Written by the Removal Lab team.
Ran a reverse image search on yourself and found your dating profile photos, old usernames or phone number on Social Catfish? The Social Catfish opt out is free: you pick your state, fill in the Request for Opt Out form with your name and email and press Submit Now. Social Catfish says it will make your information unavailable for sale on its site within fifteen days. Removal Lab can also do the Social Catfish opt out for you.
Social Catfish is not a typical people search site. Its privacy policy describes image, phone, email, name and username searches. Its about section calls it an online dating investigation service. That means it can hold photos and usernames as well as addresses. This guide is built from Social Catfish’s own opt out page and privacy policy.
The quick version: Social Catfish opt out
- Open the Social Catfish opt out page and choose the state you live in now.
- Fill in the Request for Opt Out form. Only first name, last name and email address are required.
- Add the links to your Social Catfish profiles, other emails, phone numbers and past states if you can. Photos are optional.
- Tick the agent box only if someone is filing for you, then press Submit Now.
- Check again after fifteen days and keep a copy of what you sent.
How to opt out of Social Catfish step by step
Step 1. Find your Social Catfish profiles
Search Social Catfish for your name, your phone number and any username you have used. Copy the address of every result that is clearly you. The opt out page says sharing these links can help speed up locating and removing your records. It also says the links will only be used to verify for removal.
Step 2. Choose your current state
Step 01 on the Social Catfish opt out page asks which state you currently live in. Social Catfish says this sends you to the correct form for your state. The list covers the US states, Washington DC and the US Virgin Islands. Readers outside the US are not offered a country list on this form.
Step 3. Complete the Request for Opt Out form
Step 02 is the Request for Opt Out form. Here is what it asks for.
| Field | Required? | Why it helps |
|---|---|---|
| First name and last name | Yes | Matches the name on your record |
| Email address | Yes | How Social Catfish contacts you about the request |
| Links to your Social Catfish profiles | Optional | The page says these can help speed up removal |
| First initial of your middle name and your age range | Optional | Separates you from people with the same name |
| Other emails and phone numbers | Optional | Lets Social Catfish find records tied to those details |
| Up to eight images, or image links | Optional | Lets Social Catfish keep those exact images out of its image search results |
| Other states where you have lived | Optional | Finds older records from past addresses |
Images must be jpg, gif, png or bmp files of up to 5MB each. The form says Social Catfish does not store any images and can prevent the exact images from appearing in its image search results. Its privacy policy says uploaded images are used only to run a reverse image search and are not sold or shared with vendors.
Step 4. Submit and keep a record
Step 03 has a box for people filing as an authorised agent of a third party organisation. Leave it empty if you are filing your own Social Catfish opt out, then press Submit Now. If you have already used the same email address, the page warns you about a duplicate and asks whether to send it again. Social Catfish says it may ask for more information to verify your identity if it believes in good faith that a request may be fraudulent.
The form asks for no payment and no account. The same page also promotes Social Catfish’s own Privacy Lock service for other sites. You do not need it for the Social Catfish opt out.
What Social Catfish shows and where it gets data
Social Catfish’s privacy policy lists the details that can appear in its results. It says search results are based on licensed data and public internet sources.
| Type of detail | Examples from the privacy policy |
|---|---|
| Identity | Names, aliases, usernames, age, birth date, gender and marital status |
| Contact details | Current and past email addresses, addresses and phone numbers |
| Photos | Profile images |
| Background | Education, associates and job history |
| Property | Owner, deed, tax and financial details in property searches |
| Source | What Social Catfish says |
|---|---|
| Third party data resellers | Licensed data bought from other companies |
| Public websites | Information found on the public internet |
| Its own customers | Information customers give when they register |
Social Catfish also says it is not a consumer reporting agency. Its results may not be used for credit, employment, insurance, tenant screening or other decisions covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. It warns that its information may be inaccurate or out of date.
What the Social Catfish opt out does and does not remove
A Social Catfish removal covers less than many people expect. This is what Social Catfish says it does.
| What you want gone | Does the Social Catfish opt out cover it? | What Social Catfish says |
|---|---|---|
| Your listing on socialcatfish.com | Yes | Your information will not be available for sale on the site within fifteen days. It deletes information it can verify as yours and takes steps to stop it being reacquired |
| Your photos in its image search | Yes, for the exact images you upload | It can prevent the exact images from appearing in image search results |
| Public records and other websites | No | Removing a URL from its site does not remove your information through public record or any other sites |
| Advertising cookies on its website | No, separate setting | Use the Your Privacy Choices page or a Global Privacy Control signal. This covers website data, not search results |
| An account you opened yourself | Use a deletion request | Account data is deleted three years after the last login. Searches by people without an account are not kept after the search closes |
The opt out page puts it plainly: removing yourself from Social Catfish only fixes one site. Your details are likely on other people search sites too. See our guides to the PeopleSearchNow opt out, the Spokeo opt out and the BeenVerified opt out. If your photos sit on other sites or in Google Images, our page on removing images from Google explains the routes.
