Data broker removal services compared

What to look for in a removal service

Before comparing services, it helps to know which questions matter. The market has grown quickly, and marketing language can obscure real differences in coverage and methodology. The framework we use:

Broker coverage

How many sites does the service monitor and submit to? The total alone does not tell the story. A service that "covers 500 sites" but pads with social platforms, review sites, and corporate directories is inflating the count. What matters is coverage of actual people-search brokers — the ones aggregating and selling your data. Ask specifically about Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, and Radaris.

Removal verification

Does the service confirm your data was actually removed after submitting a request? Many submit and mark "done" without checking whether the broker complied. A real removal service re-scans each broker after submission to verify the profile is gone. Harder than it sounds — brokers take 24 hours to 6 weeks to process — but essential for knowing the service worked.

Re-monitoring and re-removal

Data brokers regularly relist profiles. A person who was removed from Spokeo in January may reappear by April, because brokers continuously ingest new data from public records and commercial databases. Any worthwhile removal service must monitor for re-listings and submit fresh opt-outs when profiles reappear. Ask how often the service re-scans and what happens when data comes back.

New broker discovery

The data broker ecosystem is not static. New sites appear regularly, and existing sites change their URL structures and opt-out processes. Does the service actively discover and add new brokers to its coverage list? A service running the same static list it launched with three years ago is missing sites that may have your data today.

Price-to-coverage ratio

Pricing ranges from under $8/month to over $20/month. More expensive does not always mean better coverage. Calculate the effective cost per broker covered to understand what you are actually paying for. A service that charges $15/month and covers 40 brokers costs roughly $0.38 per broker per month. A service that charges $8/month and covers 180 brokers costs $0.04 per broker per month. The math matters.

Transparency about methodology

Does the service explain how it works? Can you see which brokers it scans, which ones found your data, and what the removal status is for each? Opacity is a red flag. If a service shows you a dashboard that says "85% removed" without listing which sites were checked, which had your data, and which removals were confirmed, you have no way to evaluate whether the service is actually doing anything.

The honest comparison

Below is a side-by-side comparison of the major data privacy removal services as of early 2026. We have tried to be fair. Every service on this list does useful work -- the question is which one fits your needs and budget.

A few notes. DeleteMe is the longest-running service and has the broadest site count, though their "sites" definition includes categories beyond traditional people-search brokers. Kanary has genuine continuous monitoring at a competitive price. Incogni (Surfshark) offers solid coverage at the lowest price but less granular removal-status visibility. OneRep gives a free scan upfront with good coverage. Privacy Bee targets a premium tier with broader privacy services.

Delist.ai is our service, so we will be direct about where we stand: our free scan covers the web. Our scanning engine actively discovers new brokers and verifies removals by re-scanning after opt-out submission. Our paid removal service is launching soon. Where we are still building is in automated opt-out coverage -- some brokers require manual intervention due to CAPTCHAs or phone verification, and we are transparent about which ones those are.

What most services don't tell you

The removal service market has a transparency problem. Most services present a polished dashboard that shows requests submitted and profiles removed, but the details behind those numbers are often murky. Here is what tends to get left out.

Submitting a request is not the same as removing data

Most services submit a request and report it "complete." Submitting a form is not the same as verifying the data is gone. Brokers can ignore requests, partially comply (removing your name but leaving the phone number), or take weeks. A service that doesn't re-scan after submission has no way to know whether the removal worked. Ask any service: do you verify removal, and how?

Static broker lists age quickly

Many services launched with 50 or 100 brokers and have not meaningfully updated the list since. The ecosystem changes constantly: new sites appear, old ones rebrand, URLs change, opt-out processes get overhauled. A list of "100 sites" from 2022 still being marketed as 100 sites in 2026 is missing brokers that have accumulated your data since.

Re-monitoring intervals vary wildly

"Ongoing monitoring" can mean monthly, quarterly, or twice a year depending on the service. Some services re-scan only when you manually request it. The difference matters because data brokers relist profiles regularly -- a profile removed in January can reappear by March. If your service only checks quarterly, you could be exposed for months without knowing it. The ideal re-monitoring cadence is monthly or more frequent.

The cost per broker varies by an order of magnitude

Divide the monthly price by broker count and the cost per broker ranges from a few cents to over a dollar. $16/month for 60 brokers is roughly $0.27 each — about 7x more per broker than $8/month for 200. Cheaper isn't automatically better (methodology and verification matter), but it's worth knowing what you're paying for.

How Delist.ai works

We think the best way to earn trust in this market is to be specific about what we do and what we do not do. Here is our methodology.

What we do

• Scan the web using a combination of direct profile URL checks, search engine queries, and automated page analysis. We do not inflate our count with social media or review sites.
• Analyze each page with AI to determine whether the listing actually belongs to you, not just someone with a similar name. We score confidence as High, Medium, or Low based on matching phone numbers, email addresses, locations, employers, and other profile data.
• Verify removals by re-scanning after removal requests are submitted. A removal is not marked complete until we confirm the profile is no longer visible on the broker's site.
• Re-monitor on an ongoing basis to catch re-listings. When a broker relists your profile, we flag it and re-submit the opt-out.
• Actively discover new brokers through automated analysis of search results. Our scanning engine identifies new sites as they appear and adds them to our coverage list.

What we do not yet do

• Some brokers require manual intervention. Sites that use CAPTCHA challenges or phone-based identity verification on their opt-out forms cannot be fully automated today. We are transparent about which brokers fall into this category and provide clear instructions for manual submission when needed.
• Email confirmation flows are partially manual. Several brokers send a confirmation email after opt-out submission. We are building automated email handling but it is not yet live.
• We do not cover non-US brokers. Our current coverage is focused on US-based people-search sites. International coverage is planned.

What is coming

• Automated CAPTCHA solving to expand opt-out coverage to the remaining sites
• Automated email confirmation handling for brokers that require it
• Expanded broker list as we continue discovering and adding new sites
• Family plans for covering multiple people in a household

When manual opt-out is actually better

We sell a removal service, but we will be honest: not everyone needs one. In some cases, doing it yourself is perfectly reasonable.

You only have a few listings

If a scan shows your data on 2-3 sites, the manual opt-out process takes about 15-30 minutes per site. You fill out a form, verify your identity (usually by email), and wait a few days to a few weeks for the removal to process. For a small number of sites, this is a manageable task and there is no reason to pay a monthly fee for it.

You want to learn the process

Going through the opt-out process manually at least once teaches you how data brokers work, what information they have, and what the removal process actually involves. This knowledge is valuable regardless of whether you eventually use a service. We have a step-by-step guide if you want to try it.

When a service makes more sense

The math changes at 10, 20, or 40+ sites. At that scale, manual opt-out becomes a multi-hour project you have to repeat every few months. The ongoing monitoring alone — checking whether removals stuck, catching re-listings — is tedious enough to justify a service. If your time is worth more than $8/month and your data is on a dozen or more sites, a service is the practical choice.

There is also a middle ground: run a free scan to understand your exposure, manually opt out of the 3-5 sites that bother you most, and use a service to handle the long tail. This is a perfectly valid approach and one we support.