Easy Steps to Delete Your Data From the Internet

Have you ever felt like the internet knows too much about you? It can seem like a giant room where everyone is whispering your secrets. Your name, address and phone number may be floating around the web right now, on sites you never signed up for. The good news is that you can take much of it back. This guide shows you how to delete your data from the internet using simple, ordered steps that anyone can follow, updated for October 2026.

1. Why your data is everywhere

Your information spreads because collecting and selling it is profitable. Data brokers gather public records such as property deeds, voter files and court documents. They add commercial data from purchases, warranties and marketing lists. Then they combine everything into profiles that are sold or shown on people-search websites. You did not create these pages, and you were not asked for permission.

The consequences range from annoying to dangerous. Scam calls that use your name, mail from companies you have never dealt with and strangers who can find your address are all common. In 2025 the Federal Trade Commission reported about $15.9 billion in consumer fraud losses, and the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 1,008,597 complaints. Public data makes those scams cheaper to run. Our guide to why you should remove your personal information from the internet explains the risks in more detail.

2. What you can and cannot delete

Set realistic expectations before you start.

You can usually remove	You usually cannot remove
People-search and background-check listings	Court records and property deeds at the source
Personal results in Google and Bing	Archived copies on other websites
Accounts you created yourself	Content posted by other people
Marketing profiles via opt-outs and state rights	Information already sold to third parties
Old forum posts and profiles	Records held for legal reasons

The goal is not to vanish. It is to make your information hard to find so scammers, harassers and snoops move on. For the limits, read how to completely delete yourself from the internet.

Curious what’s already out there? Wiperts’ 100% Free Diagnosis shows which data brokers are listing your name, home address and phone number. Check your exposure free — it takes about a minute.

3. The steps

Step 1: Search for yourself

Open a private browser window, which avoids personalized results. Search your full name, your name with your city, your phone number in quotation marks and your street address. Check the first few pages of results and the image tab. List every site that shows your name together with an address, phone number, age or relatives. Save the links in a document, because this becomes your work list.

Step 2: Start with the biggest people-search sites

Most traffic goes to a small number of sites, and smaller sites copy from them. Tackle the largest first. Our guides to opting out of the most popular people-search sites and removing your information from people-search sites list the main ones with direct steps.

Step 3: Use the official opt-out forms

Each site has its own process. Find the opt-out or privacy page from the site’s footer, search for your listing, copy its URL and submit the request. Some require email confirmation. For example, Spokeo’s official opt-out page asks for the listing link and an email, PeopleConnect’s suppression center covers brands such as TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate, and That’s Them’s opt-out page handles its own listings. Never pay a lookalike site for a free opt-out.

Step 4: Cover relatives and old addresses

Profiles list relatives and previous addresses, which provide routes back to you. Search for family names at your address and for your former addresses, then submit opt-outs for those pages as well. If relatives are willing, ask them to remove their own listings. See removing former addresses online.

Step 5: Ask Google and Bing to remove personal results

Even after a site removes your listing, a search result may show an outdated snippet. Use Google’s Results about you tool to request removal of results that contain your phone number, home address and email, and, since February 2026, government ID numbers. Bing offers a similar request form. Walk through the details in Google Results about you: the 2026 guide and how to remove yourself from Google.

Step 6: Delete accounts you no longer use

Find forgotten accounts by searching your email for welcome messages and receipts. Delete them through each service’s account deletion page, and not just by uninstalling the app. Download anything you want to keep first. The process is described in delist and delete yourself online.

Step 7: Use your state privacy rights

In states with privacy laws, you can send deletion and opt-out requests directly to companies. California residents can also use the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, known as DROP, which opened on January 1, 2026. Registered data brokers must start processing requests on August 1, 2026 and check for new requests regularly. Submit one request at privacy.ca.gov/drop, and read our California Delete Act and DROP guide.

Step 8: Log, recheck and repeat

Record every request with the site, date, confirmation and follow-up date. Wait for processing, then search again from a private window. Resubmit any listing that remains. Recheck every 60 to 90 days, since brokers refresh data and listings return.

4. What to expect after you start

Patience matters. Some sites remove a listing within days. Others take up to four weeks. Search engines may display a cached snippet longer. A few listings may return after one to three months. Our guide to how long data removal takes gives a realistic picture.

5. Doing it yourself or hiring help

The do-it-yourself route is free and perfectly valid if you have time. The challenge is volume and repetition: dozens of sites, each with its own form, plus rechecks that never end. A removal service handles the submissions and monitoring. Compare the options in DIY data removal vs a removal service and decide based on your time, your risk level and the number of people in your household.

