Data brokers are selling your name, home address, and phone number right now. Some are also listing your age, relatives, and past addresses, all bundled into a profile that anyone can buy for a few dollars. The good news: you can remove personal info from data brokers yourself, for free, and you can start submitting real opt-out requests in the next ten minutes. No subscription required.
This guide gives you the exact pages to use, the order that saves the most time, and an honest answer to the question everyone eventually asks: is a paid removal service worth it? Short version, the free route works and costs nothing but time. A paid service buys back that time and keeps your data down long term. Here is how to decide.
The quick answer
You have three free moves, and doing all three covers most of the damage:
- Opt out of the big people-search sites one by one (Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, and the rest).
- Stop the credit-bureau data feed at OptOutPrescreen and opt out of the large marketing aggregators like Acxiom.
- If you live in California, use the state’s DROP platform to hit hundreds of registered brokers with a single request.
Everyone can do steps 1 and 2 today. Step 3 is a genuine shortcut, but only for California residents right now. Let us walk through each.
The fastest free way to remove personal info from data brokers
Start with the people-search sites, because they are the ones that surface when someone Googles your name. Each has its own opt-out page, and the process is similar: find your listing, copy its URL, paste it into the opt-out form, then confirm by email or phone. Most process the request within 72 hours.
Here are the main ones and where to go:
| Data broker | Opt-out page | Typical processing time |
|---|---|---|
| Spokeo | spokeo.com/optout | Within 72 hours |
| Whitepages | whitepages.com/suppression-requests | Within 72 hours |
| BeenVerified | beenverified.com opt-out (footer: “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information”) | 24 to 72 hours |
| Radaris | radaris.com/control-privacy | Often within 24 hours |
| PeopleFinders | peoplefinders.com/opt-out | A few days |
| Intelius | intelius.com (“Exercise My Data Privacy Rights” in footer) | A few days |
A few things that make this go faster and smoother:
- Use a masked or burner email address for the confirmation step instead of your primary inbox. You will get follow-up marketing otherwise, and it keeps your real address off yet another form.
- Search for yourself first. Many brokers hold more than one listing for you (old addresses, name variations). Each listing has its own URL and has to be opted out separately.
- Do the confirmation step. Almost every request needs an email link click or a phone verification code. Skip it and nothing happens.
This is the tedious part, and it is exactly what paid services automate. If your name is common or you have moved a lot, budget an afternoon.
Cut off the data at the source: credit bureaus and marketing aggregators
People-search sites are the visible tip. Underneath sit the big data pipelines that feed a lot of the junk mail and profiling.
Prescreened credit and insurance offers. Go to OptOutPrescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). This is the only site the four major credit bureaus authorized for this under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, so ignore copycats. You can opt out for five years online, or permanently by mailing the signed form. It will not scrub the people-search sites, but it stops the credit-bureau list that fuels a huge amount of unsolicited offers. The FTC’s guidance on prescreened offers explains your rights.
Marketing data aggregators. Companies like Acxiom quietly compile marketing profiles that never show up in a Google search but power targeted mail and ads. Acxiom runs its own opt-out through its US consumer choices page. It is one form, and worth two minutes.
California residents: use DROP to hit hundreds of brokers at once
This is the biggest change in years. California’s Delete Act created the state’s official DROP platform (Delete Request and Opt-out Platform), which went live on January 1, 2026. It lets any California resident submit a single verified request that requires every registered data broker, over 600 of them, to delete your personal information and stop selling it.
Here is the timeline that matters:
- Now: Californians can submit a delete request through the state’s DROP platform.
- By January 31, 2026: every data broker had to register and pay the state fee.
- Starting August 1, 2026: brokers must check DROP at least every 45 days and delete your data within 90 days of your request.
So a request you file now is queued, and enforcement of the deletion clock kicks in from August 2026. If you are in California, DROP is the highest-leverage free step available, full stop. If you are not, you still have to opt out broker by broker for now, though similar laws are moving in other states.
It works, but your data creeps back
Here is the honest caveat nobody wants to hear: opting out is not permanent. Brokers constantly pull fresh records from public sources, telecom feeds, and each other. A listing you removed can reappear months later without warning. That is not a scam, it is just how the industry refreshes its data.
So free removal is really a maintenance habit, not a one-time chore. Plan to re-check the major sites every few months. While you are tightening things up, it is also worth taking a minute to lock down your Google account privacy and to check whether your data leaked in a breach, since brokers and breaches feed the same problem.
When paying for a removal service actually pays off
Paid services do not have magic access. They opt out of the same brokers using the same forms, then keep re-doing it automatically when your data reappears. What you are buying is time and consistency. Here is how the main players compare in 2026:
- Optery has a genuinely useful free tier: it scans for your exposed profiles and shows you where you appear, then walks you through removing them yourself. Paid plans start around $39 per year (Core), with Extended near $149 per year for broader automated removal. Best if you want to try before you buy.
- Incogni is the value pick for hands-off automation, roughly $7.99 per month on the annual plan (about $96 per year), covering 420-plus brokers with repeat removals every 60 to 90 days. Best if you just want it handled and never think about it.
- DeleteMe runs about $10.75 per month annually, covers around 100 brokers on the standard plan, and adds custom removal requests plus a human-assisted feel. Best if you want a more concierge, report-driven experience.
Who should pay? People with a public-facing job, anyone dealing with a stalker or harassment, and folks who simply will not keep up the quarterly maintenance. If your threat model is serious, the money is well spent. If you have an afternoon and a bit of discipline, the free route genuinely gets you most of the way. Start with Optery’s free scan to see your exposure, then decide.
Key Takeaways
- You can remove personal info from data brokers for free by opting out of people-search sites one by one, using their official opt-out pages.
- Also stop the upstream feeds: OptOutPrescreen for credit offers and Acxiom for marketing data.
- California residents can use the new DROP platform to hit 600-plus brokers with one request.
- Opt-outs are not permanent, so re-check every few months.
- Paid services (Optery, Incogni, DeleteMe) automate the same work and are worth it if your time or safety is on the line.
FAQ
Is it really free to remove my info from data brokers?
Yes. Every legitimate people-search site is legally required to offer a free opt-out, and OptOutPrescreen and California’s DROP are free government or industry channels. You only pay if you hire a service to do it for you.
How long does it take to remove personal info from data brokers?
Individual opt-outs usually process within 24 to 72 hours. Doing all the major sites yourself is an afternoon of work. Under California’s DROP, registered brokers must delete your data within 90 days starting August 1, 2026.
Will my information stay removed permanently?
No. Brokers refresh their databases from public records and other sources, so your profile can reappear in weeks or months. Re-check the big sites every three to six months, or use an automated service to handle re-removals.
Do I have to opt out of every broker separately?
Outside California, mostly yes for now. Inside California, DROP lets you cover hundreds of registered brokers with a single request. Other states are working on similar laws.
Is a paid removal service a scam?
No, but be clear on what you are buying. It uses the same free opt-out forms you could use, just automatically and repeatedly. The value is saved time and ongoing maintenance, not secret access.
Start today
The single most effective thing you can do right now is open the opt-out pages above and submit two or three requests before you close this tab. Californians, file your DROP request first. Everyone else, start with Spokeo and Whitepages and work down the list. Grab a good password manager and a masked email while you are at it, and you will have done more for your privacy in one afternoon than most people do in a year.