Your data in the US: data brokers and people-search sites
Last checked: 28 Sep 2026; expanded 19 Oct 2026
There's no single US law that lets you delete your data from every broker. What you can use depends on where you live: California has a one-stop tool, and elsewhere you opt out site by site. Most opt-outs are free.
What these companies are
People-search sites let anyone look up a person's address, phone number, relatives and similar details, built from public records and other sources (FTC). Marketing data brokers collect and sell information about people for advertising and mailing lists, and usually don't show it publicly. California keeps a public register of data brokers, with more than 600 companies on its current list.
A sensible order
This order is our suggestion, based on the sourced facts on each page.
- In California: use DROP. One request reaches every registered broker and repeats every 45 days.
- People-search sites, by owner: one PeopleConnect request covers Intelius, TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate and US Search; then Spokeo and ThatsThem; Whitepages; BeenVerified; MyLife.
- Marketing data brokers: Acxiom, Epsilon, LiveRamp, Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
- Mail: OptOutPrescreen for pre-approved credit offers, and DMAchoice for prospect mail.
- Check again every few months. The FTC says listings can reappear when public records change.
Why listings come back
- The FTC says that if the information in your public records changes, it can reappear for sale on people-search sites, so it suggests checking again from time to time.
- BeenVerified says new records can't always be matched to an earlier opt-out, so they can show up again.
- PeopleConnect says small differences in the data can make it hard to remove everything.
- California's DROP is built for this: registered brokers have to check again every 45 days. From 2027, a new California law lets businesses keep a list of people who asked to be deleted, so the data stays deleted.
Paying someone to do it
Paid services file the same opt-outs for you and re-check on a schedule. The FTC suggests asking how many sites a service covers, whether it gives you a report of the sites it's opted you out of, and how often it scans for information that has reappeared.
Doing this from outside the US
Several of these routes only work with a US address or a US internet connection. What we found:
| Route | From outside the US? |
|---|---|
| DROP | No: California residents only, checked by identity verification. |
| OptOutPrescreen | The website didn't load from a UK connection when we tried. We haven't tried the phone line. |
| DMAchoice | No: US addresses only. |
| PeopleConnect | No residency limit stated; the first step needs only an email address. |
| Spokeo, BeenVerified, TruePeopleSearch, FastPeopleSearch | Their sites didn't load from a UK connection when we tried. BeenVerified says it only covers US-based people, so someone with no US history is unlikely to be listed. |
| Acxiom and LiveRamp | Yes, through separate routes for people outside the US. |
UK readers should start with Your data in the UK.
Sources
- FTC: What to know about people search sites that sell your information
- CalPrivacy: DROP
- CalPrivacy: Help with DROP (residents only)
- California data broker registry
- CalPrivacy: How DROP works
- CalPrivacy: California expands privacy protections by strengthening deletion rights (SB 923)
- BeenVerified FAQ
- PeopleConnect suppression centre
- OptOutPrescreen
- DMAchoice: register
- Acxiom: opt out
- LiveRamp: my privacy choices
This page describes your options and how organisations say they handle requests. It isn't legal advice. See About & sourcing, or report a correction.