← Back to BlogIllustration of an eraser with ID card, globe and privacy icons

Erase Your Private Data From the Internet

2026-10-28

Search your own name online and you may be surprised. Your home address, phone numbers, age, relatives and past addresses are often one click away, compiled and sold by companies you have never heard of.

These companies are called data brokers. They collect information from public records, marketing lists, apps and other sources, then package it into profiles that anyone can buy, sometimes for a few dollars. People-search sites are the most visible part of the industry, but many more brokers sell data quietly to marketers, lenders and other companies.

Why it matters

Your profile is a scammer’s script

When a caller knows your address, your spouse’s name and your old phone number, it is easy to believe they really are from your bank. For business owners and executives, those same profiles make fake-boss payment scams more convincing, help criminals guess security questions and give SIM-swappers the details they need to impersonate you to your mobile carrier.

There is a physical-safety side, too. A home address that appears next to your name and photo is a real concern for anyone dealing with a stalker, an angry former client or a public-facing job.

You cannot erase yourself completely, but you can make yourself a much harder target.

How to shrink your footprint

  • Opt out of people-search sites: Sites like Spokeo, Whitepages and similar services have opt-out pages. It takes time, and some listings reappear, but it works.
  • Consider a removal service: Paid services submit opt-out requests to dozens or hundreds of brokers for you and repeat them over time. Compare what they cover before you pay.
  • Lock down social media: Hide your friends list, birthday, hometown and employer from the public, and remove old posts that reveal your address or routines.
  • Limit what you hand out: Skip optional fields on forms and loyalty programs, and use an email alias for shopping and newsletters.
  • Clean up old accounts: Delete accounts you no longer use instead of just abandoning them.

A new tool for Californians

One request, hundreds of brokers

If you live in California, you now have the most powerful option in the country. Under the state’s Delete Act, the California Privacy Protection Agency launched DROP, the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform. It is free, and after you verify that you are a California resident, a single request goes to more than 600 registered data brokers. Since August 1, 2026, those brokers must check DROP at least every 45 days and process deletion requests.

If you live elsewhere, you still have options. Several states now give residents rights to request deletion from companies that hold their data, and every broker’s own opt-out process remains available regardless of where you live. Expect this to keep improving as more states follow California’s lead.

What you cannot remove, and how to work around it

Some information comes from public records that brokers are allowed to republish: property ownership, court filings, voter records in some states and business registrations. Opting out of a broker removes its listing, but the underlying record stays with the county or state.

  • Business filings: If you run an LLC, consider using a registered agent service or a business mailing address instead of your home address on state filings.
  • Mail and packages: A P.O. box or virtual mailbox for subscriptions, returns and business mail keeps your home address out of many marketing lists.
  • Property records: Some states offer address confidentiality programs for people with safety concerns. Check with your state if this applies to you.

The goal is not invisibility. It is to make your details inconsistent, incomplete and harder to buy in one tidy package.

A practical one-hour plan

  • Search yourself: Try your name with your city, and your phone number and email address, in a search engine. Note the people-search sites that appear.
  • Opt out of the top five: Start with the sites that ranked highest. Use an email alias for the confirmation messages.
  • Californians: Submit a single DROP request.
  • Freeze your credit: It does not remove data, but it blocks the most damaging use of it. See what to do when your data is already out there.
  • Set a reminder: Search again in three months. Listings do come back.

Quick win: Freeze your credit with Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. It is free, it does not affect your score, and it blocks the most damaging use of leaked personal data: opening new accounts in your name.

Be careful with “remove my data” emails

As removal services have become popular, so have scams impersonating them. Only use services you sought out yourself, and never pay or share a Social Security number because of an unsolicited email or text claiming your data is “exposed.” The same rule applies to fake security alerts: urgency plus a request for money or information means stop.

For business owners

Your personal profile and your company are connected. Attackers use broker data to map who works where, who handles payments and who reports to whom. Encourage leaders and finance staff to run through the plan above, keep personal cell numbers off public company pages where possible, and treat unexpected calls that “already know everything” with extra suspicion. You cannot erase yourself completely, but you can make yourself a much harder target than the next person.