How to Remove Personal Information From the Internet (2026)

1. Remove your information from Google search
2. Opt out of the biggest people-search sites
3. Use California’s free DROP request (California residents)
4. Stop new data at the source
5. Check what’s left and repeat
6. Pay a service if you’d rather not do it yourself
7. Freeze your credit

Cost: free for steps 1 to 5 and 7.

Step 1: Remove your information from Google search

Google removes your address, phone number and email from its search results when you ask through Results about you, which can also alert you when new results appear. A separate Google request form covers government ID numbers, bank and card numbers, images of your signature or ID, medical records, usernames and passwords, and doxxing.

You need the URL of each page you want removed. Google can only remove results from Google Search: the page stays on the site that hosts it, and people can still reach it through links or other search engines. That is why step 2 matters.

Step 2: Opt out of the biggest people-search sites

People-search sites publish the profiles that Google shows, so removing them at the source clears the result for every search engine. Search your name on each site, copy your profile URL, then use its opt-out page:

Opt-out pages checked October 24, 2026. BeenVerified, TruePeopleSearch and PeopleFinders also offer opt-outs, but their pages sit behind bot checks we couldn’t load, so we haven’t listed their steps. Spokeo notes that you may have several listings, each needing its own opt-out.

Step 3: Use California’s free DROP request (if you qualify)

California residents can tell over 600 registered data brokers to delete their data with one free request through DROP, the state’s Delete Request and Opt-out Platform. DROP launched on January 1, 2026. Since August 1, 2026, brokers must check DROP at least every 45 days and start processing deletions, and your status can take up to 90 days to update.

You confirm residency through the California Identity Gateway or Login.gov, and DROP says it doesn’t keep the information you enter. Outside California, DROP isn’t available.

Step 4: Stop new data at the source

Cutting off new data keeps the listings you removed from refilling:

• Prescreened credit and insurance offers: opt out at optoutprescreen.com or 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688), run by the major credit bureaus. The online opt-out lasts 5 years; a signed form makes it permanent, per the FTC.
• Old accounts: delete accounts you no longer use instead of leaving them dormant. Deleting erases what the account holds; Google, for example, says you lose the emails, files, calendars and photos in a deleted Google Account, so download anything you want to keep first.
• Social profiles: set profiles to private and remove your phone number and home city.
• New sign-ups: use an email alias instead of your main address.

Step 5: Check what’s left and repeat every few months

Listings come back, so a one-time cleanup doesn’t last. In Consumer Reports’ 2024 study, every participant still had information on some of the 13 people-search sites at the one-week, one-month and four-month checks. Turn on Google’s Results about you alerts and search your name on the sites in step 2 every three months.

Step 6: Pay a data removal service if you’d rather not do it yourself

Data removal services send and re-send opt-outs for you, for $19.99–$250 a year for one person among the services we checked. Paid services saved time in Consumer Reports’ study but removed fewer profiles in the first week than manual opt-outs: at most 58.7%, against 70%.

Our ranking of data removal services by broker coverage compares 9 of them. For single-service detail, read our DeleteMe review (human-handled requests) or our Incogni review (fully automated); we also cover Optery’s plans and Cloaked’s privacy bundle.

Step 7: Freeze your credit

A credit freeze stops anyone from opening new credit in your name, and the FTC says placing or lifting one costs nothing and doesn’t affect your credit score. A freeze won’t remove information from the internet, but it limits the damage if exposed data is used for fraud.

Can you delete yourself from the internet completely?

No, you can’t delete yourself from the internet completely. You can remove most people-search profiles and hide contact details from Google, but news articles, court records and property records usually stay public, and Google says removed pages can still surface through links, social media or other search engines.

How much does it cost to remove personal information from the internet?

Removing your information yourself is free; every step above except step 6 costs nothing but time. Paid services we checked run $19.99–$250 a year for one person, and the cheapest, EasyOptOuts, removed 65% of profiles after four months in Consumer Reports’ study.