Data Broker Removal: Free People Search Opt Out Help (2026)

Written by the Removal Lab team.

Is your home address, phone number and a list of your relatives sitting on people search sites for anyone to buy? In most cases you can get those listings taken down, but it takes one opt out per site and it is rarely a one time job. Removal Lab helps people find their listings, file the right opt out on each site and follow up when a listing comes back.

Each site and each search engine makes its own decision. Removal Lab cannot delete anything itself and never promises a result. What we can do is save you the hours of searching, copying links and confirming emails. The first check is free and confidential. There is no upfront payment on qualifying cases.

What is a data broker?

A data broker is a business that collects and sells information about people it has no direct relationship with. That is close to the wording in California law, which describes a business that sells to third parties the personal information of a consumer it does not deal with directly.

People search sites are one kind of data broker. The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says these sites build reports on people and sell them to anyone who pays. The FTC says the data comes from three places:

Other data brokers they buy from.
Public social media profiles.
Federal, state and local government public records.

That is why a listing can show your current and old addresses, phone numbers, age and the names of people you have lived with. Removal Lab sees the same pattern across the sites we cover in our guides.

Which people search sites should you check first?

Start with the big sites that tend to rank for a name search. The table below links to the step by step guide Removal Lab has written for each one. The routes come from those guides. Several of these sites blocked our tools when we tried to open their pages again for this update, so always follow the wording on the live site if it differs.

Site	What it can show	Opt out route	Our guide
Spokeo	Home address, age, relatives. One person can have several listings.	Paste each listing link into the Spokeo opt out page, then click the link in the confirmation email.	Spokeo opt out guide
Whitepages	Current and old addresses, phone numbers, relatives.	The removal link on the listing. California residents can also use the Whitepages CCPA page. Check 411.com too.	Whitepages opt out guide
BeenVerified	Old addresses, phone numbers, relatives, email addresses.	The BeenVerified opt out search page. Its California registration also covers sister sites, so check those too.	BeenVerified opt out guide
Intelius	Age, relatives, past addresses.	The link at the foot of your profile, or the PeopleConnect Suppression Center. PeopleConnect also runs TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate and US Search.	Intelius opt out guide
PeopleFinders	Address, phone, age, birthdate, records it says come from public databases.	Paste your profile link into the PeopleFinders opt out page, then confirm by email.	PeopleFinders opt out guide
Radaris	Profiles no longer show. The site displays a notice that the domain was transferred by court order.	No opt out form to use when we last checked. Clear old Google results with the Refresh outdated content tool.	Radaris opt out guide
TruePeopleSearch	Mobile number, names of people you lived with.	The removal link on the site, plus a separate Google Results about you request.	TruePeopleSearch opt out guide
FastPeopleSearch	Home address, relatives.	The removal link on your listing, plus Google tools for the search result.	FastPeopleSearch opt out guide

The FTC says you can opt out of these sites yourself, one by one, for free. You do not need to pay anyone. People come to Removal Lab when the list gets long, when listings keep coming back or when the address is tied to a safety worry.

Why do listings come back after you opt out?

Listings come back because the sites keep pulling in new records. An opt out usually covers the listing that exists today. It does not stop a new one being built tomorrow.

The FTC warns that your information could appear for sale again if your public records change. In our guides, Removal Lab found the same reasons come up again and again:

New records. A move, a new phone contract or a court filing can create a fresh listing that does not match your old opt out.
Name variations. A typo or a maiden name can produce a second listing. Our Spokeo guide explains that, by Spokeo’s own account, a new record may fail to match an earlier opt out.
Parent networks. One company can run many sites. The California registration for BeenVerified covers twelve other sites. PeopleConnect lists Intelius, TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate and US Search among its brands. An opt out on one brand may not cover the others.
Other people’s reports. The FTC notes that a relative’s or neighbour’s report may still list you.
Public records stay public. The FTC is clear that opting out does not delete your information from government records.

A simple habit that works

Keep a log of each site, the listing link and the date you opted out. Search your name every three months and after any move. Removal Lab uses the same routine for clients.

What does Google’s Results about you tool do?

Results about you asks Google to drop search results that show your phone number, home address or email address. It does not touch the people search site itself. Google says plainly that removing a result from Search does not mean the information is gone from the internet.

That is why Removal Lab treats every case as two jobs. First the source page, then the search result. To use the Google side:

Open Results about you in your Google account and add your name, phone numbers, addresses and email.
Turn on alerts. Google says it checks for new matches regularly and emails you when it finds them.
Open the To review tab, pick the people search result and choose Request to remove.
Track it under Removal requests.
Once the source listing is gone, use the Refresh outdated content tool to clear the old title and snippet.

Google says some features are still rolling out to adults in certain markets. Requests about anyone under 18 go through a separate form. Our Results about you walkthrough covers every screen. Our page on removing personal information from Google covers ID numbers, bank details and other types Google’s policy lists.

What is the California DROP and should you use it?

If you live in California, yes. DROP stands for Delete Request and Opt out Platform. It is run by the California Privacy Protection Agency, also known as CalPrivacy. It lets you send one deletion request to every registered data broker at once. It is free.

