How to opt out of the major data brokers manually

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You can opt out of the major brokers yourself. It is not hard. It is tedious, and the brokers count on you quitting partway through. None of these sites want you off their database, because they sell reports for money. Your opt-out costs them a listing.

A few ground rules before you start.

Use a dedicated email address, not your daily inbox. Most opt-outs need an email confirmation, and you will get "your data is back" follow-ups for years. Make a free Gmail or ProtonMail address you use only for this.

Do not 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 secondary number, not your personal cell.

Expect re-listing. A clean opt-out does not last. Most brokers refresh their data from the same public-records feeds every few months, and the next refresh can add you back unless you opt out again.

Opt-out URLs and steps change often. Confirm the current process on each site, or on our broker page for that site, before you rely on it.

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

Spokeo

The household name. High search presence, often the top result for a name search. Spokeo, Inc. runs it as an independent company, so opting out here does not touch any other broker.

Process: go to spokeo.com/optout, paste the URL of the listing you want removed, enter your email, and click the confirmation link they send. Removal is usually quick, often within the hour.

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

Re-listing: Spokeo refreshes from voter and property records, so plan to opt out again periodically. See the Spokeo broker page for the current opt-out form.

Whitepages

One of the most-cited people-search sites. The free tier shows your name, age, address, and relatives. The paid Premium tier shows more.

Process: search yourself at whitepages.com, click your listing, then use the "claim and edit" or suppression flow and follow the phone-verification step. Whitepages calls a phone number already tied to your record. If they do not have your current cell, the verification fails.

Catch: if your only listed phone is a landline you no longer have, verification fails, and some people end up calling Whitepages support to finish. Suppression usually takes a day or two to go live.

Whitepages also runs a paid Premium product. The opt-out covers both, though the Premium index can lag. See the Whitepages broker page for the current process.

BeenVerified

A background-check site with deeper data than Spokeo, including court records, criminal-history references, and known associates.

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

Catch: BeenVerified is owned by The Lifetime Value Company, which runs several sister brands, including PeopleLooker, NeighborWho, Ownerly, and NumberGuru. One opt-out does not cover them all. You opt out of each site separately.

Re-listing: BeenVerified pulls from the same parent feed and can add you back at the next refresh, so check back periodically. See the BeenVerified broker page for current details.

Intelius

Owned by PeopleConnect. Marketed to landlords and HR teams running tenant or employment screens.

Process: go to intelius.com/opt-out, search your name, click your listing, submit the opt-out request, and verify the email. Intelius tends to be slower than the other majors, so give it a week or two.

Catch: PeopleConnect also runs TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, US Search, and Classmates on shared data. Removal at Intelius does not clear those sister sites. Opt out of each one separately. You can also use the PeopleConnect suppression center to cover its brands in one place.

Re-listing: Intelius refreshes periodically and can add you back at the next pull. See the Intelius broker page for the current form.

PeopleFinders

One of the older players. Its report shows address history, relatives, phone numbers, email addresses, and sometimes an employer.

Process: go to peoplefinders.com/manage, choose public-record removal, enter your name and email, complete the CAPTCHA, and click the verification link they send. Removal usually takes a few days.

Catch: PeopleFinders also runs Public Records Now on the same data, and opting out of PeopleFinders covers that site. PeopleFinders offers a paid "premium" suppression product, but you do not need it. The free opt-out covers the same records. See the PeopleFinders broker page.

MyLife

MyLife publishes a "reputation score" alongside your address and relatives, then charges to "fix" the score. In 2020 the Department of Justice, acting for the FTC, sued MyLife and its CEO over misleading background reports and deceptive subscription billing. In 2021 the company and its CEO agreed to judgments totaling about $34 million and were banned from certain auto-renewal marketing practices.

Process: use the opt-out form at mylife.com/ccpa. CCPA is California's consumer privacy law, which gives California residents the right to ask a company to delete their personal information. The form is available to use regardless of your state. Some people report a MyLife rep calling to talk them out of it, or being told there is a fee. You do not need to pay to submit the opt-out.

Catch: MyLife can re-list at its next refresh, so this is one to recheck periodically. See the MyLife broker page for current options.

TruePeopleSearch

Free. No paywall, no signup, and no email required to view a report. This is the kind of site a stranger lands on when they search your name.

Process: go to truepeoplesearch.com/removal, paste the URL of your listing, enter your email, and click the verification link. Removal is usually quick, often within a day.

Catch: TruePeopleSearch shares an operator with FastPeopleSearch and other free sites, but the opt-out only covers TruePeopleSearch. Opt out of the others separately.

Re-listing: because it is free and indexed heavily by search engines, this is often the first site to show up when someone looks you up, and it can reappear after a refresh. See the TruePeopleSearch broker page.

FastPeopleSearch

A sibling of TruePeopleSearch. Same operator, same data, separate opt-out.

Process: go to fastpeoplesearch.com/removal, paste the URL, enter your email, and verify. Same flow as TruePeopleSearch.

Catch: the same operator runs several other free people-search sites under different domains, including US Phonebook and CyberBackgroundChecks. Each one is a separate opt-out. See the FastPeopleSearch broker page for the sites we track.

What "removed" actually means

A successful opt-out takes your current listing off the broker's public site. It does not delete your data from their internal systems. Most brokers keep a version of your record so they can re-list you against the next public-records refresh.

Refresh windows vary by site, from a few weeks to several months. The pattern is the same across all of them: you come off now, and you can come back at the next pull unless you opt out again.

One round is not enough. To keep the sites in this guide clear by hand, you repeat the cycle a few times a year.

When the manual round runs out

You work through the eight sites in this guide by hand. Months later, MyLife has you again, Spokeo has you again, and Whitepages added a variant under a different spelling of your name. That is the cycle, and it runs on far more sites than the ones listed here.

If you would rather not run it yourself, run a free scan and see what is still listed. That is your baseline. From there, we file the removals and keep checking for records that come back, and we tell you when a site needs something from you.