Written by the Removal Lab team.
Went looking for a great grandparent on FamilyTreeNow and found a record about you instead? The FamilyTreeNow opt out is free and happens on the site itself: you search for your record, check it is really you and press the red Opt Out button, then allow up to 48 hours. Removal Lab can handle the FamilyTreeNow opt out for you after a free check, along with the people search sites that hold the same details.
FamilyTreeNow sells itself as a free genealogy site. Its home page promotes historical census records, birth, death, marriage and divorce records, military records and records of living people. That last group is why so many people go looking for a FamilyTreeNow opt out. This guide sticks to what FamilyTreeNow says on its own pages and tells you plainly where its pages would not load for us.
The quick version: FamilyTreeNow opt out
- Open the FamilyTreeNow opt out page and select begin.
- Search for yourself and open your record.
- Check it really is you, not someone with the same name.
- Press the large red Opt Out button.
- Allow up to 48 hours. Repeat for every other record that is yours.
- Found the record through a search engine? Copy its address and send it through the site’s contact us page.
How to opt out of FamilyTreeNow step by step
These steps follow the FamilyTreeNow opt out page, which we opened for this guide. The page is short. It does not mention ID, an account or a fee.
Step 1. Start on the opt out page
Open the FamilyTreeNow opt out page and select the button labelled begin. It takes you to the FamilyTreeNow search page.
Step 2. Search and open the record
Search for your name. In the results, open the record detail for the entry you think is yours. Try the names you have used over the years, such as a maiden name or a married name. Each one can sit in a separate record.
Step 3. Check it is really you
The opt out page is firm on this point: make sure the record is yours and not someone else with the same name. Look at the ages, places and relatives listed. If you remove a namesake’s record, yours stays up and you have wasted the request.
Step 4. Press the red Opt Out button
Once you are sure, press the large red button labelled Opt Out on the record page. That is the whole on site part of the FamilyTreeNow opt out.
Step 5. Wait up to 48 hours
FamilyTreeNow says to allow up to 48 hours for processing. After that, the page says the record is removed from every place it appears on the site. Search again after two days to check.
Step 6. Repeat for each record
The page says to repeat the steps for every record if you have more than one. Keep a list of each record you removed and the date. That list is your proof that the FamilyTreeNow opt out was done.
Step 7. Found it through a search engine?
If you reached your record from Google or another search engine, the opt out page gives a separate route. Go back to the exact record, copy its address from your browser’s address bar and send it through the FamilyTreeNow contact us page.
What FamilyTreeNow shows and what we could check
FamilyTreeNow’s privacy policy, its notice at collection and its Do Not Sell page all refused to load for our check. So the table below shows only what we could open. It marks what we could not.
| Topic | What we found | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Record types it promotes | Historical census records, birth, death, marriage and divorce records, military records and records of living people | FamilyTreeNow home page |
| Family tree builder | A free tree builder that connects to its genealogy records | FamilyTreeNow home page |
| Links to other sites | The home page carried a link promoting True People Search | FamilyTreeNow home page |
| How long the opt out takes | Up to 48 hours | FamilyTreeNow opt out page |
| Records per opt out | One. Repeat for each record | FamilyTreeNow opt out page |
| Where its data comes from | Not confirmed. Its privacy policy did not load | FamilyTreeNow privacy policy |
| FCRA stance | Not confirmed for the same reason | FamilyTreeNow privacy policy |
For a general picture, the FTC says people search sites gather information from other data brokers, public social media profiles and government records. It names property, driving, voter registration and criminal records, plus marriage, divorce, death and professional licence records. That is the FTC describing the industry, not FamilyTreeNow describing itself.
