Personal Information Removal From Broker Sites and Google Search
Your home address, phone number, age, relatives and previous addresses are published on dozens of people-search sites right now. None of them asked your permission. Most bought the data from somewhere else, and several of them will buy it again after you opt out.
We file the opt-outs, push the search removals, and check the sites again later to catch the re-listings. That last part is the part that matters.
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What a Data Broker Actually Holds
People-search sites assemble profiles from public records, marketing databases, loyalty schemes, app permissions and purchased datasets. A typical profile carries:
- Current home address, often with a map and sometimes a street-view photo.
- Previous addresses going back years.
- Phone numbers, including mobile.
- Email addresses, including old ones.
- Age and date of birth.
- Names of relatives, spouses and people you have lived with.
- Approximate income and property value.
- Employment history.
- Court and arrest records where they exist.
The problem is not that any single fact is secret. It is that the aggregation is what makes someone findable, and these profiles rank. Search your own name with your city and you will usually find several of them above your own website or LinkedIn.
For anyone dealing with harassment, an ex-partner, a stalker or a doxxing incident, that aggregation is the actual danger.
What We Can Remove, and What We Cannot
We are specific about this because the category is full of overpromising.
We can usually remove:
- Listings on the major people-search sites that operate an opt-out process.
- Listings on secondary and white-label sites that syndicate from the majors.
- Google Search results that expose contact details, home address, or identifying documents, under Google's personal information removal policy.
- Results linking your name to explicit content that has nothing to do with you.
- Search results for EU and UK data subjects under GDPR Article 17, filed through Google's legal removal process.
We can often remove:
- Listings on smaller sites with no formal opt-out, by contacting the host or registrar.
- Cached and outdated results, once the source URL returns a genuine 404 or 410.
We cannot remove:
- Public records at source. A court record, property deed or voter roll entry held by a government body is not removable through an opt-out, and no service can delete it. What we can remove is the commercial republication of it.
- Content on sites that ignore all correspondence and sit behind privacy-protected hosting in jurisdictions with no enforcement route. These exist, they are rare, and we will tell you when you have hit one.
- Your information from someone's personal knowledge, or from a private message, or from an encrypted platform.
Anyone promising to erase you from the internet entirely is describing something that does not exist.
The Legal Routes We Use
- California Delete Act and DROP. California now runs a centralised deletion platform called DROP, the Deletion Request and Opt-Out Platform, operated by the California Privacy Protection Agency. It opened to consumers on 1 January 2026. From 1 August 2026, registered data brokers must check DROP at least once every 45 days and process requests within 45 days. For a California resident this is the strongest single lever available, because one request reaches every broker on the state register rather than requiring separate opt-outs.
- Google personal information removal policy. Google removes search results that expose contact information, government ID numbers, handwritten signatures, bank and card numbers, medical records, and login credentials. It also removes results that expose contact details where there is evidence of intent to harm, which covers doxxing. This de-indexes the result. It does not delete the underlying page.
- GDPR Article 17. UK and EU data subjects can request delisting for name-based searches. Filed through Google's legal removal form. Regional in effect.
- Site-level opt-outs. Every major broker operates its own process, and they are deliberately inconsistent. Some need an email confirmation, some need a phone verification, some need photo ID, and several require you to find your own listing URL first. Some quietly do nothing unless chased.
- Host and registrar escalation. For sites with no working opt-out, the route is the hosting provider, who has their own liability to consider.
How It Works
- 1
Exposure scan
We search the major people-search and broker sites, plus the secondary tier that syndicates from them, and record exactly which ones list you and what each profile contains. You get the list before anything else happens.
- 2
Prioritise by risk and by ranking
Not all listings matter equally. A site that ranks on page one for your name, or one that publishes your current address, gets handled first. A dormant listing on a site nobody visits comes later.
- 3
File the opt-outs
Each site through its own process, with the verification each one requires. Where you are a California resident we file through DROP as well, because that reaches the registered brokers in one action.
- 4
File the search removals
Google and Bing removal requests for results that expose contact details, identifying documents or address information. Where you are a UK or EU data subject we file the Article 17 route in parallel.
