Delete Yourself From the Internet: The Data-Broker Removal Stack

Type your name into a people-search site and there you are: home address, phone number, relatives, past addresses, sometimes a map to your door. Data brokers scraped it, packaged it, and sell it to anyone with a credit card — which is how scams, harassment, and doxxing start. You can pull most of it down.

Who this is for / Threat model

You found yourself on a people-search site, you're a public-facing professional, or you're doxxing-wary and want off the public record. This stack defends against data brokers and people-search sites aggregating and reselling your personal records, and the downstream doxxing, scams, and harassment that follow. It does not remove information you publish yourself, court records, or news articles — those are different problems. And it is not one-and-done: brokers re-scrape, so removal is a maintenance habit, not a single click.

We take no affiliate commissions on anything below. Where a paid service and a free tool do the same job, we say so.

The paid managed-removal layer

These services find your records across dozens of brokers and file the opt-outs for you, on repeat. You're paying to buy back your time.

• DeleteMe — the established name in managed removal; scans the major brokers, submits opt-outs, and re-checks on a schedule. The default pick if you want it handled and don't want to think about it.
• Easy Opt Outs — a lower-cost managed service that covers the high-volume brokers for a fraction of the premium price. The value pick when budget matters more than breadth.
• Cloaked — goes beyond removal into ongoing data control and masking, generating aliases so you stop handing brokers fresh data. Choose it if you want removal plus prevention in one subscription.

The free DIY layer

Everything the paid services do, you can do by hand for free — it just costs hours. Many people run the free tools first and buy a service only for the brokers that are painful to opt out of manually.

• Big Ass Data Broker Opt Out List — the canonical DIY reference: a maintained list of brokers with direct opt-out links and instructions for each. Free, thorough, and the backbone of any manual effort.
• Global Privacy Control — a browser-level signal that legally tells sites not to sell or share your data in jurisdictions that honor it. Set it once and it works on every future site automatically — prevention, not cleanup.

The prevention layer — stop feeding the brokers

Removal is pointless if you keep leaking fresh data. These tools cut off the supply so you don't reappear next quarter.

• SimpleLogin — hand every website a unique email alias instead of your real address, so a breach or a data sale can't be correlated back to you across services. Open-source.
• Firefox Private Relay — masked email and phone from Mozilla, an easy on-ramp if you already use Firefox. Open-source · public GitHub.
• Addy — anonymous email forwarding with fine-grained control for people who want to manage many aliases. Public GitHub.
• MySudo — masked identities with their own phone numbers and cards, so the details you give out at signup were never your real ones to begin with.
• Privacy.com — virtual, single-use payment cards that keep your real card number and billing identity out of merchant and broker databases.

Tradeoffs: pay, or spend the hours

The honest split the vendor blogs won't print:

Path	You get	You give up
Paid service (DeleteMe, Easy Opt Outs)	Time, ongoing re-checks	~$100+/year
Free DIY (Opt Out List + GPC)	Full control, zero cost	Several hours, repeated
Prevention (aliases, masked cards)	Fewer future records	Small setup effort

The smart play is a blend: run Global Privacy Control and the DIY opt-out list first for free, adopt email aliases and masked cards so you stop reappearing, and buy a managed service only if the manual grind isn't worth your time. Removal decays — whichever path you pick, plan to repeat it a couple of times a year.

FAQ

How do I remove my personal information from the internet?

Start with the free Big Ass Data Broker Opt Out List and file opt-outs at the major brokers directly, turn on Global Privacy Control in your browser, then adopt email aliases and masked cards to stop feeding new data. Buy a managed service like DeleteMe or Easy Opt Outs if you'd rather pay than spend the hours.

What is the best data removal service?

DeleteMe is the established managed option with broad broker coverage; Easy Opt Outs is the lower-cost pick; Cloaked bundles removal with ongoing masking. The right one depends on whether you're buying breadth, budget, or prevention. We take no commission on any of them.

Can I opt out of data brokers for free?

Yes. Every broker is legally required to offer an opt-out, and the Big Ass Data Broker Opt Out List collects the direct links and steps. It costs time rather than money, and you'll need to repeat it periodically because brokers re-scrape.

Do data removal services actually work?

They remove your records from the brokers they cover and re-file when the records reappear, which is real and measurable. What no service can do is guarantee permanent deletion — brokers rebuild profiles from new sources, so removal is ongoing maintenance, not a one-time fix.

How do I stay off data-broker sites after removal?

Cut off the supply: use unique email aliases, masked phone numbers, and virtual payment cards so the data flowing to brokers was never tied to your real identity, and keep Global Privacy Control on to reject data sales going forward.