How to opt out of the major data brokers manually

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You can opt out of the major brokers yourself. It's not hard. It's just tedious, and the brokers count on you giving up halfway through. None of these sites want you off their database. They make money by selling reports. Your opt-out is a hit to revenue.

A few ground rules before you start.

Use a dedicated email address, not your daily inbox. Most opt-outs require an email confirmation. You'll also get follow-up "we noticed your data is back" emails for years. Make a free Gmail or ProtonMail address you only use for this.

Don't give a phone number unless the form forces you. Brokers cross-reference phone numbers, and some sites add the number you provide to your existing record. If a site requires a phone, use a Google Voice or burner number, not your real cell.

Expect re-listing. Even a clean opt-out doesn't last forever. Most brokers refresh their data every 3-6 months from the same public-records feeds. The opt-out removes your current record. The next refresh adds you back unless you opt out again.

Run a free scan first so you know which sites actually have you. No point opting out of one that never listed you.

Spokeo

The household name. Highest SEO presence, often the top result for a name search.

Process: go to spokeo.com/optout, paste the URL of the listing you want removed, enter your email, click the confirmation link they send. Removal usually completes within 30 minutes.

Catch: Spokeo only removes the specific URL you submit. If you have three listings under variant spellings of your name, you have to opt out of each one separately. Search yourself first, copy each URL, submit each one.

Re-listing pattern: Spokeo refreshes from voter and property records every 4-6 months. Plan to re-opt out twice a year. See the Spokeo broker page for the current opt-out form URL.

Whitepages

The second most-cited people-search site. The free tier shows your name, age, address, and relatives. The paid Premium tier adds a lot more.

Process: search yourself at whitepages.com, click your listing, click "claim and edit" or scroll to the suppression section, follow the phone-verification flow. Whitepages calls a phone number already tied to your record. If they don't have your current cell, the verification fails.

Catch: if your only listed phone is a landline you no longer have, the verification fails. Some officers end up calling Whitepages support. Expect 24-48 hours for the suppression to go live.

Whitepages also runs a separate paid Premium product. The opt-out covers both, but the Premium index sometimes lags by a week. See the Whitepages broker page for the current process.

BeenVerified

Background-check site. Deeper data than Spokeo — includes court records, criminal history references, and known associates.

Process: go to beenverified.com/app/optout/search, search your name, find your listing, click "Proceed to Opt Out," verify the email they send. Removal usually completes within 24 hours.

Catch: BeenVerified is owned by the same parent company (PeopleConnect) as Intelius, Spokeo, and a handful of others. One opt-out does not propagate. You opt out of each sister site separately.

The other catch: BeenVerified re-lists from the same parent feed quickly. Plan to recheck every 60 days. See the BeenVerified broker page for current details.

Intelius

PeopleConnect family, like BeenVerified. Marketed at landlords and HR departments running tenant or employment screens.

Process: intelius.com/opt-out, search your name, click your listing, submit the opt-out request, verify the email. Intelius takes the longest of the major brokers — expect 7-14 days for full removal.

Catch: Intelius shares its data warehouse with several sister sites. Removal here doesn't always remove your data from Classmates, USSearch, or PeopleSmart even though they're sibling products. Verify each one separately.

Re-listing: Intelius refreshes every 4-6 months and is one of the more aggressive re-listers. See the Intelius broker page for the current form.

PeopleFinders

PeopleFinders is one of the older players. Their report shows full address history, relatives, phone numbers, email addresses, and sometimes employer.

Process: peoplefinders.com/manage, search your name, click "remove this record," enter your email, click the verification link. Usually completes in 48-72 hours.

Catch: PeopleFinders has a sister site called PublicRecords.com that runs on the same data warehouse. Opt out of both. They also offer a "premium" suppression product for $19.95 — ignore it. The free opt-out covers everything the paid one does. See the PeopleFinders broker page.

MyLife

MyLife is the worst of the major brokers. They publish a "reputation score" alongside your address and relatives, then charge to "fix" the score. The FTC has filed against them more than once.

Process: mylife.com/ccpa, fill out the form, expect a phone call from a MyLife rep trying to talk you out of it. Some users have been told the opt-out requires a $35 fee. It does not. Cite CCPA — California's consumer privacy law gives you the right to demand deletion. If you're not in CA, refuse the fee and resubmit. The form opt-out is free, by law.

Catch: MyLife re-lists faster than any other site we track. Sometimes within 30 days. The continuous-removal pipeline matters here more than anywhere else. See the MyLife broker page for current options.

TruePeopleSearch

Free. No paywall, no signup, no email required to view a report. The site a stranger lands on when they Google your name.

Process: truepeoplesearch.com/removal, paste the URL of your listing, enter your email, click the verification link. Removal usually completes within an hour.

Catch: TruePeopleSearch is run by the same operator as FastPeopleSearch and a few smaller free sites. The opt-out propagates to TruePeopleSearch only — opt out of FastPeopleSearch separately.

Re-listing: about every 3 months. Because it's free and indexed aggressively by Google, this is the site most likely to show up first when someone searches you. See the TruePeopleSearch broker page.

FastPeopleSearch

Sibling of TruePeopleSearch. Same operator, same data warehouse, separate opt-out.

Process: fastpeoplesearch.com/removal, paste the URL, enter your email, verify. Same flow as TruePeopleSearch. Removal completes within an hour.

Catch: same operator runs at least three other free people-search sites under different domain names. Each one is a separate opt-out. We track the active list and update it as new sites appear. See the FastPeopleSearch broker page.

What "removed" actually means

A successful opt-out removes your current record from the broker's public site. It does not erase your data from their internal systems. Most brokers retain a hashed or de-identified version so they can re-list you against the next public-records refresh.

Refresh windows vary. Spokeo: 4-6 months. BeenVerified: 60-90 days. MyLife: as fast as 30 days. TruePeopleSearch: 90 days. FastPeopleSearch: 90 days. Whitepages: 6 months for the free tier, 12 months for Premium.

You're not done after one round. You're doing the first round. Expect to repeat the cycle 3-4 times a year for the rest of your life if you do this manually.

That math is why we exist. Doing this once a quarter for 9 brokers is one Saturday morning. Doing it across 200+ sites every two weeks isn't a hobby — it's a job.

When the manual round runs out

You did the nine sites in this guide on a Saturday. Six months later, MyLife has you again. So does Spokeo. Whitepages added a new variant under your maiden name. That's the cycle.

If you want to stop running the cycle yourself, run a free scan and see what's still listed. That's the baseline. From there, we keep it that way.