send a confirmation link, and some will add that address to their records or marketing lists. A throwaway alias keeps your real inbox out of it. See how to use email aliases for free ways to make one.
• Write down every variation of your name and address. Maiden names, nicknames, middle initials, and the last few addresses you lived at. Brokers often hold several profiles for one person.
• Keep a simple log. A note or spreadsheet with the site, the date you asked, and the listing URL. You'll need it when you re-check.
• Don't hand over more than they already have. Some forms ask for extra details. Give only what is needed to match the listing. Never send a photo of your ID to a site that doesn't require it.

1. Search yourself. Go to the site and search your name and state. Open each result that matches you and copy the profile URL.
2. Find the opt-out page. It's almost always linked in the footer as "Do not sell my info," "Privacy," "Opt out" or "Remove my information." If you can't find it, search the site name plus "opt out."
3. Submit the request. Paste the profile URL or search for yourself in the opt-out tool, select your listing, and enter your alias email.
4. Verify. Click the confirmation link in the email. Whitepages and a few others may also ask you to confirm by phone. Some remove listings within a day. Others take a few weeks.
5. Confirm it's gone. Search again after the stated period. Search engines may show a cached copy for a while after the page itself disappears.

Start with the sites that come up first when you search your own name, since those are the ones a stranger will find. Then work through the bigger names in the list above. Budget a few hours for the first pass.

Removing a listing at the source is best. But Google also lets you request removal of search results that show your personal contact details, even when the page is still up.

Go to Results about you while signed into your Google account. Add the phone numbers, home addresses and email addresses you want monitored. Google will look for results that contain them and let you request removal from the list it finds. You can also ask to be notified when new results appear.

Two limits: it removes the result from Google Search, not the page from the broker's site, and Bing and other engines aren't covered. It's still worth ten minutes, because most people find these listings through Google.

California's Delete Act and DROP

California's Delete Act created the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, known as DROP, run by the California Privacy Protection Agency. It lets California residents submit one deletion request that goes to every data broker registered with the state, instead of filing with each broker separately. The platform opened to residents in January 2026, and registered brokers had to start processing requests in August 2026. Brokers must then keep checking the platform and delete matching records on an ongoing basis.

If you live in California, this is the single most efficient step available. It covers only brokers that registered, and it doesn't erase public records like property filings at the source. But it reaches far more companies than you'd find by hand.

Data broker registries

California, Vermont, Texas and Oregon require data brokers to register with the state. The registries are public, and they're a useful way to see who is in the business and where each company says to send privacy requests. Search for your state's "data broker registry" on the state government site.

Several other states have general privacy laws giving residents a right to request deletion from businesses, and people-search sites usually honor opt-outs from anyone, regardless of state. If a site refuses or ignores you and your state has a privacy law, your state attorney general's office is the place to complain.

Opting out removes the profile the broker has today. It doesn't stop the broker buying a fresh batch of records next month, rebuilding a profile with your new address, and publishing it again. New brokers also appear all the time. That's why a one-time cleanup decays.

Put a reminder in your calendar every three to four months to search your name again on the sites in your log. The second and third passes go much faster than the first. Moving house, getting married, buying property or registering to vote often triggers new listings, so check after any of those.

Cutting off the supply helps too. Use email aliases and a secondary phone number when you sign up for loyalty programs and online shops, so fewer marketing lists tie your real details together.

Your home address is the detail most worth protecting, and the hardest to keep back, because deliveries, subscriptions and many accounts ask for it. A virtual mailbox gives you a real street address that receives and scans your post, so you can use it on forms instead of where you live. It costs money every month and some banks and government agencies still insist on a residential address, so it suits people with a specific reason (a stalker, a public-facing job, a home business) more than everyone. Anytime Mailbox (affiliate link) is one provider, with locations in most US cities; compare its addresses and scanning fees with the USPS PO Box option, which is cheaper but cannot be used everywhere a street address is required.

Doing it yourself costs nothing but time. A paid service makes sense when that time adds up: you appear on dozens of sites, you want a whole household covered, you've moved recently, or there's a safety reason (an abusive ex, a public-facing job, a past stalking incident) and you want someone re-checking continuously.

A good low-commitment first step is a free scan. Optery's free tier searches people-search sites and shows you where you're listed, with screenshots, and gives you guides for doing the opt-outs yourself. Even if you never pay, it's a quick way to build your to-do list.

Optery isn't the only option. DeleteMe, Incogni, Kanary and others work in similar ways, with different strengths. We compare them in data removal services compared. If your data turned up in a breach rather than on a broker site, the steps are different: start with what to do after a data breach and a free credit freeze.