How to Remove Personal Information (PII) from the Internet

You can remove your personal information from data broker sites for free. This guide shows you exactly how to do it yourself, step by step, without paying for a removal service.

You Google yourself one day, maybe out of curiosity, maybe because you're applying for a job or going on a date, and there it is: your home address, phone number, age, and the names of your family members, all neatly displayed on a website you've never heard of. You click through and find a dozen more sites with the same information, some of them offering to sell even more details about you to anyone willing to pay. It's unsettling to realize how much of your personal life is freely available to strangers, and you're not alone in feeling that your privacy has been violated by an industry you never consented to participate in.

The good news is that you can remove much of this personal information from the internet, and you can do it at no cost if you're willing to invest the time. The process involves systematically opting out of data broker sites, using Google's free removal tools to de-index sensitive content, and adjusting your digital habits to prevent your information from spreading further in the future. It's not a one-time fix (data brokers continuously re-acquire information, so ongoing maintenance is required), but the effort is worthwhile for anyone who values their privacy or wants to reduce their exposure to stalking, identity theft, or harassment.

The Six Steps to Remove Your Personal Information from the Internet

1. Search for your information by Googling your name in quotes along with your city, phone number, and previous addresses to find everywhere your data appears.
2. Submit opt-out requests to data brokers like Whitepages, Spokeo, FastPeopleSearch, and BeenVerified through their removal request pages.
3. Use Google's removal tools including "Results About You" monitoring and the personal information removal request form.
4. Lock down your social media privacy settings to limit what's publicly visible and indexed by search engines.
5. Delete unused accounts on shopping sites, forums, and services you no longer use that could leak your data.
6. Set up ongoing monitoring with Google Alerts and quarterly checks of major data broker sites.

The rest of this guide walks through each step in detail, including specific instructions for the most common data broker sites and Google's removal tools. Whether you handle this yourself or eventually decide to use a paid removal service, understanding the process helps you make informed decisions about protecting your privacy.

Understanding Where Your Data Comes From

Before diving into removal strategies, it helps to understand how your personal information ended up scattered across the internet in the first place. Data brokers (companies that collect, package, and sell personal information) gather data from an enormous variety of sources, many of which you interact with regularly without realizing the privacy implications. Public records like property deeds, voter registrations, court filings, and business licenses are the foundation, but brokers also purchase data from apps that sell user information, retailers that monetize their customer databases, and other data brokers in an interconnected ecosystem of personal information trading.

Every time you fill out a warranty registration card, sign up for a store loyalty program, download a free app that requests access to your contacts, or enter a sweepstakes, there's a reasonable chance that information will eventually end up in a data broker's database. Social media platforms contribute as well. Even if you've set your profiles to private, previous versions of your information may have been scraped and archived before you adjusted your settings. The data broker industry is largely unregulated, operating in a legal gray area where your information can be bought and sold without your consent, which is why so many people are surprised to find their personal details readily available online.

How to Opt Out of Data Broker Sites for Free

There are over 100 significant data broker and people-search sites, but a handful dominate search results and should be your priority for removal requests. Each site has its own opt-out process, ranging from simple email confirmations to more complex verification requirements. Plan to spend fifteen to thirty minutes per site the first time you go through this process, though it gets faster once you're familiar with the patterns.

Whitepages

Whitepages is one of the oldest and most visible people-search sites. To opt out, search for your listing on their site, copy the URL of your profile page, then visit their suppression request page. You'll need to verify your identity by providing a phone number to receive a confirmation call or by submitting a notarized statement. The process typically takes two to four weeks.

Spokeo

Spokeo aggregates information from social networks, public records, and marketing databases. Their opt-out is relatively straightforward: search for your profile, copy the URL, and paste it into their removal page. You'll receive an email confirmation link that you need to click to complete the process. Removal typically takes three to five business days.

FastPeopleSearch

FastPeopleSearch is a free people-search site that's particularly aggressive about indexing personal information. Their removal page requires you to find your listing, complete a CAPTCHA, and confirm via email. The site claims 24-hour processing, though it often takes a few days for removal to reflect in search engine results.

TruePeopleSearch

TruePeopleSearch has a relatively simple opt-out process. Search for your profile, click the "Remove This Record" link that appears on your listing, and confirm via CAPTCHA. No email verification is required, and removal typically processes within 24 to 72 hours.

BeenVerified

BeenVerified is a paid background check service that also operates several free people-search sites. Their opt-out process is available through their opt-out page, though they require searching for your listing within their system rather than using a direct URL. The process typically takes two to four weeks.

Radaris

Radaris has one of the more cumbersome opt-out processes, requiring you to create an account before you can request removal. Visit their control page after creating an account to manage your information visibility. Some users report that Radaris re-adds information frequently, so plan to check back periodically.

Additional Sites

Other significant data broker sites with opt-out processes include USPhonebook, PeopleFinder, Intelius, Instant Checkmate, MyLife, PeopleSmart, and ZabaSearch. The process is similar across most sites: find your profile, locate the opt-out or removal link (usually in the footer or privacy policy), verify your identity, and confirm via email. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse maintains a comprehensive database of data brokers with direct links to their opt-out pages.