What the FamilyTreeNow opt out does and does not remove
A FamilyTreeNow removal has a clear scope. Knowing its limits saves you from thinking you are finished too early.
| What you want gone | Does the FamilyTreeNow opt out reach it? | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The record you opted out | Yes. The page says it is removed across the site | Check again after 48 hours |
| Other records that are also you | Only if you opt each one out | Search every name you have used |
| True People Search | The opt out page does not mention it | Run the TruePeopleSearch opt out separately |
| The public records behind it | No. The FTC says opting out does not delete public records | Ask the record office if your state allows it |
| A relative’s record that names you | Not stated. The FTC warns relatives’ reports may still list you | Search your relatives’ records too |
| The old Google result | No | Use Google’s Refresh outdated content tool |
The relatives point matters more on a genealogy site than anywhere else. Family trees are built from links between people. Your own FamilyTreeNow opt out deals with your record. It does not say anything about the records of your parents, siblings or children.
California rights and the FamilyTreeNow opt out
California Consumer Privacy Act. The California Attorney General says you can ask a business what it holds about you up to twice a year at no cost. You can also ask it to delete or correct your information and to stop selling or sharing it. Businesses must answer requests to know, delete and correct within 45 calendar days, with one further 45 days if they tell you. Opt out requests must be handled within 15 business days at most. You can also authorise someone else to file for you.
Public records are the big exception. The Attorney General says public records, such as property records and professional licences, fall outside the CCPA’s definition of personal information. FamilyTreeNow is built around records such as census, birth, marriage and death records. Where those are public records, a privacy law request may not reach them. The opt out on the site itself is the route that works there.
DROP. CalPrivacy runs DROP, a free platform that lets California residents send one deletion request to over 600 registered data brokers. You confirm residency through the California Identity Gateway. Registered brokers must check DROP at least once every 45 days and CalPrivacy says a status change can take up to 90 days. A parent can file for a child and a family member can file for an elderly relative. CalPrivacy says DROP does not reach public records such as real estate ownership or voting records.
Is FamilyTreeNow a registered data broker? When we searched the CalPrivacy website for Family Tree Now, its registry files came up in the results. The files were too large for our reader to show the row itself, so we could not read the entry. Check the California data broker registry yourself before you rely on DROP for FamilyTreeNow.
Other states have their own privacy laws. We have only described the California rules here because those are the ones we checked against official pages for this guide.
How to clear the old Google result
A FamilyTreeNow record can rank in Google for your full name long after you opt out. Google says it can only remove things from Google Search results. So the step on FamilyTreeNow and the step in Google never replace each other. You need both.
- Check the page first. Open the FamilyTreeNow page again. If it has changed or gone, Google is simply showing an old copy.
- Refresh the old copy. Open Google’s Refresh outdated content tool, select Request refresh, enter the old page address on the Page tab and select Submit. Our guide to the Refresh outdated content tool shows each screen.
- Use Results about you if the page is still live. Add your name, phone numbers, home addresses and email. Open the To review tab, select the FamilyTreeNow result and choose Request to remove. Our guide on how to use Google Results about you covers setup and alerts.
- Use the personal information form for doxxing. Google can remove pages that share your details with threats, or that gather a significant amount of your personal information with no legitimate purpose. Read how to remove personal information from Google before you file.
Google tracks each Results about you request under Removal requests. In progress means it is still being reviewed. Approved means the result may take a few hours to drop out of Search. Denied comes with a reason on the page and by email. Google also says results from government sites, educational sites, newspapers and business websites do not offer a remove option.
If your FamilyTreeNow listing comes back
The FTC says opting out of a people search site does not delete the public records behind it. It also warns that your information could appear for sale again if those records change and that a relative’s report may still list you. That is why it tells people to check the sites again from time to time. FamilyTreeNow’s own opt out page treats each record separately, so a new record about you needs its own FamilyTreeNow opt out.
- Check every three months. This is our suggestion, not a FamilyTreeNow rule. Search your name, your phone number and your street.
- Check after any change. A move, a new phone line or a new public record can create a listing that looks new.
- Keep a record. Save the page address, a screenshot, the date you sent the request and every email the site sends you.
- Turn on Google alerts. Results about you can email you when new results show your contact details.
