To remove your information from the internet, start with Google’s “Results about you” tool to request removal of personal data like your phone number and address, then opt out of major data broker sites (Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified), delete or lock down old social media accounts, and set up Google Alerts on your name to catch new exposures. Full removal is rarely possible, but you can shrink your footprint dramatically with a few hours of focused work.
First, Understand What You’re Up Against
Your information lives in three main places online. First, data brokers — companies like Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, and Intelius that scrape public records and sell your address, phone number, and relatives’ names. Second, search engines, mainly Google, which index all of it and make it findable in seconds. Third, your own accounts — old social media profiles, forum posts, and breached databases floating around from services you signed up for a decade ago.
Each one needs a different approach. There’s no single “delete me from the internet” button, despite what some services advertise. But the process below covers all three, in the order that gets the most exposure removed the fastest.
Step 1: Google Yourself (Thoroughly)
Before removing anything, you need an inventory. Search your full name in quotes, your phone number, your email addresses, your home address, and your username handles. Try Google, Bing, and DuckDuckGo — they index different things. Check the Images and Videos tabs too.
Make a list of every result that exposes personal information: your address on a people-search site, an old forum post with your email, a photo you forgot you uploaded. This list becomes your removal hit list. It also gives you a “before” snapshot so you can measure progress.
Step 2: Use Google’s “Results About You” Tool
Google lets you request removal of certain personal information directly from its search results — things like your phone number, email address, home address, login credentials, and ID numbers. Go to Google’s personal info removal page and set up monitoring for your name. When Google finds your info in results, you can request removal with a few clicks.
Important caveat: this removes the result from Google Search, not from the website hosting the information. The page still exists; it’s just harder to find. That’s still valuable — the vast majority of people will never look past Google — but it’s not the same as deletion.
Step 3: Opt Out of Data Broker Sites
This is the biggest win and the most tedious step. Data brokers are the reason a stranger can find your home address in 30 seconds. Each one has an opt-out process, usually buried in their privacy policy or help pages. The major ones to hit:
- Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, Intelius, TruthFinder — the big people-search sites
- Acxiom, Epsilon, Oracle Data Cloud — marketing data brokers
- LexisNexis and ChoicePoint — deeper background-check databases (these require mailed or faxed requests in some cases)
Each opt-out typically requires you to find your listing, submit a removal request, and verify via email. Some will try to make you create an account or jump through hoops. Budget an afternoon for the top 20 or so. If that sounds miserable, paid services like DeleteMe or Kanary will do the opt-outs for you on a subscription — they work, but check reviews and understand you’re paying for convenience, not magic.
Step 4: Lock Down or Delete Old Accounts
That MySpace-era forum account, the Tumblr you abandoned, the photo-sharing site from 2012 — these are all indexed and searchable. Go through your email for old “welcome” and “verify your account” messages to jog your memory, then:
- Delete accounts you don’t use. Most sites have this under Settings → Privacy or Account.
- For accounts you keep, switch everything to private and remove personal details from bios.
- Delete old posts, photos, and comments that contain identifying info.
- Check Have I Been Pwned to see which of your accounts appeared in data breaches, and change those passwords.
Step 5: Remove Content From Specific Websites
For your hit list items that aren’t data brokers — a blog post, a news article, a court record, an image — contact the site owner directly. Most sites have a contact page or a DMCA/privacy request process. Be polite, specific (include exact URLs), and explain clearly what you want removed and why.
Site owners remove content more often than people expect, especially for outdated or non-newsworthy personal information. If they refuse and the content is defamatory or violates privacy laws, you may have legal options — but start with the polite ask.
Step 6: Set Up Ongoing Monitoring
Removal isn’t permanent. Data brokers re-scrape, new breaches happen, and old content resurfaces. Set up Google Alerts for your name, phone number, and email so you get notified of new mentions. Re-check the major broker sites every few months — many people find their listings creep back within a year.
This is also where those paid removal services earn their keep: they re-run opt-outs continuously. If you DIY, put a quarterly reminder on your calendar.
What About the “Right to Be Forgotten”?
In the EU and UK, GDPR gives you a legal right to request deletion of your personal data from companies — and Google must honor certain delisting requests. In California, the CCPA/CPRA gives residents deletion rights against businesses holding their data. If you’re in the US outside California, your legal leverage is thinner, but the opt-out and request processes above still work — they just rely on company policy rather than law.
FAQs About Removing Information From the Internet
Can I completely remove myself from the internet?
Honestly, no — not completely. Public records (property deeds, court filings, voter registration in some states) are legally public and will keep resurfacing. What you can do is remove the easy-to-find aggregations: the broker listings, the old accounts, the indexed personal details. That eliminates 95% of casual snooping, which is what most people actually need.
How long does removal take?
Google removals typically process within a few days. Data broker opt-outs take anywhere from 48 hours to several weeks each, and some require follow-up. A full first pass across the major sites usually takes one to three months before your footprint visibly shrinks.
Are paid removal services worth it?
They save significant time — a service like DeleteMe handles dozens of broker opt-outs and repeats them quarterly. But they can’t remove everything (no service can touch public records or news articles reliably), so go in with realistic expectations. For many people, a DIY first pass plus a service for maintenance is the sweet spot.
Will removing my info hurt anything I need?
Generally no, but note that some removals are one-way. Deleting old accounts can lose photos and messages. And if you run a business, removing yourself entirely can look suspicious to clients doing due diligence — in that case, curate rather than erase.
What if someone posted my info maliciously (doxxing)?
Act fast: report the posts to the platform (most have expedited doxxing removal), request Google delisting through the personal-info tool, document everything with screenshots, and file a police report — doxxing is illegal in a growing number of states. If you’re in immediate danger, contact law enforcement first and worry about search results second.
Related reading: if you’re tightening up your digital life, our guides on securely erasing an iPhone before selling it and blocking unwanted websites on your phone cover the device side of staying private.
