Your personal information is online. Here's what that means.
Data brokers collect your name, address, phone number, and relatives from public records and purchase data, then sell them openly. That exposed data feeds the spam calls, scam texts, and fraud that follow. These guides explain how it works and how to take your information back.
Check your exposure free →Start with these three.
Read them in order for a fast tour of where your data lives and what to do about it.
Browse by topic
Guides and walkthroughs, organized by what you need to know.
Looking for something specific? See our privacy & safety guides, removal service comparisons, or state-by-state privacy law.
What are data brokers?
The companies buying and selling your personal data: who they are, what they do, and how they differ.
5 articles
How it works
The mechanics behind data collection, aggregation, and the billion-dollar industry built on your personal information.
7 articles
The risks
What data exposure leads to: spam calls, identity theft, and threats to your physical safety.
4 articles
What you can do
Step-by-step guides to finding, removing, and preventing your data from being sold online.
6 articles
Legal and policy
Your rights under state and federal law, and where data broker regulation is heading.
2 articles
Broker-specific removal guides
Step-by-step opt-out walkthroughs for the most common data brokers. Find your broker, follow the guide, remove your data.
105 guides
- Remove yourself from SpokeoPopular
- Remove yourself from Whitepages
- Remove yourself from Radaris
- Remove yourself from BeenVerified
- Remove yourself from TruePeopleSearch
- Remove yourself from FastPeopleSearch
- Remove yourself from Intelius
- Remove yourself from PeopleFinders
- Remove yourself from Instant Checkmate
- Remove yourself from TruthFinder
- Remove yourself from FamilyTreeNow
- Remove yourself from ThatsThem
- Remove yourself from PeekYou
- Remove yourself from Nuwber
- Remove yourself from MyLife
- Remove yourself from Social Catfish
- Remove yourself from SearchPeopleFree
- Remove yourself from 411
- Remove yourself from 6sense
- Remove yourself from Acxiom
- Remove yourself from Adapt.io
- Remove yourself from Addresses
- Remove yourself from Adstra
- Remove yourself from AdvancedBackgroundChecks
- Remove yourself from AnyWho
- Remove yourself from Apollo.io
- Remove yourself from AtData
- Remove yourself from Bombora
- Remove yourself from Catalist
- Remove yourself from Centeda
- Remove yourself from CheckPeople
- Remove yourself from Claritas
- Remove yourself from Clearbit
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- Remove yourself from Cognism
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- Remove yourself from CoreLogic
- Remove yourself from CyberBackgroundChecks
- Remove yourself from Data Axle
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- Remove yourself from Dataveria
- Remove yourself from Demandbase
- Remove yourself from DOBSearch
- Remove yourself from Dun & Bradstreet
- Remove yourself from Epsilon
- Remove yourself from Equifax Marketing
- Remove yourself from Experian Marketing Services
- Remove yourself from FamilySearch
- Remove yourself from FastBackgroundCheck
- Remove yourself from FindPeopleSearch
- Remove yourself from GoLookup
- Remove yourself from Gravy Analytics
- Remove yourself from Hunter.io
- Remove yourself from I360
- Remove yourself from IDTrue
- Remove yourself from Information
- Remove yourself from Innovis
- Remove yourself from Kaspr
- Remove yourself from Kochava
- Remove yourself from L2 Political
- Remove yourself from Lead411
- Remove yourself from LeadGenius
- Remove yourself from LeadIQ
- Remove yourself from LexisNexis
- Remove yourself from LiveRamp
- Remove yourself from Lotame
- Remove yourself from Lusha
- Remove yourself from Merkle
- Remove yourself from Mobilewalla
- Remove yourself from NeighborWho
- Remove yourself from Neustar
- Remove yourself from Nielsen
- Remove yourself from Oracle Advertising
- Remove yourself from Outlogic
- Remove yourself from Ownerly
- Remove yourself from People Data Labs
- Remove yourself from PeopleConnect
- Remove yourself from PeopleLooker
- Remove yourself from PeopleSmart
- Remove yourself from PeopleWhiz
- Remove yourself from Persopo
- Remove yourself from Pipl
- Remove yourself from PrivateEye
- Remove yourself from PublicRecordsNow
- Remove yourself from Rehold
- Remove yourself from RingLead
- Remove yourself from RocketReach
- Remove yourself from SalesIntel
- Remove yourself from Seamless.AI
- Remove yourself from SignalHire
- Remove yourself from Slintel
- Remove yourself from SmartBackgroundChecks
- Remove yourself from Swordfish
- Remove yourself from TransUnion Marketing
- Remove yourself from UpLead
- Remove yourself from USA People Search
- Remove yourself from USPhoneBook
- Remove yourself from USSearch
- Remove yourself from Vericast
- Remove yourself from VeriPages
- Remove yourself from Verisk Marketing (Infutor)
- Remove yourself from Versium
- Remove yourself from Xlek
- Remove yourself from ZabaSearch
- Remove yourself from ZoomInfo
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers to the most common questions about data brokers and online privacy.