Mistakes that slow down a FamilyTreeNow opt out
- Removing a namesake. The site warns you to confirm the record is yours. Check the ages and places first.
- Stopping after one record. Maiden names, married names and spelling mistakes can each have a record.
- Forgetting True People Search. FamilyTreeNow promotes it on its home page. Its opt out page does not say it covers it.
- Searching again too soon. The site asks you to allow up to 48 hours.
- Using a look alike page. The FamilyTreeNow opt out page asks for no payment. If a page that is not on familytreenow.com asks you to pay to opt out, stop.
A FamilyTreeNow opt out example
This is a made up example to show the steps. It is not a client case.
A retired teacher in Ohio is building her family tree when she finds a record under her own name, listing her town and her late husband. She opens the FamilyTreeNow opt out page, selects begin and searches her name. Two records come up. One is hers. The other belongs to a woman with the same name in another state. She opts out her own record only and then searches her maiden name, which brings up a second record that is also hers. She opts that out too.
Two days later both records have gone from FamilyTreeNow, but Google still shows one of them. She uses Google’s Refresh outdated content tool and sets up Results about you with her phone number. She notices the True People Search link on the FamilyTreeNow home page and checks that site as well.
When to ask for help
One FamilyTreeNow opt out is a job most people can finish in an evening. Help makes sense when your details sit on many sites at once, when Google keeps saying no or when someone is using your address to frighten you. Our data broker removal service maps the people search sites that show you and files each opt out. Our personal reputation removal service looks at every result for your name. If someone has posted your address with threats, read our doxxing removal page first. Our guide on how to remove your name from Google explains what Google will and will not take out of a name search.
More people search guides: TruePeopleSearch opt out, SearchPeopleFree opt out and ClustrMaps opt out.
Removal Lab offers a free, confidential case review. A specialist reads what you send and replies within one business day. On qualifying cases there is no upfront payment and you pay only when the content is removed. We do not work for FamilyTreeNow or Google. We cannot delete anything ourselves and we never promise a removal. The site decides.
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 it against the platform rules and tells you honestly whether it qualifies.
- We build and file the case. The right policy, the right channel, the evidence attached. We handle the appeal too.
- Pay only when it is gone. No upfront payment on qualifying cases. If the platform says no, you owe nothing.
What we will never do
- Promise a removal. The platform decides, not us.
- Post fake reviews or pay anyone to delete a review.
- Pressure, threaten or try to identify a reviewer.
- Charge an upfront fee on a case that does not qualify.
Want help with a FamilyTreeNow opt out?
Send the links. The check is free and confidential. There is nothing to pay upfront on a qualifying case.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove myself from FamilyTreeNow?
Open the FamilyTreeNow opt out page, select begin, search for yourself and open your record. Check it is really you, then press the red Opt Out button.
Is the FamilyTreeNow opt out free?
Yes. The opt out page asks you to find and confirm your record. It does not ask for payment.
How long does the FamilyTreeNow opt out take?
FamilyTreeNow says to allow up to 48 hours for processing. After that, the record should be gone from the site.
Does FamilyTreeNow need ID to opt out?
The opt out steps we read do not mention ID. They ask you to find your record and confirm it is yours.
Does the FamilyTreeNow opt out remove me from True People Search?
The FamilyTreeNow opt out page does not say so. FamilyTreeNow promotes True People Search on its home page, so check that site and opt out there too.
What if I found my FamilyTreeNow record on Google?
Go back to the exact record, copy its address from your browser and send it through the FamilyTreeNow contact us page, as its opt out page says.
Sources: FamilyTreeNow opt out page, FamilyTreeNow home page, FTC: what to know about people search sites, California Attorney General on the CCPA, CalPrivacy: DROP, CalPrivacy: personal information and data brokers, California data broker registry, Google: Results about you, Google: remove personal information from Search and Google: Refresh outdated content. Removal Lab does not work for FamilyTreeNow or Google. Every decision is made by the platform.