Fix guide · Privacy

Off the Lists: How to Remove Yourself From People-Search Sites for Free

By , Tech Cheat Codes Team

Published 13 min read

Illustration: A hand checks off a paper checklist at a cozy desk while blank profile cards float up out of a laptop and fade away toward a night window.
On this page · 10 sections
  1. What these sites are
  2. Before you start
  3. Start with these 5 big sites
  4. Site-by-site steps
  5. Sites from the test you can't use right now
  6. Clean up Google results too
  7. If you live in California
  8. Why you'll need to do this again
  9. Printable tracker
  10. References

Type your name into a search engine and there's a good chance a site will show your home address, phone number, age and the names of your relatives to anyone who looks. You can pay a company to clean that up, but doing it yourself can work better. In a small 2024 Consumer Reports study, when researchers used the sites' own opt-out forms, about 70% of the personal info they found was gone within a week. Paid removal services had cleared only about 35% of it after four months.

Doing it yourself costs nothing. This guide walks you through each site, one at a time.

What these sites are

People-search sites are a kind of data broker, a company that collects information about people and sells it. They gather details about you from public records, social media profiles that anyone can see, and other data companies. They bundle it into a report and sell it. That report can include your current and past addresses, your phone number, your age and the names of family members.

Most of these sites let you ask them to stop showing your info. That's called opting out.

Before you start

  • Make a separate email address for this. Almost every form asks for an email, and the sites send confirmation links there.
  • Give as little as you can. Fill in only what a form needs. If a site asks for a photo ID, black out the license number first.
  • Don't pay and don't sign up. Every site below offers a free opt-out. Skip any offer for a paid "removal" or "identity protection" add-on you see along the way.
  • Search more than your name. Look yourself up by phone number and by home address too, not only by name.
  • Keep notes. Use the tracker at the end. Write down the date you sent each request and take a screenshot of each confirmation.

It can take a while. The whole job can take several hours to several days, depending on how thorough you want to be. You don't have to do it in one sitting.

Start with these 5 big sites

If you only have a little time, start here. These are big, well-known sites that were part of the Consumer Reports study. Each one is free.

  1. Whitepages. Heads-up: its opt-out asks for a phone number so an automated call can check it's you.
  2. Spokeo. Just the link to your listing and an email.
  3. Intelius. One request also covers TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate and US Search. Heads-up: it asks for your date of birth, and you can't change it once it's saved.
  4. BeenVerified. Your name, your state and an email. No date of birth, ID or phone call.
  5. ThatsThem. A short form. Heads-up: it asks for your street address, email and phone number.

Full steps for each are below.

Site-by-site steps

Whitepages

Opt-out page: https://www.whitepages.com/suppression-requests

  1. On whitepages.com, search your first and last name with your city and state.
  2. Find your listing and click View Details. Check that the phone number and address are yours.
  3. Copy the web address from the address bar at the top of your browser. It ends in a short code of letters and numbers.
  4. Open the opt-out page, paste the address and click Next.
  5. Check the details and click Remove Me.
  6. Pick a reason. Your answer doesn't affect the request.
  7. Enter a phone number and click Call Now to Verify. An automated call asks you to type in the four-digit code shown on your screen.
  8. The page confirms that your removal is in progress.

Good to know:

  • You can't edit a listing, only remove it.
  • Search engines may keep showing an old copy for up to 30 days.
  • Whitepages can't remove public records it doesn't control.
  • If you get stuck, use the Request Help button on the opt-out page.

Spokeo

Opt-out page: https://www.spokeo.com/optout

  1. Search your name on spokeo.com and open your listing.
  2. Copy its web address from the address bar.
  3. On the opt-out page, paste the address and enter your email.
  4. Click the link in the confirmation email.

Good to know:

  • Removal usually takes 24 to 48 hours.
  • You may have more than one listing. Each one has its own web address, and you have to opt out of each one separately.
  • Your info may show up again later as Spokeo gets new records, so check back.