- 5
Verify
Opt-outs are frequently accepted and then not actioned. We re-check each site after the stated processing window and re-file where nothing happened.
- 6
Re-check for re-listings
This is the part most services skip. Brokers buy data on a rolling basis, so a removed record often returns within a few months from a different supplier. We re-scan at set intervals and re-file as part of ongoing reputation monitoring.
Who This Service Is For
- People dealing with harassment or stalking. Where an address being one search away is a physical safety problem, not a privacy preference.
- Anyone who has been doxxed. Personal details posted to a forum, a social platform or a paste site, usually alongside encouragement to contact you.
- Doctors, lawyers, judges, police and social workers. Professions where disgruntled members of the public routinely try to find a home address.
- Executives and business owners. Where personal contact details create a social engineering route into the company.
- People leaving an abusive relationship. Address history and relative listings are how people get found.
- Anyone who simply does not want it published. You do not need a threat to justify wanting this removed.
Why Choose ReputationZilla
- We treat re-listing as part of the job. A one-off opt-out sweep looks effective for about three months. We check again and re-file, because that is what actually keeps the record down.
- We show you the list first. You see exactly which sites hold what before any work starts, so you can judge the scope yourself.
- We use the legal route where one exists. California DROP for California residents, Article 17 for UK and EU data subjects, Google's personal information policy for everyone. These are stronger than a voluntary opt-out and we file them where they apply.
- We do not overstate what is possible. Public records stay public. We will tell you which of your listings are removable and which are the underlying record.
- Confidential handling. For harassment and doxxing cases in particular, material stays with the people working the case.
Full exposure list
You see every site that lists you, and what each profile holds, before any work starts.
Legal routes filed
California DROP, GDPR Article 17 and Google's personal information policy where they apply.
Re-listings tracked
We re-scan at set intervals and re-file when a removed record reappears.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I do this myself?
Yes, entirely. Every major broker has an opt-out and they are free. The work is in the volume, the verification steps, the sites that quietly ignore requests, and the re-listing checks months later. If you have the time, do it yourself. Most people start and stop after the first six sites.
How many sites are there?
The commonly cited figure is a few dozen major people-search sites, with a much longer tail of smaller ones syndicating the same data. We scan for the ones that actually list you rather than working from a fixed list.
How long does it take?
Individual opt-outs typically process within days to a few weeks depending on the site. Google search removals for personal information usually resolve within a few weeks. California DROP requests fall under a 45-day processing requirement for registered brokers. Full first-pass clearance across all sites is usually a matter of weeks rather than days.
Will my information come back?
Often, yes. This is the normal behaviour of the industry rather than a failure of the opt-out. Brokers re-acquire data from new suppliers and the record repopulates. Re-checking is why this works as an ongoing service rather than a one-off.
Does removing the listing remove it from Google?
Not immediately. Google keeps the cached result until it re-crawls, which can take weeks for a small site. Where the source URL returns a genuine 404 or 410 we submit it through Google's outdated content tool, which usually clears it in days.
Can you remove my address from public records?
No. A land registry entry, court filing or electoral roll record held by a government body cannot be deleted by us or by anyone else offering this service. Some jurisdictions have address confidentiality programmes for people at risk, which is a separate application to the relevant authority. What we remove is the commercial republication.
I am not in the US. Does this still apply?
Yes, though the routes differ. UK and EU residents have GDPR Article 17, which is stronger than most US options for search delisting. US residents have state-level rights that vary considerably, with California currently the strongest. We use whichever applies to you.
Someone posted my details on a forum. Is that covered here?
That is a content removal case rather than a broker opt-out, and it is usually more urgent. We handle it under content removal, with the search de-indexing filed in parallel. Tell us when you contact us if there is any threat attached.
Do you need my ID?
Some brokers require identity verification before they will action an opt-out, and Google requires it for certain removal categories. We will tell you specifically which sites need what, and why, rather than collecting documents up front.
Details posted to a forum or social platform are handled under content removal, with the search de-indexing filed in parallel.
Get a Free Assessment
Send us your full name and the city you live in. We will run a scan and send you the list of sites currently publishing your details, what each one holds, and which ones rank for your name.
You will get the list whether or not you decide to go ahead.