How to Remove Yourself from People Search Sites: Spokeo, WhitePages, BeenVerified and More
A step-by-step opt-out guide for removing your name, address, and phone number from the most widely used people search and data broker sites, including Spokeo, WhitePages, BeenVerified, Intelius, TruePeopleSearch, MyLife, and Radaris, and how to stop your information from coming back.
Find your listings before you start removing them
People search sites often have multiple listings for the same person, sometimes with outdated addresses, old phone numbers, or linked relatives. Knowing what is out there before you start helps you track what still needs to be removed.
- Open a private or incognito browser window and search your full name on each of the following: Spokeo, WhitePages, BeenVerified, Intelius, TruePeopleSearch, FastPeopleSearch, MyLife, and Radaris
- Try variations: your name plus your city, your name plus your state, and your name plus your phone number. Each combination may surface different listings
- Also run a Google search for your full name in quotes: "FirstName LastName". People search sites that rank in the first two pages of those results get the most views from anyone searching for you
- Note the URL of each listing you find. You will need it for the opt-out process on Spokeo and WhitePages specifically
- You may find listings you did not know existed, including entries under maiden names, previous addresses, or usernames. Note all of them
- People search sites aggregate data from public records: voter registrations, property records, court filings, business license records, and government databases
- A typical listing contains your full name, current and previous addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, age, relatives' names, and in some cases criminal record summaries and financial information
- This data is refreshed continuously from the same public record sources. This is why information reappears after removal, sometimes within weeks. Removing from the sites does not stop the underlying records from being public
- There are over 100 active people search sites. The sites covered in this guide account for the majority of visible search results. Removing from the highest-traffic sites has the most practical impact on what others can find about you
Remove yourself from the four highest-traffic sites
Spokeo, WhitePages, BeenVerified, and Intelius appear most frequently in Google search results when someone looks up a person's name. Start here for the largest impact.
- Spokeo: find your listing on spokeo.com and copy the full URL from your browser. Go to spokeo.com/optout, paste the URL into the field, enter an email address, and complete the CAPTCHA. Click the confirmation link in the email. Removal takes 24 to 72 hours. Spokeo has multiple listings per person, repeat for each one you find
- WhitePages: find your listing on whitepages.com and copy the URL. Go to whitepages.com/suppression-requests, paste the URL, select a reason, and click Next. Enter your phone number and click Call now to verify. WhitePages will call you immediately with a code to enter on screen. Removal takes up to 24 hours. If you have a premium listing, the process requires contacting support separately
- BeenVerified: go to beenverified.com/opt-out/search and search your name and state. Find your listing and click the arrow next to your profile. Enter an email address, complete the CAPTCHA, and click Send Verification Email. Click the link in the email, check your spam folder if it does not arrive. Removal takes a few days
- Intelius: go to intelius.com/opt-out/submit and search for your name. Select your listing, enter your email address, and verify via the link in the email. Intelius also owns PeopleLookup, US Search, and Instant Checkmate, a successful Intelius opt-out covers these affiliated sites
- Both sites may have more than one listing for you. Submit a separate opt-out for each listing you find
Remove yourself from additional high-priority sites
These sites receive significant direct traffic and appear in Google results. The opt-out processes vary: some use online forms, others require a phone call or email request.
- TruePeopleSearch: go to truepeoplesearch.com/removal, enter your name, city, and state. Find your listing, click View Details, then click Remove This Record at the bottom of the page. Verify via email. Removal takes 24 to 72 hours. No account creation required
- FastPeopleSearch: go to fastpeoplesearch.com/removal, enter your email, agree to the terms, and complete the CAPTCHA. Search your name and city, find your listing, click View Free Details, then click Remove My Record. Removal takes 24 to 48 hours
- Both sites pull from similar public record sources and listings can reappear within a few months. If you recheck and find a new listing, repeat the process
- MyLife: does not offer a standard online opt-out form. Call (888) 704-1900, press 2, and ask to be removed. Have ready: your full name, date of birth, email address, current address, and one previous address. Or email support@mylife.com with the same details. MyLife charges for some removal requests directed through its website, use the phone or email method instead
- Radaris: go to radaris.com, create a free account (required for removal), search your name, and find your profile. Click the control options next to your listing and select the removal option. Alternatively, email optout@radaris.com with your profile URL and a removal request. Removal can take several days
- Acxiom: Acxiom is an upstream data supplier that feeds information to many other broker sites. Go to isapps.acxiom.com/optout/optout.aspx and complete the form, or call (877) 774-2094. Opting out of Acxiom can reduce how quickly your data reappears on downstream sites
Stop your information from coming back
Information reappears on most sites within 3 to 12 months. This happens because brokers continuously re-import from the same public record sources: voter rolls, property records, court filings, and marketing databases. Removal is not permanent by default, you have to manage it.
- Set a reminder to re-search your name on the major sites every 3 to 4 months. New listings appear regularly and require fresh opt-out submissions
- Set up a Google Alert for your full name in quotes: go to google.com/alerts and enter "FirstName LastName". You will receive an email when new results appear in Google's index, including newly surfaced data broker listings
- California residents: as of August 1, 2026, California's DELETE Request and Opt-Out Platform (DROP) at privacy.ca.gov/drop allows you to submit a single opt-out request to all registered data brokers in the state simultaneously, with brokers required to delete your data within 90 days and re-delete every 45 days thereafter
- Reduce future data collection at the source: use a PO Box for utility signups, warranty registrations, and loyalty programs. These are primary data feeds for broker databases
- If submitting opt-outs manually every few months across dozens of sites is not realistic, automated services handle this on your behalf
- DeleteMe: covers 750+ broker sites and sends quarterly re-removal requests automatically. Plans start at around $129 per year
- Optery: covers 350+ sites with detailed reporting on what was found and removed. Free tier available for basic monitoring; paid plans from $99 per year for automated removal
- Incogni: covers 180+ sites and handles ongoing re-removal. Plans start at around $77 per year, with a family option
- None of these services removes your information permanently, because no service can. What they provide is continuous resubmission so you do not have to do it manually
Removing yourself from people search sites is not a one-time task. The same public records that populated your original listing will repopulate it within months. What this guide covers, removing from the 8 to 10 sites that account for most visible search results, reduces what the average person can find about you with a quick name search, which is how most people search for information about others. Sections 2 and 3 handle the immediate removal. Section 4 determines whether the work holds: without a monitoring habit or an automated service, your listings will quietly reappear. Completing the Acxiom opt-out in Section 3 is worth doing even though it is less visible to end users, it is an upstream data supplier, and reducing what it holds slows down how quickly your information resurfaces across other sites.