How do I get rid of MyLife, Spokeo, WhitePages, and the rest?

September 29, 2020 4:17 PM

I'm sick of my personal information showing up on protection racket sites like MyLife and Spokeo. What's the simplest way to get off of them and stay off them? I will throw money at this annoyance if there's a reputable company that will take care of all of them for me, so I don't have to check it myself every few months as new ones pop up. Basically, an update to this AskMe.
posted by The corpse in the library to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

I dig for their customer service opt-out email address, then email them to say that I've been a victim of identity theft and that they need to take down the info on the URL associated with me. Works well. I had to repeat it a few times with some of these websites, but now it seems to have worked, and I haven't had my info repopulate in years.
posted by aquamvidam at 4:25 PM on September 29, 2020 [1 favorite]

I recently signed up for DeleteMe and they submitted takedown requests on my behalf along with an initial follow up report of their findings with more to come once the rest of the requests are completed.

You pay for a year ($129) and will need to provide them with your data to target for removal. The company appears to be pretty reputable and I'm not seeing myself in any further searches thus far.

Site is here, MeMail me if you'd like a referral code.
posted by JaneTheGood at 4:27 PM on September 29, 2020

Here is a very good list of the most common data brokers and how to opt out of being in their databases:

https://github.com/yaelwrites/Big-Ass-Data-Broker-Opt-Out-List?utm_source=hackernewsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_term=fav
posted by nalyd at 8:12 PM on September 29, 2020 [8 favorites]

I work for a domestic violence agency, and helping people disappear is part of what I do. Item number 8 on this page is a ridiculously in-depth guide to getting your info removed from the internet. It’s not difficult, but it is time-consuming. There’s other resources on the page that you may find helpful, as well.

I know you asked for simple, but I’m posting this in case you don’t find anyplace that will do it to your satisfaction. Also posting it for the benefit of anyone else who might land on this AskMe.
posted by MexicanYenta at 2:21 AM on September 30, 2020 [43 favorites]

Google your name. Go to the pages that list your relations, place of business, address or any other info and at the bottom of each of their respective pages on you click the link for "Remove my info". On pages where you actually want to be listed in the settings menus click off the radio button that let's other web pages link that information. Cell phone numbers can also be searched for now so in your cell phone settings under "Subscriber info" put the name of your cell phone carrier and use the email address that doesnt have your name.
posted by The_imp_inimpossible at 10:15 PM on September 30, 2020