About Public Data Search Engines

If you’ve ever searched for someone on the web, you may have found data gleaned from publicly accessible information. Websites that have this data—including phone numbers, addresses, land records, marriage records, death records, and criminal history—collected and consolidated it from dozens of places and put it in one convenient hub. Websites that offer this information are not breaking any laws. This is public information, so they function as search engines for public data. Aggregating this information into one place and making it accessible can raise privacy concerns. A simple people search website allows anyone to research your life. Here’s how you can opt out of the popular background check and people search websites. You don’t need to pay for your information to be removed.

Radaris

To delete your information from Radaris, find yourself in their public records and then verify that you are who you say you are.

USA People Search lets you fill out a form to review what the website has on you so that you can choose to opt out of their database.

Whitepages & 411.com

Whitepages doesn’t let you edit the information they have on you, nor can you necessarily delete the details. However, they do provide a way to hide your information from their website.

PublicRecordsNOW & Private Eye

Both of these websites use an identical opt out form. Here’s how to use it:

PeopleFinders

To delete your name and other information from this site, you have to first find your profile.

Intelius & Zabasearch & AnyWho & More

Intelius is one of the most widely-known pay-for-information people search websites, so it has lots of information on many people. In order to delete your data from their site, you have to fill out a form. If there are details about you that you want removed from Zabasearch, AnyWho, TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, US Search, and probably other sites, you can follow these same steps, since they all pull information from the same source.

PeekYou

PeekYou offers a very simple form to fill out to delete your information from their directory.

BeenVerified & PeopleSmart & PeopleLooker

Deleting your data from BeenVerified can be accomplished by completing a form on their website, and then you have to follow through by selecting a link in your email. Your information is typically deleted 24 hours later. The same directions apply if you want to delete your information from PeopleSmart or PeopleLooker.

Spokeo

Spokeo provides a super easy method for removing your personal information. All you need to do is submit the URL to your profile and confirm the removal request via email. It should take two to three days to process.

FastPeopleSearch

Like most of these people finders, FastPeopleSearch lets you remove your data by first having you find your record. Once you confirm the removal through an email, your information will be deleted within 72 hours.

FamilyTreeNow.com

This family tree website lets you delete your public records from their site through an easy-to-use form. It could take up to 72 hours to complete the request. Know, however, that according to their privacy policy, removing your public data might not delete everything they have on you.

TruePeopleSearch

This site works just like the others, and removing your information is identical to finding it, but you have to go through their opt-out page first. It should take no longer than 72 hours for them to remove your data.

ThatsThem

Deleting your personal information from ThatsThem works a little differently than similar sites, but it’s arguably a faster process. Instead of searching for your record, enter all your details into an opt-out form. It could take up to 7 business days for the request to be fully processed.

Nuwber

Submit your profile link through an opt-out form to delete your personal information from Nuwber within 24 hours.

Spy Dialer

The Spy Dialer opt-out form has you enter all your details so the site knows what to stop publishing. Unlike some people finder sites, this one deletes your information immediately.

CocoFinder & PeopleFinderFree

After locating your information on these sites, you’ll enter the URL to your page in a Google Form to request deletion.

Pipl

Deleting your data from Pipl works differently than all of these other sites. Instead of sending them your profile link or describing who you are, you have to start off emailing them, explaining that there are details about yourself that you don’t want them to show. Open the Request Removal of Your Personal Information page on Pipl, and fill out the form with your name and email address. Someone will get back with you about what to do next.

Truecaller

You can remove your phone number from Truecaller by entering it in the text box on their Unlist Phone Number page. Select Unlist to make sure your number is no longer searchable in their app.

ClustrMaps

Fill out a short form to remove your information from ClustrMaps.

NumLookup

You can delete your phone number from this site by filling out the NumLookup Request to Remove Information form. According to the company, it could take up to 45 days to process the request. Select Next Step.

peopleWhiz

Compared to these other people search sites, deleting your name and other details from peopleWhiz is far from easy. After finding your profile, you need to verify your identity by sending them your ID.

MyLife

Submit a form through the link below to opt-out from MyLife, which will remove any Reputation Profile that matches your information. Requests are processed within 7 business days.

Hunter

This website has over 100 million email addresses indexed, but despite the huge collection, they make it extremely easy to delete yours from their website: Visit their Claim Your Email Address page, choose Delete the data associated with this email address, and enter your email address. You’ll get an email with further instructions.