Intelius (also covers TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate and US Search)

Opt-out page: https://suppression.peopleconnect.us/login

Intelius belongs to a company called PeopleConnect. Its free "Suppression Center" covers name searches on all of PeopleConnect's people-search sites, including TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, Intelius and US Search.

  1. Enter your email address and follow the link in the email you get.
  2. Enter your date of birth. Check it carefully. Once it's saved, you can't change it.
  3. Enter your current legal name. You can add past names too, like a maiden name.
  4. Pick the record that describes you.
  5. Choose a phone number or email address from that record that you still use. Enter the code the site sends to it.
  6. Under Desired Behavior, choose Suppressed and click Save. Verifying your identity alone doesn't hide your report. You have to save this setting.

Good to know:

  • This hides your report when someone searches your name. It doesn't cover Classmates.com, which is also owned by PeopleConnect.
  • Your info can still be available from other sources.

BeenVerified

Opt-out page: https://www.beenverified.com/app/optout/search

  1. Enter your First Name, Last Name and State. The state menu is optional and is set to All to start.
  2. Pass the "I'm not a robot" check and click Search.
  3. Find your record, select it and enter your email address.
  4. Open the verification email and click the link.
  5. A second email confirms your opt-out.

Good to know:

  • It's free, and you don't need to be a member. It doesn't ask for your date of birth, an ID or a phone call.
  • You can remove only one record online. To remove more, email privacy@beenverified.com.
  • Property Search and Contact Search have their own separate opt-outs.
  • Expect about 24 hours after the confirmation email.

ThatsThem

Opt-out page: https://thatsthem.com/optout

  1. Fill in every field: Full Name, Street Address, City, State, ZIP, Email and Phone. All of them are required.
  2. Click Submit Opt-Out Request.
  3. Watch for a confirmation email.

Good to know:

  • There's no date of birth field.
  • Requests are usually processed within 72 hours, and a confirmation email follows.
  • This only removes you from ThatsThem's own public search results. It doesn't affect other sites or public records.

CheckPeople

Opt-out page: https://checkpeople.com/opt-out

  1. On the "Suppression Center" page, enter your email address.
  2. Check the box to agree to the terms and click Continue.
  3. Open the verification email and click the link.
  4. Enter your date of birth. Check it carefully. Once it's saved, you can't change it.
  5. Enter your legal name.
  6. Pick the record that describes you.
  7. Choose the email address from that record and enter the code the site sends to it.
  8. Under Desired Behavior, choose Suppressed, check the box agreeing to suppress your data and save. You can't undo this step.

We couldn't go past the email step ourselves, so these later screens may look a little different for you.

Good to know:

  • Removal can take 5 to 7 business days, and longer for search engines to catch up.
  • Its opt-out covers the people-search sites CheckPeople owns.

PeopleFinders

Opt-out page: https://www.peoplefinders.com/opt-out

  1. Click Next.
  2. On the Record Suppression Form, fill in your First Name, Last Name, Street Address, City and State/Region.
  3. Middle name, email, phone and date of birth are optional. If you fill in a date of birth, use your real one. A fake one can get in the way of your opt-out.
  4. Check the certification box and pass the human check.
  5. Click Submit.

Good to know:

  • Removal is meant to take about 3 days. You'll see a notice that your request is processing, and then get a confirmation email.
  • If your record still shows up after that, clear your browser's cache, search again and send the form again.
  • You may see offers for paid add-ons along the way. You don't need them to opt out.

MyLife

Opt-out page: https://www.mylife.com/privacyrequest

  1. Pick your State first, because it changes the rest of the form. Then fill in your First Name, Last Name, City, ZIP and Email. If you see a Verify Email button, use it before you submit.
  2. Enter your Birth Year. It's required, but it only asks for the year.
  3. If you like, add a middle initial, a maiden name or other name you've used, and the web address of your MyLife listing. The form has a link to help you find your listing.
  4. Pass the "I'm not a robot" check and click Submit.

