How to Remove Your Home Address from the Internet

Intermediate Time: 2-3 hours Category: Data Privacy

Your home address is publicly available on dozens of data broker and people-search websites, often linked to your full name, phone number, and family members. Removing it reduces your exposure to stalking, swatting, targeted theft, and identity fraud. This guide walks through every major source and how to request removal.

Why This Matters

Doxxing, the malicious publication of someone's home address, has become a widespread tactic for harassment and intimidation. Beyond targeted attacks, publicly available addresses are used by identity thieves to answer security questions, pass identity verification checks, and send fraudulent change-of-address requests to the USPS. According to the Data & Society Research Institute, 1 in 4 Americans has had personal information, including their home address, exposed in a way that made them feel unsafe. Your address is also used to generate profiles on people-search sites that aggregate it with your phone number, email, property records, and relatives.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. Google your full name plus your city and state (e.g., "John Smith Dallas TX") to see which people-search sites list your address. Also try your street address in quotes.
  2. Submit opt-out requests to major people-search sites. Key sites and their opt-out pages include: Spokeo (spokeo.com/optout), WhitePages (whitepages.com/suppression-requests), BeenVerified (beenverified.com/app/optout/search), FastPeopleSearch (fastpeoplesearch.com, click Remove next to your record), TruePeopleSearch (click Remove on your listing), and Radaris (radaris.com/control/privacy). Each site has a different process, and most require email confirmation.
  3. Check your county's property records and tax assessor website. Some counties allow you to request that your address be redacted from publicly searchable property records, especially if you can demonstrate a safety concern. Contact your county assessor's office directly.
  4. Update your voter registration to use a P.O. box if your state allows it, or check if your state has an address confidentiality program (ACP). Many states offer these for victims of domestic violence, stalking, or other threats.
  5. Remove your address from social media profiles, including Facebook (check About > Contact and Basic Info), LinkedIn, and any other platforms where you may have listed it.
  6. Opt out of direct mail marketing lists through the DMA Choice program at dmachoice.org, and register at OptOutPrescreen.com to stop pre-approved credit offer mailings that are tied to your address.
  7. Set a calendar reminder to re-check and re-submit opt-outs every 3-6 months, as data brokers regularly re-aggregate removed information.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Only checking one or two data broker sites: Your address likely appears on 20-50 or more people-search sites. A thorough cleanup requires checking and submitting opt-outs to all of them.
  • Ignoring public records as a source: Property records, voter registration, and court records are often the original source that data brokers scrape. Address the source, not just the aggregators.
  • Using your home address on new registrations: After cleaning up, use a P.O. box or virtual mailbox service for future registrations, domain registrations, and business filings.
  • Forgetting about Google Maps and Street View: You can request that Google blur your home on Street View by navigating to your address on Google Maps, clicking the image, selecting "Report a problem," and requesting the blur.

Additional Tips

  • A paid data removal service like Optery or DeleteMe can handle opt-outs across hundreds of sites and monitor for re-listing.
  • Consider getting a virtual mailbox (e.g., Traveling Mailbox, US Global Mail) to use as your mailing address on public-facing documents and registrations.
  • If you own a business, consider registering it to a P.O. box or registered agent address instead of your home to keep your address out of public business filings.

Last updated: February 10, 2026