Are data brokers legal?
Mostly yes. There is no comprehensive federal law regulating data brokers in the United States. Some states, including California, Vermont, and Texas, require data brokers to register or give you the right to delete your data. But in most states, collecting and selling personal information is legal. Read our full explainer.
Can I make data brokers delete my information?
Yes, but it takes effort. Most data brokers offer an opt-out process where you can request removal of your profile. The catch: each broker has a different process, there are hundreds of them, and your data typically reappears within 30–90 days as new data sources re-populate your profile. See our removal guide.
How did my information end up online?
Data brokers collect from public records (voter registration, property deeds, court filings), social media profiles, retail purchase data, app SDKs, surveys, and other brokers. Your data has likely passed through multiple companies before reaching a people-search site. Learn how they get your data.
Do data brokers sell to scammers?
Not intentionally, but the effect is similar. People-search sites make your personal data available to anyone for a few dollars. Scammers use this information to craft convincing phishing attacks, impersonate you, or target you with phone fraud. The data doesn't need to be "sold to scammers" when it's sold to everyone.
How often does data come back after removal?
Typically 30–90 days. Data brokers re-ingest from the same sources that populated your profile originally. This is why one-time removal isn't enough. Ongoing monitoring and re-filing keep your information offline.
Does deleting social media help?
It reduces one data source, but most broker data comes from public records and purchase data, not social media. Deleting a social media profile won't remove your address from people-search sites or your phone number from background check directories. It helps a little, but direct broker opt-outs are what actually work.
Can I sue a data broker?
In some states, yes. California's CCPA/CPRA provides a private right of action for data breaches, and some state privacy laws allow lawsuits for violations. However, suing over the mere act of data brokering is difficult because most of the data they collect is technically public. See laws by state.
What is the difference between a data broker and a credit bureau?
The major credit bureaus are regulated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). They must let you dispute inaccurate information and can only share your data for specific purposes like lending decisions. Data brokers face no such requirements. They sell to anyone and have no obligation to verify accuracy.
Do VPNs protect against data brokers?
No. VPNs hide your IP address from websites, but data brokers don't rely on your IP. They use public records, purchase data, app telemetry, and other offline sources. A VPN is a useful privacy tool for other reasons, but it won't keep your name and address off people-search sites.
Is my data on the dark web?
Possibly, if you've been part of a data breach. But for most people, the more immediate problem is the open web. Your personal information is publicly listed on dozens of sites that anyone can access without hacking. Compare dark web vs. data brokers.
How long does removal take?
It varies by site. Some brokers process opt-outs within 24 hours. Others take up to 45 days (the maximum allowed under California's CCPA). Most fall in between, with 3 to 14 days typical. The real time investment is finding your listings across hundreds of sites and submitting individual removal requests to each one.
Can anyone look me up on a people-search site?
Yes. Most people-search sites show basic information (name, city, age) for free and charge $1–30 for full reports including addresses, phone numbers, relatives, and more. No verification of identity or purpose is required. What people-search sites are.
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