Using Google's Personal Information Removal Tools

Even after you've removed your information from source websites, the pages may continue appearing in Google search results due to caching. Google offers several tools specifically designed to help you remove personal information from search results, and these should be part of your overall strategy.

Results About You

Google's Results About You feature is a powerful tool that monitors search results for your personal contact information and alerts you when new results appear. Once enabled, you can request removal of specific results directly from the interface. This is particularly useful for ongoing monitoring because Google will notify you when your phone number, email, or home address appears in new search results, allowing you to request removal before the information spreads further.

Personal Information Removal Request

For search results that contain sensitive personal information, you can submit a formal removal request directly to Google. Google will consider removing results that contain your home address, phone number, email address, Social Security number, bank account or credit card numbers, photos of identity documents, confidential medical records, or content that presents doxxing risks. Note that Google removes the result from search, not the content itself. The page still exists on the original website, but it won't appear when someone searches for you.

Outdated Content Removal

If you've successfully removed your information from a source website but it's still appearing in Google results due to caching, use the Remove Outdated Content tool to request that Google update its index. This tool prompts Google to recrawl the page and reflect the current state, which should show that your information has been removed. This typically processes within a few days.

Locking Down Your Digital Footprint

Removing existing data is only half the battle. You also need to prevent new information from spreading. This means adjusting privacy settings across your digital life and being more selective about what information you share going forward.

Social Media Privacy Settings

Review the privacy settings on every social media platform where you have an account, even those you rarely use. On Facebook, limit profile visibility to friends only and disable the setting that allows search engines to link to your profile. On Instagram, switch to a private account if you don't need public visibility. On LinkedIn, adjust your public profile settings to control what appears when someone searches for you on Google. On X (Twitter), protect your tweets if you don't need them to be publicly searchable.

Delete Unused Accounts

Old accounts on shopping sites, forums, apps, and services you no longer use are liability points that can leak your personal information or be compromised in data breaches. Make a list of accounts you've created over the years using your email's search function (look for terms like "welcome," "confirm," or "account created"), then systematically close the ones you no longer need. Many sites make this difficult, but resources like JustDeleteMe provide direct links to account deletion pages.

Reduce Future Data Collection

Going forward, be more selective about what personal information you share. Use a P.O. box or mail forwarding service instead of your home address when possible, create a dedicated email address for signups and promotional content, and read privacy policies before downloading apps to understand what data they collect and sell. Consider using privacy-focused alternatives like DuckDuckGo for search, Signal for messaging, and a VPN to reduce the digital trail you leave behind.

The Ongoing Maintenance Problem

Here's the reality that most guides don't emphasize enough: removing your personal information from data broker sites is not a one-time task. These companies continuously re-acquire data from public records, purchase new datasets, and scrape information from various sources. Many people complete the opt-out process only to find their information back on these sites six months later, sometimes with updated details that reflect recent moves or phone number changes.

This is why ongoing monitoring matters as much as the initial removal effort. Set up Google Alerts for your name and variations of it, enable Results About You monitoring, and plan to check the major data broker sites at least quarterly to catch and remove re-acquired data. Some people find this maintenance manageable, while others decide the time investment isn't worth it and opt for paid removal services that handle this recurring work automatically.

When Professional Help Makes Sense

You can absolutely handle PII removal yourself. Everything described in this guide is free to do, but it requires significant time investment upfront and ongoing maintenance to keep your information off these sites long-term. Professional reputation management services can make sense in several scenarios: if you're dealing with particularly persistent or harmful exposure, if your time is more valuable than the service cost, if you want someone else handling the ongoing monitoring and re-removal work, or if you're also dealing with other reputation issues like negative search results that require more comprehensive strategies.

Paid data removal services like DeleteMe, Incogni, and Privacy Bee typically cost $100 to $200 per year and handle opt-out submissions to dozens of data broker sites on your behalf. They also monitor for re-acquisition and submit new removal requests automatically, which addresses the ongoing maintenance problem that frustrates many DIY users. The question is whether that convenience is worth the cost compared to doing the work yourself.

The Connection to Court Records and Other Public Records

Personal information exposure often overlaps with other reputation concerns. If you're finding your PII on data broker sites, you may also be dealing with court records appearing in Google searches, news articles about past events, or other content that you'd prefer didn't appear when someone looks you up. The strategies overlap (de-indexing requests, suppression through positive content, and ongoing monitoring), but the specifics differ depending on what type of content you're addressing.

Court records, in particular, often appear on legal research databases that are separate from the people-search sites covered in this guide. If you're seeing both court records and PII in your search results, you'll need to address each category through its respective removal processes. The good news is that the skills you develop handling one type of removal make the others easier to tackle.

Setting Realistic Expectations

Complete removal of your personal information from the internet is not achievable. Some information will always exist in public records, archived versions of websites, and databases you'll never find. But that's not really the goal. The practical objective is reducing your exposure to the point where casual searches (the kind performed by potential employers, landlords, dates, or curious acquaintances) don't immediately reveal your home address, phone number, and the names of everyone in your family.

With consistent effort, most people can achieve a search result page that no longer prominently features people-search sites exposing their personal details. That's a meaningful improvement in privacy and safety, even if it falls short of total anonymity. The key is accepting that this is an ongoing process rather than a one-time fix, and building the monitoring habits that catch new exposures before they become entrenched in search results.

Frequently Asked Questions