Good to know:

  • MyLife uses your email to let you know when the deletion is done.
  • It also unsubscribes that email address and deletes any MyLife accounts signed up with it. If you have a MyLife account you want to keep, use a different email.
  • The form doesn't give a set number of days for deletion.

Nuwber

Opt-out page: https://nuwber.com/removal/link

We couldn't load Nuwber's site to check its steps, so we can't walk you through them. If the page loads for you, follow the steps it shows. If it doesn't, try again at your next check-in.

Sites from the test you can't use right now

Four of the 13 sites in the Consumer Reports study weren't usable when we checked on Oct. 24, 2026:

  • Radaris and Dataveria: In a lawsuit under New Jersey's Daniel's Law, which protects the home addresses and unlisted home phone numbers of judges, police officers, prosecutors and some other public workers, a state court entered default judgments (rulings made when the other side doesn't defend the case) and ordered both web addresses transferred to the company that sued. Each address now shows that company's notice about the court order instead of people's info. In September, Radaris's lawyer said it had asked the court to undo the ruling, so the site could come back. It's worth checking again later.
  • ClustrMaps and PublicDataUSA: Neither site would load for us when we checked. They could come back, so look again at your next check-in.

Old results from these sites can still show up in Google. The next section covers how to deal with those.

Clean up Google results too

Google's free Results about you tool can find search results that show your home address, phone number or email, and let you ask Google to remove them. You can also turn on alerts for when new ones show up.

  • Start here: https://support.google.com/websearch/answer/12719076
  • Google may say no to some requests, like pages from government sites or newspapers.
  • Removing a result from Google doesn't delete the info from the website itself. You still need to opt out on the site.

If you live in California

California has a free state tool called DROP (Delete Request and Opt-out Platform). One request goes to more than 600 registered data brokers, telling them to delete your info and stop selling it. DROP opened on Jan. 1, 2026, and brokers had to start handling requests on Aug. 1, 2026.

  • Start here: https://privacy.ca.gov/drop/
  • You have to be a California resident. DROP checks that through a state verification step, and you don't need to make an account (signing in with Login.gov is an optional route).
  • In some cases you can file for another California resident, like a parent filing for a child or a family member helping an older relative. You need their permission, and you'll have to verify that they live in California.
  • Status updates can take up to 90 days to show up in DROP.
  • DROP covers only registered data brokers, and it doesn't cover some kinds of info, like public records (such as property and voter records) or info you gave a company directly. It's still a good idea to do the site-by-site opt-outs above as well.

Why you'll need to do this again

Opting out isn't a one-time fix. Your info can come back, especially after you move, change your phone number, or when public records are updated. You may also still show up in a relative's report. Opting out doesn't remove anything from government public records.

Plan to repeat the process about twice a year:

  1. Search each site again by name, phone number and address.
  2. Send a new request for any new listing you find.
  3. Check whether Radaris, Dataveria, ClustrMaps or PublicDataUSA are back, and whether Nuwber's page loads.
  4. Check your Google "Results about you" alerts.
  5. Do a check right away after a move or a new phone number.

Printable tracker

Print this table or copy it into a notes app. Fill in each row as you go.

Site Opt-out page Date sent Confirmation saved? Gone on (date) Check again on (date)
Whitepages whitepages.com/suppression-requests
Spokeo spokeo.com/optout
Intelius, TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, US Search suppression.peopleconnect.us/login
BeenVerified beenverified.com/app/optout/search
ThatsThem thatsthem.com/optout
CheckPeople checkpeople.com/opt-out
PeopleFinders peoplefinders.com/opt-out
MyLife mylife.com/privacyrequest
Nuwber nuwber.com/removal/link
Google "Results about you" support.google.com/websearch/answer/12719076
California DROP (California only) privacy.ca.gov/drop

References