6. Protect what you cannot delete

Some information will remain. Offset that with protections that lower the harm.

Freeze your credit at all three bureaus. See what is a credit freeze.
Use unique passwords and multi-factor authentication.
Use a mailing address that is not your home for public registrations where permitted.
Share less going forward and use alias emails.
Report fraud at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov.

7. Myths about deleting your data

“It is all public record anyway.” The searchable bundle is the problem, and it can be removed. “Opting out makes my data public.” Reputable opt-outs suppress listings. “If I delete it once, I am done.” Relistings are normal, so recheck. “Deleting accounts removes me from data brokers.” They are separate systems.

8. A sample first weekend

Saturday morning: do the searches in Step 1 and build your list, then submit opt-outs for the five largest people-search sites. Saturday afternoon: submit opt-outs for background-check sites and your closest relatives’ pages. Sunday morning: file Google and Bing removal requests for any results that still show your phone, address or email. Sunday afternoon: delete five old accounts you no longer use and write the recheck dates in your calendar. In about eight hours you will have done the work that matters most, and the rest is follow-up.

9. When a site will not remove you

Some sites ignore requests or ask for more information than they need. Resubmit in writing, cite the privacy law of your state if one applies and keep proof. If a site still refuses, escalate to your state attorney general and report the problem to the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. For listings that expose you to threats, tell your local police and ask search engines to remove the pages directly. Do not give a site more personal information than a verification step truly requires.

10. Three scenarios

Scenario 1: You are being harassed. Prioritize address and phone number listings, document the harassment and consider professional help. See defending against online stalking.

Scenario 2: You are job hunting. Remove background-check and people-search listings that employers or recruiters might see, and review old public posts.

Scenario 3: You just bought a home. Property records are public, but you can remove the commercial copies and use a trust or another lawful arrangement after talking to a professional.

11. What to expect: a realistic timeline

Step	Time to do	Time to take effect
Search and list	1 to 2 hours	Immediate
Opt-outs for major sites	2 to 4 hours	Days to 4 weeks
Search engine requests	30 to 60 minutes	Days to several weeks
Account deletions	1 to 3 hours	Days to weeks
Rechecks	30 minutes each	Every 60 to 90 days

12. Common mistakes

Opting out of only one or two sites.
Paying lookalike removal sites.
Forgetting relatives and old addresses.
Skipping search engine requests.
Not rechecking.

13. How Wiperts makes deletion easy

Wiperts is built to do these steps for you. It scans more than 100 data brokers and people-search sites for your name, address and phone number, submits the removal requests, requests removal of personal results from Google and Bing, blurs your home on maps and monitors the web 24/7 so that listings that return are removed again. You see what was found and what was done.

Start with a free scan.

100% Free Diagnosis: Check Your Exposure

Find out what data brokers have on you. Enter your details in the free scanner on the Wiperts homepage:

First Name
Last Name
Select State
Email Address
Website

Scan Databases Now — no payment is needed to see your exposure report.

14. Key takeaways

You can remove most people-search listings and many search results.
Work in order: search, biggest sites, official forms, relatives, search engines, accounts.
Use state rights and California’s DROP where available.
Recheck regularly because listings come back.

Pick the Wiperts plan that fits your household

Plan	Covers	One-time deep scrub	Then
Individual	1 person	$89	$14/month
Couples (most popular)	2 people	$149	$24/month
Family	Up to 4 people	$199	$39/month

Every plan includes removal of your name, date of birth, salary, home address and phone number from 100+ data brokers and people-search sites, Google and Bing search-result removal, home blurring on maps, and 24/7 monitoring that re-removes your data if it reappears. See plans and start your removal

15. Frequently Asked Questions

Can I really delete my data from the internet?

You can remove a large share of it, especially listings on people-search sites and in search results, and delete accounts you control. You cannot erase every record, since public documents and archived copies may remain.

What should I delete first?

Start with your home address, phone number and relatives on the biggest people-search sites, because those are the details most used for scams and harassment.

How long does it take?

Submitting requests takes a few hours. Sites usually process opt-outs in days to four weeks, and search results may take longer to update.

Is it free to do it myself?

Yes. Official opt-out forms are free. Be cautious about lookalike sites that charge for removal of free listings. A paid service saves time rather than adding rights.

Why does my information come back?

Brokers refresh their data from public and commercial sources, so listings can reappear. Rechecking every 60 to 90 days, or using monitoring, keeps your name clear.

What can California residents do?

They can use the DROP platform to send one deletion request to registered data brokers. Brokers must start processing requests on August 1, 2026 and check for new requests regularly.

Sources

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