Our personal information is all over the internet. Whenever we create online accounts, we provide details such as our names and contact information. When we post photos or comments, random individuals can know what we look like, where we live, and which school we went to.

This exposure of our personal data poses significant privacy risks. In this post, we’ll explore effective methods to remove your personal information from the internet.

1. Remove Yourself from Search Engine Results

The first step is to understand what information about you is online and who has it. You can start by searching yourself on search engines like Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo. Make sure you search for details including:

• full name
• aliases
• online usernames
• current and old phone numbers
• email addresses
• current and past addresses

Browse through the search results to see if you can locate your personal information. If you see a result you’d rather keep private, you can either contact the site owner or request Google to remove it from search results.

To use the Google Removals tool, click the three-dot icon then click Remove result, and follow the instructions to submit the request. Note that this can take a while before the result is taken down.

2. Remove Your Data from People-Finder Sites

People-finder sites, also known as people search sites or data brokers, collect information on individuals from various sources, compile it into comprehensive profiles, and sell it to any interested individuals or parties.

These profiles may contain information like your full name, date of birth, home address, phone number, email address, family member details, social media accounts, criminal records, property records, and so on.

Most of these sites let you opt out of their databases so your information won’t be searchable. Here is a list of major people-finder sites where you can opt out:

1. Acxiom
   Acxiom is a marketing firm that collects, analyzes, and sells customer information to businesses to create more targeted advertising. You can opt out here: https://www.acxiom.com/optout/.
   
2. Advanced Background Checks
   You can search for your information here: https://www.advancedbackgroundchecks.com/. To remove your data, visit here: https://www.advancedbackgroundchecks.com/removal.
   
3. FastPeopleSearch
   You can look up your information with FastPeopleSearch for free. To remove your information, visit here: https://www.fastpeoplesearch.com/removal.
   
4. TruePeopleSearch
   You can opt out of the service here: https://www.truepeoplesearch.com/removal.
   
5. Archives
   You can sign up for a free trial and search for your information with Archives. Opt out here: http://www.archives.com/Optout.
   
6. BackgroundAlert
   You can look up your information on this site. To opt out, visit this page: https://www.backgroundalert.com/optout/.
   
7. CheckPeople
   You can search for your data and opt out here: https://checkpeople.com/do-not-sell-info.
   
8. Cyber Background Checks
   You can opt out here: https://www.cyberbackgroundchecks.com/removal.
   
9. ClustrMaps
   Search for your information here: https://clustrmaps.com/. To remove it, go here: https://clustrmaps.com/bl/opt-out.
   
10. Dataveria
    You can search for information about yourself on this site here: https://dataveria.com/. To opt out, go to this page: https://dataveria.com/ng/control/privacy.
    
11. FamilyTreeNow
    Search for yourself here: https://www.familytreenow.com/. To remove your information, visit here: https://www.familytreenow.com/optout.
    
12. FreePeopleDirectory
    Search for your information at https://www.freepeopledirectory.com. Opt out here: https://www.freepeopledirectory.com/optout.
    
13. Glad I Know
    Look up your information here: https://gladiknow.com/. To remove your data, visit this page: https://gladiknow.com/opt-out.
    
14. BeenVerified
    BeenVerified also owns PeopleLooker, PeopleSmart, NeighborWho, Ownerly, ReversePhone.com, and NumberGuru. You can opt out of the service here: https://www.beenverified.com/app/optout/search.
    
15. IDTrue
    Opt out here: https://www.idtrue.com/optout/
    
16. InfoTracer
    You can opt out here: https://www.infotracer.com/optout.
    
17. Intelius
    Intelius is owned by the same company that also owns TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, and US Search. You can opt out of these services by filling out the form at https://suppression.peopleconnect.us/login.
    
18. MyLife
    Opt out here: https://www.mylife.com/ccpa/index.pubview.
    
19. NeighborReport
    You can look up your own information with this tool. If you find a report, go to https://neighbor.report/remove to opt out of the site.
    
20. Nuwber
    Search for your information here: https://nuwber.com/. To remove your data, visit here: https://nuwber.com/removal/link.
    
21. Peek You
    Find your information here: https://www.peekyou.com/. You can opt out here: https://www.peekyou.com/about/contact/optout.
    
22. PeopleByName
    Look up your name here: https://www.peoplebyname.com. Opt out the service here: https://www.peoplebyname.com/remove.php.
    
23. PeopleFinders
    Opt out here: https://www.peoplefinders.com/opt-out.
     
24. Advanced People Search
    Opt out here: https://www.advanced-people-search.com/static/view/optout/
    
25. PublicRecordsNow
    Opt out here: https://www.publicrecordsnow.com/static/view/optout/
    
26. PeopleSearchNow
    Opt out here: https://www.peoplesearchnow.com/opt-out.
    
27. PimEyes
    PimEyes is a facial recognition search engine that can find pictures containing someone’s face. You can upload your photo to https://pimeyes.com/ to see if you can find your other photos online. To opt out, visit here: https://pimeyes.com/en/opt-out-request-form.
    