Here is what the official CalPrivacy pages say, checked by Removal Lab on 29 October 2026:

Point	What CalPrivacy says
Who can use it	California residents. You can also file for another California resident, such as a child or an elderly relative.
Cost	Free. The site says it will never charge you.
When it opened	Consumers could start filing in January 2026.
When brokers must act	From 1 August 2026, registered brokers must check DROP at least once every 45 days and process requests.
First cycle	Brokers should finish their first download and upload cycle by November 2026.
Coming change	CalPrivacy says that under AB 883, brokers will have to process requests at least once every 30 days from 1 January 2027.
Status updates	Can take up to 90 days to show in DROP. Timing varies by broker.
Exceptions	The law allows limited exceptions. The pages we opened did not list them.

To file, you verify your residency through the California Identity Gateway, create a profile with the basic details you choose to share and submit. CalPrivacy says the request goes to over 600 registered data brokers.

There are honest limits. DROP only reaches brokers on the California registry. Removal Lab could not confirm that every people search site in our table is registered right now, so check the CalPrivacy registry. DROP also does nothing to Google results. Keep using Results about you alongside it.

What about other US states?

Several other states have their own privacy or data broker laws. Removal Lab has not checked each one against an official source for this page, so we do not list them here. If you live outside California, use the site by site opt outs in the table above.

What if you live in the UK or EU?

You have a legal right to ask an organisation to delete your data. In the UK this is called the right to erasure. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) says the organisation has one calendar month to reply. It can extend by up to two more months if it tells you why within the first month.

The right is not absolute. The ICO and the European Commission both say an organisation can refuse in some cases, such as data it must keep by law, freedom of expression or legal claims. If a UK organisation refuses, the ICO says to complain to the organisation first, then to the ICO. Our page on the right to be forgotten on Google covers the search engine side.

What can a removal service do and not do?

A service can save you time and keep the work going. It cannot make a site or Google say yes. Here is the honest split, as Removal Lab sees it.

Removal Lab can	Removal Lab cannot
Find your listings across the main sites and their sister sites.	Delete government public records. Court records need a sealing or expungement order.
File each opt out and the matching Google request.	Promise a listing will never come back.
Keep a dated log and recheck for new listings.	Skip the residency check that DROP uses.
Escalate when your address is shared with threats.	Force a site that ignores requests to act.

The FTC suggests asking any paid service three things: how many sites it covers, whether it gives you a report of the sites it opted you out of and how often it scans again. Ask us the same. We will answer in writing.

If your address has been posted to harm you, go straight to our doxxing removal help. If the problem is wider than contact details, see our personal reputation removal service.

How Removal Lab works

Send the link. WhatsApp, email or the two field form. Two minutes, no long questionnaire.
Free policy check. A specialist reads each listing against the site’s opt out and Google’s rules and tells you honestly what qualifies.
We build and file the case. The right opt out, the right channel, the evidence attached. We handle the Google request and the follow up too.
Pay only when it is gone. No upfront payment on qualifying cases. If the site or Google says no, you owe nothing.

What we will never do

Promise a removal. The site or the platform decides, not us.
Post fake reviews or pay anyone to delete content.
Pressure, threaten or try to identify anyone.
Charge an upfront fee on a case that does not qualify.

Tired of finding your address online?

Send us the listings. Removal Lab checks them for free and replies within one business day.

Request a confidential case review

Opt out guides for each people search site

Each guide below covers one site: the official opt out route, what it removes, what it leaves behind and how to clear the old Google result. All of them are free to follow yourself.

People search sites: Spokeo · Whitepages · TruePeopleSearch · FastPeopleSearch · Intelius · Radaris · BeenVerified · PeopleFinders · MyLife · Nuwber · ThatsThem · ClustrMaps · FamilyTreeNow · SearchPeopleFree · CyberBackgroundChecks · PeopleSearchNow

Photo and identity search: Social Catfish

Phone numbers and caller ID: Truecaller

Business contact databases: ZoomInfo

Every people search opt out guide

Tap a group to open it. New pages join this list automatically.

All opt out guides A to Z

Frequently asked questions

Can I remove my information from people search sites for free?

Yes. The FTC says you can opt out of each site yourself, one by one, for free. Removal Lab’s step by step guides show the route for eight of the biggest sites.

How long does a people search opt out take?

It depends on the site and most do not publish a firm time. Our Spokeo guide found Spokeo’s pages mention 24 hours to two days. For California DROP requests, CalPrivacy says status updates can take up to 90 days.

Does Google Results about you remove the people search page?

No. It only removes the result from Google Search. The page stays on the site until you opt out there, which is why Removal Lab always does both.

Why is my listing back after I opted out?

New records, a move, a new number or a name spelling can create a fresh listing. The FTC warns your information can reappear if your public records change. Search your name every three months and opt out again.

Can I use DROP if I do not live in California?

No. CalPrivacy says DROP is for California residents. You verify your residency before filing. Everyone else can still use each site’s own opt out.

Can Removal Lab delete court or property records?

No. Opting out does not delete government public records. Our court record removal page explains what a sealing or expungement order can and cannot do.

How much does data broker removal cost?

The first check is free. Qualifying cases have no upfront payment. You pay only when content is removed. See Removal Lab pricing for the details.

Sources: CalPrivacy DROP, CalPrivacy data brokers, CPPA information for data brokers, CPPA announcement, 13 November 2025, California Data Broker Registry, FTC on people search sites, Google Results about you, Google personal information removal policy, ICO right to erasure, European Commission on erasure requests. Removal Lab does not work for any platform, site or data broker. Every decision is made by the platform.

Data Broker Removal: Get Off People Search Sites