How to Remove Yourself from Spokeo, WhitePages, BeenVerified, and 20+ People Search Sites (2026)

People-search sites are the most visible layer of the data broker industry. When someone searches your name on Google, these are the results that show your home address, phone number, relatives, and background details. They are optimized specifically for name searches, they have high domain authority, and they are responsible for the majority of consumer privacy complaints about personal data being publicly accessible.

Every site listed in this guide offers a free opt-out mechanism. You do not need to pay anyone to complete this process. This guide gives you the exact URL, process, and expected timeline for each of the 24 highest-traffic people-search sites in 2026.

Key Takeaways

• Create a dedicated opt-out email address first: confirmation emails are time-sensitive and losing them in your primary inbox is the most common reason opt-outs never complete.
• A BeenVerified opt-out also covers PeopleLooker and Ownerly (same parent company); an Intelius opt-out also prompts options for TruthFinder, taking advantage of these network effects saves time.
• MyLife is the most resistant site: the web form often fails; call 1-888-704-1900, decline the upsell, and restate your deletion request explicitly.
• After broker pages are deleted, submit the dead URLs to Google's Outdated Content Removal Tool: Google clears cached results within 1–3 days once it confirms the 404.
• Sites that ignore a valid deletion request after 45 days can be reported to your state attorney general, the California Privacy Protection Agency (cppa.ca.gov), or the FTC, most comply when a specific statute is cited.

Before You Start: Setup (10 Minutes)

Create a dedicated opt-out email address. Use a free Gmail or ProtonMail account created specifically for this project, for example, yourname.privacy@gmail.com. This keeps confirmation emails organized and prevents your primary address from being added to new lists by broker verification systems.

Do a self-search first. Open a private/incognito browser window and search your full name, then your name plus city. Note every people-search site that appears in the first three pages. These are your priority targets, sites that are actively ranking for your name are the ones that matter most.

Set up a tracking spreadsheet. Columns: Site Name | Opt-Out URL | Date Submitted | Confirmation Received | Re-check Date. You will need this later.

Tier 1: The Highest-Traffic Sites (Submit All 10 First)

These ten sites are responsible for the majority of personal information exposure in Google results. Many smaller aggregators pull from these primary sources, so cleaning them first has a cascade effect.

1. Whitepages

• URL: whitepages.com/suppression-requests
• Process: Search your full name, find your listing, copy the exact URL of your profile page. Go to the suppression-requests page, paste the URL, submit. Whitepages requires phone verification, they will call the number listed in your profile to confirm. Use the landline associated with your profile if possible; mobile works for some accounts.
• Processing time: 24–72 hours after phone verification
• Note: Whitepages re-lists faster than most sites when new public records are created. Check it every 90 days.

2. TruePeopleSearch

• URL: truepeoplesearch.com/removal
• Process: Complete the "human check" (clicking the correct images), search your name, click "Details" on your listing, then click "Remove This Record." No email required, removal is processed immediately in most cases.
• Processing time: Same day, often within hours
• Note: One of the fastest-processing and fastest-re-listing sites. Check quarterly.

3. FastPeopleSearch

• URL: fastpeoplesearch.com/removal
• Process: Agree to the terms of service, search your name, click on your profile, then click the delete/removal button at the bottom of your profile page.
• Processing time: 24 hours

4. Spokeo

• URL: spokeo.com/optout
• Process: Find your listing on the Spokeo homepage, copy the URL of your specific profile, go to the optout page, paste the URL, enter your opt-out email address, and click submit. A verification email will arrive, click the link within 24 hours or the request will expire.
• Processing time: 24–48 hours after email verification

5. BeenVerified

• URL: beenverified.com/app/optout/search
• Process: Search your name, find your record in the results, select it, scroll down to the bottom of your profile, click "Opt Out," enter your opt-out email, and verify by clicking the link in the confirmation email.
• Processing time: 24 hours
• Note: This opt-out also covers PeopleLooker and Ownerly, which are owned by the same parent company (BeenVerified / PeopleConnect).

6. Radaris

• URL: radaris.com/page/privacy
• Process: Search your name on Radaris, find your listing, click "Control Info" next to your profile, then complete the removal form. Email verification is required.
• Processing time: 48–72 hours

7. Intelius

• URL: intelius.com/optout
• Process: Submit your name and email address on the opt-out form. Intelius is owned by PeopleConnect (same parent as BeenVerified); opting out here will also prompt options to opt out of TruthFinder.
• Processing time: 72 hours

8. Nuwber

• URL: nuwber.com/optout
• Process: Find your profile on Nuwber, copy the URL, paste it into the opt-out form, enter your email address, and click submit. Verify by email.
• Processing time: 24–48 hours

9. MyLife

• URL: mylife.com/optout, or call 1-888-704-1900
• Process: MyLife is one of the most resistant sites in this space. The web form often fails to process; calling their support number directly and demanding deletion verbally is more effective. Be persistent and reference your CCPA or state privacy rights. Have a record number from the web form submission if possible.
• Processing time: 5–14 days
• Note: MyLife may attempt to upsell a membership; decline and restate your deletion request.

