What the paid services do, and the free way

Paid services are worth it if your time is worth more than the fee, especially for repeat removals. They don't have special powers: they use the same opt-out forms and privacy laws you can.

Paid removal and masking services compared with free equivalents
Service	Price	What it does	Free equivalent
Incogni	Subscription	Sends automated deletion requests to a fixed list of brokers and re-sends them on a schedule.	Letter generator + opt-out checklist, repeated quarterly
DeleteMe	Subscription	Staff find your listings on people-search sites and remove them, with reports.	Opt-out checklist + Google Results about you
Cloaked	Subscription	Masked emails, phone numbers and cards per site, plus broker removal.	Free aliases and virtual numbers
Optery	Free scan Paid removal	Shows screenshots of where you're listed; paid plans remove them.	Use the free scan to find listings, then opt out yourself
EasyOptOuts	Low-cost yearly	Automated opt-outs at a fraction of the big names' price.	The cheapest middle ground if you'd rather not DIY
California DROP	Free	One state-run request to every registered data broker, repeated by law every 45 days.	It is the free option. California residents only.

Removal checklist

Ticks are saved in this browser only. Opt-out pages move around; if a link breaks, search for the broker's name plus "opt out", or check the Big Ass Data Broker Opt-Out List, which is kept up to date by volunteers.

0 done

1. Mask first, so it doesn't refill

Removal is pointless if every new account hands out your real email and phone again. A different alias per site also tells you exactly who leaked or sold you. This is the Cloaked part, free.

Set up a free email alias service and use a new alias for every shop, newsletter and app. All forward to your real inbox and can be switched off one at a time.
DuckDuckGo Email Protection (unlimited, free) · Firefox Relay (free tier) · SimpleLogin (free tier) · addy.io (free tier, open source)
Get a free second phone number for loyalty cards, deliveries and sign-ups. Your real number is the most-traded identifier after your email.
Google Voice (US, free)
Use virtual card numbers online. Merchant-locked cards stop purchase data being tied together. Many banks offer them; Privacy.com has a free plan in the US. Apple Pay and Google Pay also hide your real card number.
Give loyalty programs an alias, a virtual number and no birthday. Store loyalty data is one of the main feeds into Meta and Google "customer list" ads.

2. One-shot free tools

California residents: submit a DROP request. One free, state-run request reaches 600+ registered data brokers. Brokers have had to process it since August 1, 2026, and must re-check every 45 days, so it keeps working.
Open DROP
Google Results about you: get alerts when your phone, email or home address shows up in Search, and request removal in one tap. Removes it from Google, not from the source site, but that's where most people find you.
Results about you
Permission Slip app: pick companies and it sends do-not-sell and delete requests for you, free. Originally built by Consumer Reports, now run by DeleteMe.
Permission Slip
US: opt out of pre-screened credit and insurance offers. The credit bureaus sell your file to lenders for junk-mail offers. Five years online, or permanent by mail.
OptOutPrescreen.com · Do Not Call Registry
Run a free exposure scan to see where you're listed. Use an alias email to sign up. You don't need the paid plan: the scan tells you which forms below to bother with.
Optery free scan

3. Opt out of the big people-search sites

Search each site for yourself first and copy your listing's URL; most forms ask for it. Use an alias email for the confirmation link. Never upload ID unless the law in your area requires it for that request.

PeopleConnect: one form covers Intelius, TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, US Search and ZabaSearch. Best value per click on this list.
PeopleConnect suppression
Spokeo: paste your listing URL and confirm by email.
Spokeo opt-out
Whitepages: paste your listing URL; it verifies with an automated phone call.
Whitepages suppression
BeenVerified: search, select your record, confirm by email. The same company runs PeopleLooker and NeighborWho; repeat there if you're listed.
BeenVerified opt-out
Radaris: find your profile and use the privacy control page.
Radaris privacy
PeopleFinders.
PeopleFinders opt-out
FastPeopleSearch and TruePeopleSearch: free sites with no account, high in search results.
FastPeopleSearch removal · TruePeopleSearch removal
The rest of the usual suspects.
USPhoneBook · Nuwber · That's Them · PeekYou

4. Marketing data brokers

You'll never see these companies' websites, but they supply the audience segments behind most targeted ads.

Acxiom: one of the largest marketing data sellers.
Acxiom opt-out
LexisNexis Risk Solutions: request removal from their consumer databases.
LexisNexis opt-out
Email a deletion letter to any broker that has no opt-out form, and to companies on your Meta Audience-based advertising list. In the US, registered brokers are listed with contact details on state registries such as California's.

5. Repeat

Put a reminder in your calendar to search your name again in 3 months. Brokers re-buy data and relist people. This is the only real advantage of a paid service: it does the re-checks for you.

Deletion request letter generator

This is what Incogni sends for you. Fill in only what brokers already have on you; giving them more data to "find" you defeats the point. Nothing you type here is saved or sent anywhere. It stays in this tab until you close it.

Where you live

Privacy law

Your details

Full name

Email for replies

Use an alias you can switch off afterwards.

Other identifiers to delete (optional)

One per line. Only list what they likely already hold.

Company (optional)

Send to (optional)

Look for "privacy", "do not sell" or "your privacy choices" in the company's footer.

Ask them to Delete my data Stop selling or sharing it, and stop targeted ads Tell everyone they sold it to Tell me where they got it Makes the letter an access request too, which can slow the reply.

Subject

Open in email app

JavaScript is off. The generator needs it. Use the Big Ass Data Broker Opt-Out List instead, which links each broker's form.

After you send it: keep a copy with the date. Under GDPR they have one month to respond; under California law, 45 days. If they ignore you, you can complain to your data protection authority (EU/UK) or your state attorney general (US). This page is information, not legal advice.