28. Facecheck
    Facecheck.id is a face search engine that uses face recognition technology to locate your face across the internet. You can upload a photo of yours and see if it can find anything about you. If it does, you can remove your face from its search results. Note that this will not remove your image from the various websites on which it was found, but simply will not allow people to search for it on the Facecheck site.
    
29. Pipl
    Opt out of the service at https://pipl.com/personal-information-removal-request.
    
30. Private Eye
    You can look for your information at https://www.privateeye.com/. Opt out here: https://www.privateeye.com/static/view/optout/.
    
31. PrivateRecords
    Opt out here: https://www.privaterecords.net/optOut/name/landing.
    
32. PublicDataUSA
    Find your information here: https://www.publicdatausa.com/. Opt out here: https://www.publicdatausa.com/remove.php.
    
33. PublicRecordsNow
    Look up your information here: https://www.publicrecordsnow.com/. Opt our here: https://www.publicrecordsnow.com/static/view/optout/
    
34. Radaris
    Look up your information here: http://radaris.com. To opt out of this service, follow the instructions here: http://radaris.com/page/how-to-remove.
    
35. Homemetry
    Homemetry is a website that provides information on properties, householders, and tenants. You can look up your home address here: https://homemetry.com/. If your name and phone number are listed on the search result, click on the Information control link to remove them.
    
36. SearchBug
    Contact the SearchBug team to remove your data here: https://www.searchbug.com/contact-us.aspx.
    
37. SearchPeopleFree
    Find your information here: https://www.searchpeoplefree.com/. Opt out here: https://www.searchpeoplefree.com/opt-out.
    
38. SearchQuarry
    Find your information here: https://www.searchquarry.com/. If it’s listed, opt out here: https://members.searchquarry.com/removeMyData/.
    
39. SmartBackgroundChecks
    Find your information here: https://www.smartbackgroundchecks.com/. Opt out here: https://www.smartbackgroundchecks.com/optout
    
40. Social Catfish
    Look up your information here https://socialcatfish.com/, and copy the URL of your report. Opt out here: https://socialcatfish.com/opt-out/.
    
41. Spokeo
    Search for your information here: https://www.spokeo.com and remove your data here https://www.spokeo.com/optout.
    
42. SpyFly
    Look for your data here:https://www.spyfly.com. Opt out here: https://www.spyfly.com/help-center/remove-my-public-record.
    
43. That’s Them
    Find your information here: https://thatsthem.com. Remove your data here: https://thatsthem.com/optout.
    
44. United States Phone Book
    Search for your information here: https://www.unitedstatesphonebook.com/search.php. Opt out here:  https://www.unitedstatesphonebook.com/contact.php.
    
45. USA People Search
    Remove your information at https://www.usa-people-search.com/manage.
    
46. USA-Official
    Look up your information here https://usa-official.com/remove.php. Opt out here: https://usa-official.com/remove.php.
    
47. USPhoneBook
    Look up your data here: https://www.usphonebook.com. Opt out here: https://www.usphonebook.com/opt-out/.
    
48. Verecor
    Find your information at https://verecor.com. You can opt out at https://verecor.com/ng/control/privacy.
    
49. Vericora
    Find your information here: https://vericora.com/profile/search. Opt out here: https://vericora.com/ng/control/privacy.
    
50. VoterRecords
    Look up your information at VoterRecords.com, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on the “Record Opt-Out” link.
    
51. White Pages
    White Pages also owns 411.com and Peoplesearch.com. You can look up your information here: https://www.whitepages.com/. To opt out of these services, visit here: https://www.whitepages.com/suppression_requests.
    
52. ZoomInfo
    Remove your data here: https://privacyrequest.zoominfo.com/remove/verify.
53. LocatePeople
    You can search for your information here: https://www.locatepeople.com/searching.php. Opt out of this service by contacting the support team: https://www.locatepeople.com/contact.php.

3. Use a Data Removal Tool

Manually opting out of people search sites can be time-consuming. If you don’t have the time, consider a personal information removal service like DeleteMe. It’s a dedicated data removal tool that finds and removes your personal information from more than 750 data brokers. It continuously monitors the web for your profile and sends out removal requests every 3 months.

You can run a free scan with DeleteMe to find out which brokers have your information. Simply go to the DeleteMe Scan page, type in your name and your city, and then click Get FREE report.

4. Delete Old Online Accounts

To secure your information, another way is to delete unnecessary online accounts, as most of the accounts have your name, email, phone number, and other details.

Try listing accounts you’ve created on social media, e-commerce sites, forums, and emails, and delete those you don’t need. If you have trouble tracking down old accounts, check your password manager or email inbox for account creation messages.

5. Make Your Accounts Private

While deleting online accounts can significantly reduce your digital footprints, you probably don’t want to vanish from the internet. If you prefer to keep certain accounts but want to limit your online exposure, set them to private. This limits who can view your posts and profiles. For example, if you set your account to private on Instagram, only your approved followers can see what you share.

Hopefully, this post helped you remove your personal information from the Internet. If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment below.