How to Remove Your Address From the Internet

If you just searched your own name and found your home address staring back at you, take a breath. This is more common than it feels, and there are real steps you can take right now. Your address is probably showing up on people-search and data-broker sites like Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, or Radaris. These sites scrape public records and sell the results, and your listing landed there without your say-so.

The honest truth is that getting your address off the internet is less like flipping a switch and more like weeding a garden. You can clear the biggest sites, and you should. But new listings can reappear, so it helps to know what you are dealing with before you start.

First, figure out which problem you have

Not all "my address is online" situations are the same, and the fix is different for each.

• Routine data-broker listings. This is the most common case. A site you have never heard of is publishing your name, age, past addresses, relatives, and phone number. It feels invasive, but it is usually an automated aggregation of public records. These come off through per-site opt-out requests.
• Targeted doxxing. Someone posted your address on purpose to intimidate, harass, or expose you, often on social media, a forum, or a message board. This is treated more seriously by platforms, and many will remove it faster because it violates their rules against sharing private information. If this is you, our guide on what to do when someone posts your address walks through it step by step.

If you feel you are in physical danger, contact local law enforcement first. Removing a listing matters, but your safety comes first.

How data-broker opt-outs work

Every major people-search site has an opt-out or "suppression" page, usually buried in the footer or the privacy policy. The process varies, but it generally looks like this: you find your own listing, copy the link to it, then submit an opt-out request for that exact profile. Some sites confirm by email. Some ask you to verify by phone. A few, frustratingly, make you jump through extra hoops.

A couple of things worth knowing so you are not caught off guard. Many brokers ask for an email address to send a confirmation link, so consider using a dedicated email rather than your main one. And do not pay a broker to remove your own data. Legitimate opt-outs are free. If a site tries to charge you to take down your own information, that is a red flag, not a requirement.

A practical order to work through

You do not have to do all of this in one sitting. Work through it at your own pace.

1. Search your own name. Try your name with your city, and your name with your phone number. Write down every site that shows your address. This is your target list.
2. Hit the biggest brokers first. Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, Radaris, Intelius, and MyLife carry the most traffic, so clearing them has the biggest effect. Find your listing on each, then use that site's opt-out page.
3. Save your confirmations. Keep the confirmation emails and any reference numbers. If a listing comes back later, this is your proof that you already opted out.
4. Use Google's "Results about you" tool. Google offers a free tool that lets you request removal of search results that expose your contact info, including your home address and phone number. This does not delete the page, but it can stop the result from surfacing in Google, which is where most people would find it. Search for "Google Results about you" to reach it.
5. Check back in a few weeks. Re-run your searches. Some listings reappear or show up on new brokers. Repeat the opt-out for any that surface again.

Google "Results about you" and why it helps

Even after you opt out of a broker, the old page can linger in Google's index for a while, and some sites simply ignore requests. Google's personal-information removal tool is a useful backstop. It lets you ask Google to stop showing search results that reveal your home address, phone number, or email. Removing the result from Google does not erase the underlying page, but in practice most exposure happens through search, so cutting off the search result meaningfully lowers your visibility.

For targeted doxxing, this tool matters even more, because Google tends to treat the deliberate exposure of contact information as a stronger case for removal than a routine directory listing.

Being honest about whack-a-mole

Here is the part most guides skip. Data brokers refresh their databases from public records on a regular cycle. That means a listing you removed can come back months later, sometimes on a broker you have never seen. This is not a sign you did it wrong. It is just how the industry works.

So think of this as maintenance, not a one-time cleanup. Clearing the major sites gives you real relief. Rechecking every few months keeps it that way. There is no service, free or paid, that can promise your address will never appear again, and anyone who guarantees a permanent clean wipe is overpromising. What you can do is stay ahead of it and keep the biggest sites clear.

If the underlying issue is public records tied to your real address, and your safety is a concern, some states offer address-confidentiality programs for survivors of stalking or domestic violence. That is worth looking into separately from broker opt-outs.

Where LinksGone fits

LinksGone is a free do-it-yourself takedown tool. When your address or other personal info is exposed, it helps you find the right opt-out or removal path and prepares the request so you can file it in your own name. It cannot force a stubborn site to comply, and it will not pretend to. What it does is take the guesswork out of where each request should go and what it should say, so you are not hunting through footers and privacy pages one at a time.

You can start with our address removal walkthrough to line up your opt-outs, or read more about how takedowns work in the LinksGone learning center. There is no cost to remove your listings, no card required, and you stay the person filing each request. When you are ready, work through it one site at a time. You have more control here than it feels like right now.