How to Remove Your Personal Information from the Internet (2026 Guide)
There are 4 steps to get your personal data off the internet: find what's out there, clean up what you can yourself, tackle data brokers, and decide if a paid removal service is worth your time. We'll walk through all four — including which paid service our team actually uses and why.
You can remove most of your data for free, but expect to spend 20–30 hours upfront and a few hours every few months just to keep it gone. For most people, a service like DeleteMe (~$10/month) that monitors 700+ data broker sites automatically is simply worth it. The ongoing "whack-a-mole" problem is the part DIY doesn't solve.
Our Recommendations After Testing:
Step 1: Find Out What's Actually Out There
Start by Googling yourself. Use quotes around your name — "First Last" — and try combinations with your city, phone number, and email. Then check sites like WhitePages, Spokeo, and BeenVerified directly. What you find will probably make your skin crawl.
Data brokers don't just grab one piece of info. They stitch together fragments from dozens of sources to build a complete profile. One site might have your email. Another has your old address. A third has your birthday. Once they've got six or seven data points, they can build a detailed profile — including your relatives and their contact information.
⚠ Common sources that feed data brokers (many you've completely forgotten): loyalty programs, mobile apps, online surveys, Wi-Fi login portals at coffee shops, property records, business filings, and abandoned social media profiles.
Where does your data come from?
Step 2: Clean Up What You Can Control
Before you go after data brokers, handle the sources you control directly. This won't remove everything, but it stops new data from flowing into the broker ecosystem.
Delete old social media accounts
Every unused profile is a live data source. Facebook, X/Twitter, LinkedIn, old forums, dating apps — if you're not using it, delete it, don't just deactivate it.
Shut down unused email addresses
Old email accounts tied to your name are regularly scraped. Close any you haven't used in the past year.
Scrub your active profiles
Remove posts, comments, tags, and photos that reveal your location, employer, birthday, or family members from every live account.
Contact website owners directly
If your info appears on a non-broker site, email the owner requesting removal. Some will help. Many won't — and this is where the process gets tedious.
Use Google's removal tool
Google's tool can delist specific personal details — phone number or home address — from search results. It only works after you've already tried to get it removed from the source site first.
Step 3: Tackle Data Brokers (The Hard Part)
There are dozens of data broker sites, each with its own opt-out process. Some are straightforward. Many are deliberately confusing and time-consuming. A few require actual physical paperwork sent by mail.
| Data Broker Site | Opt-Out Difficulty | Typical Wait Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| WhitePages | Medium | 1–3 days | Phone verification required |
| Spokeo | Easy | 24–48 hours | Email confirmation needed |
| BeenVerified | Medium | 1–2 weeks | Must opt out per record |
| Intelius | Hard | 2–4 weeks | Covers multiple subsidiary sites |
| Acxiom | Medium | Up to 30 days | Large B2B broker, worth prioritizing |
| LexisNexis | Hard | 30+ days | May require mailed paperwork |
| Epsilon / LiveRamp | Hard | Varies | Major ad data supplier, complex process |
⚠ The whack-a-mole problem: Even after you successfully remove your data, it can reappear weeks or months later. Data brokers constantly scrape new information and sell data to each other — removing it from one place doesn't stop it from spreading elsewhere. You'll need calendar reminders and a spreadsheet to revisit dozens of sites every few months. That's the part the DIY guides don't warn you about.
Step 4: Decide Whether a Paid Service Is Worth It
Paid data removal services handle everything in Steps 2 and 3 on your behalf — finding your info, submitting opt-outs, following up, and monitoring for reappearance. The biggest names are DeleteMe, Incogni, and Optery. Most charge between $7 and $25/month depending on the plan and whether you're covering one person or a family.
The most important variable between services is how many sites they actually cover. Some check a few dozen. DeleteMe claims to scan over 700 — a meaningful difference in real-world protection.
| Service | Sites Covered | Ongoing Monitoring | Detailed Reports | Est. Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeleteMe ⭐ | 700+ | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ~$10/mo (annual) |
| Incogni | 180+ | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ~$7/mo (annual) |
| Optery | 200+ | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ~$13/mo |
| DIY (Manual) | Varies | ✗ You handle it | ✗ No | $0 + 20–30 hrs |
How DeleteMe Works (What We Actually Tested)
Our team uses DeleteMe personally and has run side-by-side comparisons. Here's the actual process:
Submit your information
Name, current and past addresses, phone numbers, emails, and any aliases. More complete = better results. You'll upload an ID photo (you can cover your face) to verify identity for removal requests.
Grant limited power of attorney
This allows DeleteMe to submit opt-out requests on your behalf without needing sign-off each time — standard practice for these services.
They scan and remove
DeleteMe scans hundreds of data broker sites, flags anywhere your information appears, and starts submitting removal requests. They handle follow-ups and complications.
You get a detailed report within a week
Within the first 7 days you'll receive a report showing where your data was found and what's already been removed. You can log in anytime to track progress.
Ongoing monitoring — automatically
Every few months DeleteMe rescans the web. If your information resurfaces anywhere, they handle it without any action needed from you. This is what solves the whack-a-mole problem.
Watch our complete video guide on How to Remove Your Personal Information from the Internet in 2026
The Time Math: Is It Worth Paying?
Even if you value your time at just $10/hour, the upfront DIY effort alone costs more than a full year of DeleteMe — and paid services typically get better results because they know exactly which brokers to target and how to spot when data resurfaces.
DIY vs. Paid Removal: Honest Breakdown
Paid Service (e.g. DeleteMe)
- Covers 700+ data broker sites vs. whatever you find yourself
- Solves the ongoing whack-a-mole problem automatically
- Better results — they know who to contact and how
- Bonus features: email masking, burner numbers, masked cards
- Live support instead of waiting days for email replies
- Detailed reports showing what was found and removed
DIY Removal
- 20–30 hours upfront — easily a full work week
- Data reappears — requires ongoing calendar reminders
- Many brokers have deliberately confusing opt-out flows
- Some require physical mail — a real barrier for most people
- You'll miss brokers you didn't know existed
Our Recommendations
Skip the 30-Hour DIY Project
Check for a discount via our link before signing up directly — we keep them updated.
Get DeleteMe — See Current Discount → ~$10/month · 700+ sites monitored · Ongoing protection included