How to remove your personal information from the internet (free steps first)

You can remove a lot of your personal information from the internet for free, but not all of it. There are three main free moves. Ask Google to stop showing pages that list your address, phone number or email. Opt out of people-search sites one by one. If you live in California, send one request through the state’s new deletion tool. Expect to repeat some steps, because opt-outs do not always stick.

What you can and can’t remove

Your details usually sit in two places. One is the website that published them. The other is a search engine, like Google, that sends people to that website.

Removing a result from Google hides the page from search. It does not delete the page. Google says the information still exists on the source web page, and that you must contact the website’s owner to remove it there.

Many of those websites belong to data brokers. California’s privacy agency defines a data broker as a business that collects personal information about consumers from various sources and sells it to other companies. This holds even when the consumer never dealt with the business. A people-search site is a website that publishes profiles of private people so that anyone can look them up.

The law is uneven. In a 2024 report, Consumer Reports wrote that no federal law gives people the right to opt out of people-search sites. Several states have passed laws meant to give that right, it said, but only some sites offer a way to use it, and others rely on loopholes to deny it. So your steps depend on where you live and which sites you find.

The free steps, in order

1. Find out what is out there. Search your full name with your city. Then search your phone number and your street address. Write down each site that shows your details, and the date.

2. Use Google’s “Results about you.” This tool looks for your home address, phone number and email address in search results. You can add nicknames, a maiden name, and more than one address, phone number or email. Turn on notifications, and Google tells you when new matches appear. For each match, choose “Request to remove.” Google emails you the decision, and you can track it under “Removal requests.”

   • Most approved requests make the page disappear from every search. Some remove it only for searches that include your name.
   • Google won’t remove results with your contact info from pages owned by schools, government bodies or newspapers.
   • Google says some features are still rolling out in certain markets. If you don’t see the tool, use the form in step 3.

3. Report more sensitive information to Google. A separate Google form covers Social Security, tax ID and resident ID numbers. It also covers bank account and credit card numbers, pictures of your signature or ID, private records such as medical records, and confidential usernames and passwords. It handles “doxxing” too, which means pages that share your private information to harm you. Google says it may keep content that is about something important or newsworthy. If your Social Security number is exposed, also read our guide to freezing your credit.

4. Opt out of people-search sites. Work through the sites on your list. Each one has its own process.

   • Look for a link such as “Opt out” or “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information.” It is often at the bottom of the page or in the privacy policy. Under California’s privacy law, a business that sells personal information must post a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link on its website, the state attorney general says.
   • Share only what you must. Consumer Reports found that some sites ask you to create an account, or to give a driver’s license number or a current phone number, before they act.
   • Don’t pay to opt out. Consumer Reports also found sites with deceptive designs that appear meant to push you toward subscriptions.
   • Write down the date. In Consumer Reports’ small manual group (four people, 47 profiles), 33 profiles were gone after one week and three more after one month.

5. If you live in California, file one DROP request. DROP stands for Delete Request and Opt-out Platform. The California Privacy Protection Agency runs it, and it is free. You confirm you are a California resident through the state’s identity service or through Login.gov. Then you send one request to the data brokers registered with the state. The agency’s page says there are over 600 of them, as of October 26, 2026.

   • People could start filing on January 1, 2026. Brokers had to begin processing requests on August 1, 2026, and must check DROP at least once every 45 days.
   • Status updates can take up to 90 days to appear.
   • You can file for another California resident, such as a parent for a child.
   • The agency warns that deletion may mean fewer targeted ads or less personalized content.

   DROP reaches registered data brokers. Treat it as one more layer, not a replacement for steps 2 to 4.

6. Use your state’s privacy law. Some states let you ask companies to delete the personal data they hold about you. In California, you can ask a business to delete personal information it collected from you, with some exceptions, and to tell its service providers to do the same. Connecticut’s law, in effect since July 1, 2023, also covers publicly available information that a company compiled into a consumer profile. Companies there must answer within 45 days, and can take 45 more in some cases. If you live elsewhere, check your state attorney general’s website to see whether your state has a similar law.

7. Stop prescreened offers. Companies sometimes send “prescreened” credit or insurance offers, using lists from credit bureaus. The credit bureaus run the opt-out at optoutprescreen.com and at 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). You can opt out for five years, or permanently by returning a form. The FTC says requests are processed within five days, but it can take several weeks for offers to stop. You will be asked for your Social Security number and date of birth. Type the web address yourself, and don’t follow a link from an email or text.

What paid removal services do

A paid removal service sends opt-out requests to many people-search sites for you, then checks back. In its 2024 report, Consumer Reports said these services charged from $19.99 a year to more than $1,000. It tested seven of them in 2023, with 32 volunteers and 13 people-search sites.

The results were weak. Consumer Reports found 332 instances of information about the 28 volunteers who used a service. Only 117 of them, or 35%, were gone after four months. For every volunteer who used a service, information still appeared on some of the 13 sites at each check. The services did save time compared with opting out by hand.

Consumer Reports listed limits. The sample was small and not random, so it did not call the results statistically significant or nationally representative. Volunteers gave the services only limited details and did not answer follow-up questions. The test also ran in 2023, and services change. Treat it as a caution, not a score for any product.

It also found that some removal services advertised on, or partnered with, people-search sites. Before you pay anyone, ask what exactly they remove, how often they check, and what happens when you cancel. This page does not recommend or link to any paid service.

If you may be in danger

If someone has stalked, threatened or harassed you, removing your address from the internet can help. It is only one part of a safety plan.

Many states run address confidentiality programs. In California, the Safe at Home program gives participants a substitute mailing address that state, county and city agencies accept instead of a home address. The state says the program works best as part of an overall safety plan. Missouri’s Secretary of State keeps a list of similar programs. It says eligibility rules and services vary by state, and its list shows states with no program.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline can help you plan safe steps. Call 1-800-799-7233, text START to 88788, or chat at thehotline.org. Use a device that the person you fear can’t see. The Hotline warns that internet use can be monitored and is impossible to erase completely.

What can go wrong

• It can come back. Consumer Reports found that information sometimes gets removed but reappears weeks or months later. Check again after a month, then every few months.
• Other doors stay open. Google says that even after it removes something from Search, people might still find it through links, social media or other search engines.
• Your online experience may change. The California agency says deleting your data may mean fewer targeted ads or less personalized content. It also says results on unwanted texts, calls and emails vary by person and can take time to notice.

What to do now

1. Search your name, phone number and address today, and list every site that shows them.
2. Set up Google’s “Results about you” with notifications, and request removal of each result that shows your contact info.
3. Opt out of the people-search sites on your list without paying, and write down the date. If you live in California, also file one DROP request.
4. Check again in a week, in a month, and every few months.
5. If you may be in danger, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 and ask about your state’s address confidentiality program.