Your state rights and how fast Social Catfish must answer
Social Catfish’s privacy policy gives California, Oregon and Nevada residents named rights. It also says it processes these requests for all US residents, whatever state they live in. Besides the Social Catfish opt out, the page has tabs for a Request for Access, a Request for Deletion and a Request to Correct Information.
| Request | Time Social Catfish gives itself |
|---|---|
| Opt out of sale or sharing | Within 15 days |
| Know, delete or correct | Within 45 days, which can be extended to 90 days with notice |
| Nevada requests | Within 60 days |
Californians have two extra tools. The California Consumer Privacy Act gives you the right to ask a business to delete personal information it collected from you, to stop selling or sharing it and to tell you what it holds. The Attorney General says businesses must respond within 45 calendar days and can extend that by another 45 days if they tell you. You can also let an authorised agent send the request for you.
The second tool is DROP, the state’s free Delete Request and Opt out Platform. CalPrivacy says one request goes to over 600 registered data brokers. Data brokers must now check DROP at least once every 45 days and process the deletion requests waiting there. You verify that you live in California with basic information. We could not confirm from the registry download whether Social Catfish is on the current list, so check the California data broker registry before you rely on DROP for it.
One limit catches people out. The Attorney General’s CCPA page says personal information does not include publicly available information, such as public property records. So a California request may not reach everything Social Catfish shows.
How to clear the old Google result
Opting out of Social Catfish does not change Google straight away. An old result can keep showing your details for a while after the page itself has changed. Google gives you free tools for this.
- Remove a result that still shows your contact details. Search your name, select More next to the result, then Remove result, then It shows my personal info and I don’t want it there, then Contact Info. Our guide on removing personal information from Google walks through each screen.
- Refresh a result for a page that has changed or gone. Google’s Refresh Outdated Content tool asks Google to update its results. You sign in with a Google account and paste the address. Google says a request shows as Pending while it is processed and that this can take a few days. See our guide to the Refresh Outdated Content tool.
- Set an alert. Results about you can tell you when new results show your personal info. Our guide on how to use Google Results about you shows how to switch it on.
Google is clear that removing a result from Search does not remove the information from the website. The page itself has to change first, which is why the opt out comes before the Google step. Wait until the Social Catfish opt out has gone through before you ask Google to refresh the result.
If your listing comes back
Social Catfish says it takes steps to stop your information being reacquired. Data still flows in from resellers and the public web, so it pays to check.
- Keep a copy of what you sent. Note the email you used and the links you listed.
- Check after fifteen days. That is the time frame Social Catfish gives for the Social Catfish opt out.
- Search again every three months. This is our suggestion. Search your name, phone number and usernames.
- Send a deletion request if a listing returns. Use the Request for Deletion tab and quote your earlier request.
An example: photos from an old dating profile
This is a made up example to show the steps. It is not a client case.
Leah, a teacher in Ohio, ran a reverse image search after a bad date and found her old dating photos and two usernames on Social Catfish.
- She copies the links to the two Social Catfish results that show her.
- She opens the Social Catfish opt out page and picks Ohio, where she lives now.
- She enters her name and email, the two links, her old Hotmail address and the two photos she found.
- She adds Michigan under other states where she has lived and presses Submit Now.
- Fifteen days later she searches again and saves a screenshot of what she sees.
Social Catfish decides what it can verify. Leah gave it everything it needed to find her records first time.
Mistakes that slow down a Social Catfish opt out
- Leaving out the profile links, which the page says help speed up removal.
- Uploading photos you have never seen on the site. Only the exact images you upload can be blocked.
- Forgetting past states and old email addresses.
- Assuming the Social Catfish opt out clears other sites or public records. It does not.
For the bigger picture, see our data broker removal service, how to remove your name from Google and personal reputation removal. If someone is using your photos or details to expose or threaten you, read our doxxing removal page first.
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 the Social Catfish opt out done for you?
Send your name and the links you found. The check is free and confidential and there is nothing to pay upfront on a qualifying case.
Frequently asked questions
How do I remove myself from Social Catfish?
Use the Social Catfish opt out page. Choose your current state, fill in the Request for Opt Out form with at least your first name, last name and email and press Submit Now.
How long does the Social Catfish opt out take?
Social Catfish says your information will not be available for sale on its site within fifteen days. Requests to know, delete or correct get a reply within 45 days, which can be extended to 90.
Does Social Catfish keep the photos I upload?
The opt out form says Social Catfish does not store any images. It uses them to keep those exact images out of its image search results.
Is the Social Catfish opt out free?
Yes. The form asks for no payment and no account. Removal Lab can also handle it for you after a free case review.
Does the Social Catfish opt out remove me from other sites?
No. Social Catfish says removing a URL from its site does not remove your information through public record or any other sites.
Is Social Catfish a background check service?
No. Social Catfish says it is not a consumer reporting agency and its results may not be used for credit, employment, insurance or tenant screening decisions.
Sources: Social Catfish opt out page, Social Catfish privacy request form, Social Catfish privacy policy, California Attorney General on the CCPA, CalPrivacy: DROP, CalPrivacy: About DROP and the Delete Act, California data broker registry, Google Search Help: Results about you and Google Search Console Help: Refresh Outdated Content tool. Removal Lab does not work for Social Catfish. Every decision is made by the platform.