10. CyberBackgroundChecks

• URL: cyberbackgroundchecks.com/optout
• Process: Agree to the terms on the opt-out page, search your name, find your profile, click the opt-out link on your profile page.
• Processing time: 72 hours

Tier 2: Secondary Sites (Submit After Tier 1 Confirmations Arrive)

After Tier 1 confirmation emails arrive (typically 1–7 days), continue with these secondary sites. They get less Google search traffic but are widely used for background checks and reverse phone lookups.

After Opt-Outs: Clean Up Google's Index

After each broker page is confirmed deleted, Google may still show the old cached result for days or weeks. Submit each deleted URL to Google's Outdated Content Removal Tool at search.google.com/search-console/remove-outdated-content. Google verifies the 404 and removes the cached result within 1–3 days.

Also enable Results About You monitoring at myactivity.google.com/results-about-you. Google will alert you when new results containing your address or phone appear.

What to Do If a Site Ignores Your Request

Wait the full 45 days first. CCPA allows brokers up to 45 days to process a valid deletion request, with one extension. Resubmitting too early can restart the clock.

After 45 days with no action:

1. Send a follow-up email to the site's privacy team (privacy@[site].com) citing your state's privacy statute by name: "CCPA Section 1798.105" for California, or the equivalent for your state
2. If still no response after another 2 weeks, file a complaint with:

• Your state attorney general's office
• California Privacy Protection Agency: cppa.ca.gov
• FTC at ftc.gov/complaint

Most sites comply when a specific statute is cited. Sites that ignore FTC complaints risk significant penalties.

The Re-Check Schedule

People-search sites re-ingest from public records every 60–180 days. Data you removed today may reappear when a new public record is created. Set these reminders:

• 90 days after initial cleanup: Check TruePeopleSearch, FastPeopleSearch, Whitepages, and Spokeo
• 6 months: Re-check all Tier 1 sites
• Annually: Full re-pass of all sites

Each quarterly check takes 15–20 minutes once the initial cleanup is complete.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does the full process take?

Tier 1 sites take 2–3 hours of active work spread over 2–3 days. Processing those requests takes 1–14 days per site. For most people, visible Google results are cleaned up within 3–4 weeks of starting.

Why does WhitePages require a phone call to verify?

Whitepages uses phone verification as friction to reduce the volume of opt-out requests. It is legal, it is annoying, and it works, use a real phone number associated with the profile if possible.

Will removing myself from these sites also remove me from Google?

Not automatically. You must also submit the deleted URLs to Google's Outdated Content Removal Tool (see above). This step takes 10–15 minutes and removes cached Google results within 1–3 days.

Can I do this for a family member?

With their consent, yes. Submit requests citing your role as their authorized agent with their written permission. Some sites may require a note or signed statement confirming the authorization.

The Network Effect: How Cleaning Tier 1 Sites Cleans Downstream Sites

Most people treat each people-search site as independent. In reality, the ecosystem has a hierarchy where a handful of Tier 1 sites feed hundreds of smaller aggregators.

How the scraping network works:

• Tier 1 sites (Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius) collect data from raw public records and build their own databases
• Tier 2 sites (FastPeopleSearch, PeopleFinders, US Search, and dozens of others) scrape Tier 1 sites and republish the same data
• Tier 3 sites (smaller directories) scrape Tier 2 sites

When you opt out of all Tier 1 sites, Tier 2 sites that re-scrape on a monthly or quarterly schedule will stop finding your profile. Over time (1–6 months depending on their scraping frequency), your data naturally drops from Tier 2 sites that you did not directly opt out of.

This does not eliminate the need for direct Tier 2 opt-outs: sites already holding your data need to be addressed directly. But it changes the long-term maintenance picture: once Tier 1 is clean, the reappearance rate on Tier 2 and 3 sites slows significantly.

Priority for ongoing maintenance: Focus quarterly re-checks on Tier 1 sites (Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, TruePeopleSearch). If Tier 1 stays clean, most Tier 2 sites will also stay clean, because they have no fresh data to re-index.

California DROP: A Shortcut for California Residents

California residents have access to a tool that bypasses much of the site-by-site opt-out process:

DROP (Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform) at privacy.ca.gov/drop:

Launched January 1, 2026, DROP lets California residents submit a single deletion request to all CPPA-registered data brokers simultaneously. Over 500 data brokers are registered. Starting August 1, 2026, registered brokers must process deletions within 90 days and maintain suppression lists.

Most Tier 1 people-search sites (Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius, and others) are registered with the CPPA. This means California residents who use DROP may be able to replace the Tier 1 opt-out process with a single DROP submission.

Using DROP does not eliminate the need to address Google's index. Even after brokers remove your data, Google may still cache the old results. Use the Outdated Content Removal Tool at search.google.com/search-console/remove-outdated-content to clear those cached results.

For residents of other states: the site-by-site approach described in this guide remains the primary method. States with their own privacy laws (Texas, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, and 15 others) provide deletion rights under state law, but no single state outside California has a centralized broker removal portal comparable to DROP.

Speed up the process: generate opt-out requests for 500+ brokers in one session →

Related Guides

• How to Opt Out of BeenVerified
• How to Opt Out of Spokeo
• How to Opt Out of WhitePages
• Complete Data Broker Opt-Out Guide
• How to Remove Yourself from Background Check Sites