How to Remove Your Information From People Search Sites

What Are People Search Sites?

People search sites are websites that collect personal information from public records, social media and data brokers, then use the information to compile reports on individuals. Some of these sites are ad-supported and provide free access to your personal information. But many require users to buy one-off reports or sign up for a paid subscription.

There are legitimate reasons for using these sites, such as reconnecting with old friends or performing a background check before going on a first date. But the sites also make it easier for hackers, identity thieves, stalkers and abusers to find and track victims.

Each site may have different information about an individual, but details may include:

• Name and aliases
• Age
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Marital status and history
• Address history
• Phone numbers
• Email addresses
• Property records
• Driving history
• Voter registration information
• Employment history
• Criminal record
• Professional licenses
• Information about family members

How to Remove Your Information From People Search Sites

Removing your information from people search websites can be difficult and time-consuming. Services like Experian's free personal privacy scan can help, and might even handle the entire process for some sites. But here are the general steps you can take if you want to go the DIY route.

1. Search Your Name

Start by using a search engine to look up your name, and check for people search websites in the results. Other people looking up your name may see similar results. This can give you a good list of sites to target once you start sending removal requests.

2. Check Common People Search Sites for Your Information

You can also search for your information on popular people search websites, such as Spokeo, BeenVerified and TruthFinder. This could take a lot of time, especially when the sites make you go through multiple steps and add arbitrary loading screens and wait times.

These sites may ask you to pay to see your results. But paying isn't necessary if you just want to verify the company has your information before sending an opt-out request.

If you're not sure where to start, check out these comprehensive lists of people search sites:

• The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse's list of data brokers
• List of People Searching Websites from the Minnesota House of Representatives
• A Guide to Doxxing Yourself on the Internet from The New York Times

3. Tell the Company to Remove Your Information

If you find details on a people search site that you want removed, send a formal request to the site to delete or suppress your information. You might find opt-out tools or procedures on the website itself, under sections like "Do not use or sell my info."

If not, you can use a search engine and look up the company's name along with terms like "remove," "delete" and "opt-out." The process can vary from one site to another, and the links to their opt-out or requests pages regularly change.

4. Wait and Check if Your Information Was Removed

It may take around 45 days to hear back from the people search site, according to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. The site may confirm it completed your request—or it may ask for an extension or deny the request if allowed by law.

If the site granted your request, then your information shouldn't appear in the company's public results. You can try to verify this by waiting a week and searching for your name on the website. Consider using an incognito browser tab to get a better sense of what others will see.

5. Recheck the Sites in the Future

You may also want to recheck the sites in the future. Even if they delete or suppress your profile today, you could wind up back on the sites if there are new public records or other information.

You may want to repeat the process every few months because new people search websites are launched all the time. Some sites also might add info back into their results if they find new public records associated with you or purchase new information about you from a data broker.

What Privacy Laws Protect Your Personal Information?

The United States does not currently have a comprehensive federal consumer data privacy law that gives everyone the right to delete their personal information from data brokers.

Instead, federal privacy protections generally apply to specific types of information or industries, such as health information, financial data, children's data and credit reports. Some of these laws give individuals the right to request deletion or opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal data.

Your rights may also depend on where you live. A growing number of states have enacted comprehensive consumer privacy laws that give residents more control over personal information collected by businesses. Although the details and scope of these laws vary in each state, common protections include the right to access and delete certain personal information and opt out of having the data sold.

States with particularly broad consumer privacy protections include:

• California: The California Consumer Privacy Act gives residents the right to delete certain personal information and opt out of having it sold or shared. California also offers the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP), which allows residents to send a single deletion request to registered data brokers.
• Colorado: The Colorado Privacy Act gives residents the right to access, correct and delete personal data. Residents can also opt out of having the data sold or used for targeted advertising and certain types of profiling.
• Connecticut: The Connecticut Data Privacy Act gives residents the right to delete personal data, including information obtained from third parties. Residents can also opt out of the sale of their personal data, targeted advertising and certain profiling.
• Texas: The Texas Data Privacy and Security Act gives residents the right to delete personal data provided by or obtained about them. They may also opt out of the sale of their personal data, targeted advertising and certain profiling.

How to Protect Your Identity Going Forward

Removing yourself from people search websites can be an ongoing process. But there are a few things you can do to help protect your privacy and identity:

• Limit what you share online. Try not to share a lot of personal information on social media. You can also review the privacy settings in your social media accounts and limit what other people can see.
• Reduce your digital footprint. Go through your old email, social media, banking, shopping and entertainment profiles, and delete the ones you no longer want or use. This may help you avoid identity theft after data leaks.
• Use Experian's personal privacy scan. Get a free one-time personal privacy scan to see if your information is on covered people finder sites. Experian members with a paid premium membership receive periodic scans and get help removing their information from the covered sites.
• Sign up for identity theft protection. Look into identity protection services that monitor multiple databases. Some services can alert you if your information is found on the dark web or in court records, and when there are changes in your credit reports and financial accounts.

You may have additional options if you're trying to conceal your information because you're worried about an abuser or stalker. For example, many states can create a substitute mailing address for you and forward your mail while keeping your actual address confidential. You can search for address confidentiality programs in your state to see if this is an option.

The Bottom Line

People finder sites buy, collect and sell data on millions of people. Your information might be on dozens of these websites, making it easy for someone else to learn more about you, contact you or steal your identity. Removing your information isn't always easy. You can send requests to each of the sites or use services that can look for your info and submit removal requests on your behalf. In either case, keeping your info off these sites can be an ongoing task.