To opt out of data broker sites, you file a deletion request with each people search company that holds your profile, using the “Do Not Sell My Info” or “Opt Out” link at the bottom of the site. Roughly 750 or more data brokers operate in the United States, so meaningful cleanup takes sustained effort across many platforms. California residents can now use a single centralized portal that reaches over 500 registered brokers at once. Everyone else works site by site, with periodic re-checks to catch profiles that reappear.
What You Can Remove and What Stays Public
Government-held records almost never come down. Property deeds recorded at a county recorder’s office are public by design. Bankruptcy filings are open to examination by law, accessible through any bankruptcy clerk’s office or the federal PACER system.1United States Courts. Bankruptcy Case Records and Credit Reporting Court records, tax liens, voter registrations, and marriage licenses follow similar rules under state open records laws.
What you can remove are the commercial profiles that private companies build by scraping those records and combining them with credit header data, social media activity, and purchase histories. Spokeo, BeenVerified, WhitePages, Intelius, and similar people search sites are businesses, not government agencies. They have no legal obligation to keep your profile published, and most are required by state privacy laws to honor deletion requests. You are not removing yourself from public records. You are removing yourself from the for-profit databases that repackage them.
Finding Your Profiles First
Search your own name paired with your city or zip code in a regular search engine. Try variations: maiden names, former addresses, middle initials. People search sites index well because they are built to attract traffic, so they surface quickly in results. Each profile has a unique URL you will need for the removal request, so copy those links into a spreadsheet as you find them.
Many sites bury profiles behind paywalls and preview screens designed to sell you a “full report.” You do not need to buy anything. The preview page confirms the site has your data, and its URL is what you paste into the opt-out form. Expect at least a dozen profiles on a first pass, often more. The same underlying record tends to show up across multiple sites because a handful of aggregators sell data downstream to smaller people search companies.
Submitting an Opt-Out Request
The pattern is similar across brokers. Look for a link at the bottom of the site labeled “Do Not Sell My Info,” “Privacy Policy,” or “Opt Out.” Every major data broker has one, in part because state privacy laws require it. The link leads to a form asking for enough identifying information to match the record.
Most sites ask for your full legal name, date of birth, and a current or former address. Some require a working email address for verification. A few demand a photo of a government-issued ID to confirm you are the person in the record. If a site asks for ID, redact your photo and ID number with a black marker or digital editing tool before uploading. The site needs your name and date of birth, not your driver’s license number.
After submitting, watch for an automated verification email with a confirmation link. Clicking that link is what activates the request. Skip it or let it expire and the submission goes nowhere. Some sites throw up secondary screens trying to sell you a monitoring service; ignore those and look for the final confirmation. Record the submission date and any confirmation number in your tracking spreadsheet.
The California DROP Portal
California launched a tool in January 2026 that changes the math for residents. The Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform, known as DROP, lets a California resident submit a single deletion request that reaches over 500 registered data brokers at once.2California Privacy Protection Agency. Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) You verify your identity, create a profile with as much or as little personal information as you choose, and submit one request. The service is free.
Beginning August 1, 2026, data brokers are legally required to access the DROP system at least once every 45 days and process all pending deletion requests within that window. After the initial deletion, brokers must continue purging any newly collected information about that consumer every 45 days and cannot sell or share new personal data about them going forward.3California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1798.99.86 If a broker cannot verify a deletion request, it must still process it as an opt-out of the sale or sharing of that consumer’s data.
DROP is limited to California residents, but the practical reach is wider. Many large brokers operate nationally and apply consistent deletion practices across states, so a DROP filing often clears profiles for users who see the results everywhere.
Using State Privacy Laws If You Live Elsewhere
Approximately 20 states now have comprehensive consumer data privacy laws in effect, with Indiana, Kentucky, and Rhode Island among the most recent, taking effect at the start of 2026. Most include a right to request deletion and a right to opt out of the sale of personal data. The mechanics vary, but the core process is the same: locate the company’s privacy page, submit a verifiable request, and wait.
Even without a state law behind you, opt-out requests still work. Most major brokers honor deletion requests from any user regardless of location, because maintaining one process is cheaper than verifying where each requester lives. Referencing your rights under the broker’s published privacy policy gives the request more weight than a generic ask.
Cleaning Up Search Engine Results
Deleting a profile does not immediately remove it from search engine results. Cached pages can linger in indexes for weeks. Google offers a separate process for requesting removal of personal information like home addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses from its search results.4Google. Remove My Private Info From Google Search You submit the specific URLs where your information appears, and Google decides whether the content qualifies for full or partial removal.
Full removal means the page no longer appears in any Google search. Partial removal means it will not surface for searches of your name but could still appear for other queries. Google may decline removal if the information is newsworthy or of public interest. Its removal only affects Google’s index; if the underlying page still exists on the broker’s site, other search engines and direct links still work. Remove the source profile first, then clean up search results.
How Long Removal Takes and Why Profiles Come Back
Processing times run from a few days to about 45 days depending on the broker. Under California’s Delete Act, covered brokers must complete deletions within 45 days of receiving a request.3California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1798.99.86 Many smaller sites move faster, sometimes within 48 to 72 hours. You should receive a confirmation email when the record has been suppressed or deleted.
That word “suppressed” matters. Most brokers hide your data from public search rather than permanently destroying it. When new information about you enters their pipeline — a move, a new phone number, a fresh public record — a broker may generate a new profile. One round of opt-outs is not enough. Re-check search results every few months, using both old and new addresses, and re-file for any profiles that come back. California residents who use DROP have a lighter ongoing burden, because brokers must automatically purge new data every 45 days without a fresh submission.
Paid Data Removal Services
If filing dozens of individual requests and rechecking every quarter sounds exhausting, paid services will do the work for you. They submit opt-out requests, monitor for re-listings, and file new requests when profiles reappear. Annual subscriptions typically run $100 to $200, with budget options starting closer to $50 and premium tiers going higher. Most cover somewhere between 50 and 200 broker sites.
Whether they are worth it depends on how many profiles exist under your name and what your time is worth. A common name with addresses in multiple states produces far more profiles than an unusual name tied to one place. Paid services handle repetitive filing well, but they cannot remove government records, and most do not cover search engine removal. If you sign up, look for one that gives you a dashboard showing which brokers were contacted, which requests are complete, and which profiles appeared in scans.
If You Face a Physical Threat
People facing direct physical threats need stronger protection than opt-outs provide. Roughly 40 or more states operate address confidentiality programs for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking. These programs assign a substitute mailing address that participants use on all public records, keeping the actual location out of government databases in the first place. Eligibility generally requires documentation such as a protective order or police report, and participation typically lasts a few years before renewal.
Because these programs work upstream — replacing your address at the government-record level — brokers scraping those records pick up the substitute address instead. Enrolling before you file opt-out requests makes the whole process more effective. Your state attorney general’s office or a local victim services organization can tell you whether the program is available and how to apply.
Will Opting Out Affect Background Checks
A common worry is that removing your data will interfere with employment or tenant screening. In practice, the two systems are largely separate. Formal background checks conducted by employers and landlords are regulated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and pull from consumer reporting agencies, a category with accuracy, access, and dispute requirements that most people search sites do not meet. Deleting your profile from Spokeo or WhitePages does not remove your records from the databases licensed background check companies use.
Some small landlords and informal screeners do use people search sites as a shortcut. Opting out could mean a casual search turns up less, which in rare cases might slow someone down if they expect to find your information easily. For most people, the privacy benefits outweigh that minor inconvenience. Regulated background checks for employment, housing, and credit will proceed normally regardless of what you do on people search sites.