How to Remove Yourself from PeopleByName

If you've ever Googled your own name, you might have been startled to find a detailed profile on PeopleByName.com listing your address, phone numbers, relatives, and even property records. You're not alone—this data broker aggregates public records and other sources to build comprehensive profiles on millions of Americans, making your personal information searchable to anyone with internet access.

The good news? You have the right to remove your information from PeopleByName. The bad news? It requires manual effort, and your data will likely reappear unless you address the root problem. This guide walks you through exactly how to delete your PeopleByName profile, what to expect during the removal process, and how to prevent your information from resurfacing on this and hundreds of other similar sites.

What Is PeopleByName and Why Is Your Data There?

PeopleByName operates as a people search engine that compiles information from public records, commercial databases, and other data aggregators. The site monetizes this data by offering free basic searches while charging for detailed reports that can include:

• Current and previous addresses
• Phone numbers (landline and mobile)
• Email addresses
• Age and birth information
• Relatives and associates
• Property ownership records
• Court records and liens
• Social media profiles
• Possible employment history

The company sources this information through entirely legal channels. Public records like voter registrations, property deeds, court filings, and professional licenses are all matters of public record that anyone can technically access. What makes PeopleByName and similar data brokers concerning is their ability to aggregate scattered information into comprehensive, easily searchable profiles.

Your data appears on PeopleByName without your consent because no consent is required under current federal law. While some states have enacted privacy legislation like the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and Virginia's Consumer Data Protection Act, these laws primarily give residents the right to request deletion rather than preventing collection in the first place.

The real-world implications extend beyond privacy discomfort. These profiles can be exploited by stalkers, identity thieves, scammers, and even discriminatory employers or landlords. According to FTC data, identity theft complaints have consistently exceeded 1.4 million annually in recent years, with data brokers providing much of the raw material criminals need to impersonate victims.

Step-by-Step PeopleByName Opt Out Process

Removing yourself from PeopleByName requires following their specific opt-out procedure. Here's the complete walkthrough with exact steps:

Step 1: Locate Your Profile

Before you can remove your information, you need to find the exact URL of your listing:

• Navigate to peoplebyname.com
• Enter your first name, last name, and state in the search fields
• Click the search button and review the results
• Identify your profile among the search results (there may be multiple people with your name)
• Click on your specific profile to view the full listing page
• Copy the complete URL from your browser's address bar—you'll need this exact link for the opt-out request

Important note: If you find multiple profiles for yourself (perhaps with different addresses or variations of your name), you'll need to submit separate opt-out requests for each one.

Step 2: Access the Opt-Out Page

PeopleByName's opt-out process isn't prominently advertised on their main site, but they do maintain a dedicated removal page:

• Navigate to the PeopleByName opt-out page (typically found in the footer under "Privacy" or by searching for "PeopleByName opt out" in your search engine)
• Alternatively, look for links labeled "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" which many data brokers now include due to CCPA requirements

Step 3: Submit Your Removal Request

The opt-out form typically requires:

• Profile URL: Paste the complete URL you copied in Step 1
• Email address: Provide a valid email address where you can receive confirmation
• Reason for removal (optional): Some versions of the form ask why you're opting out

Pro tip: Use a dedicated email address for opt-out requests rather than your primary email. This helps you track confirmations and prevents your main inbox from being flooded with verification messages from dozens of data brokers.

Step 4: Verify Your Email Address

After submitting your request:

• Check the email inbox you provided for a verification message from PeopleByName
• This email should arrive within minutes, though it may take up to an hour
• Check your spam folder if you don't see it in your inbox—verification emails from data brokers frequently get filtered
• Click the verification link in the email to confirm your opt-out request
• You should see a confirmation page indicating your request has been received

Critical step: If you don't complete email verification, your removal request will not be processed. The verification link typically expires after 24-72 hours, so act promptly.

Step 5: Document Everything

For your own records and potential follow-up:

• Take screenshots of your original profile before requesting removal
• Save the confirmation email from PeopleByName
• Note the date you submitted your request
• Set a calendar reminder to check back in 7-10 days

This documentation becomes invaluable if your information doesn't get removed or reappears later, as you'll have evidence of your opt-out request.

What Information Does PeopleByName Collect?

Understanding exactly what data PeopleByName aggregates helps you assess your privacy risk and decide whether removal is worth the effort. The site compiles information from multiple categories:

Public Records Data:

• Voter registration files (name, age, address, party affiliation)
• Property records and deed transfers
• Court records including civil judgments, liens, and bankruptcies
• Professional licenses and certifications
• Marriage and divorce records
• Business registrations and corporate filings

Commercial Data Sources:

• Phone directory listings (both current and historical)
• Change of address records
• Magazine subscriptions and catalog purchases
• Warranty registrations
• Survey responses and contest entries

Data Broker Aggregation:

PeopleByName doesn't just collect from primary sources—they also purchase data from other aggregators, creating a cascading effect where information spreads across the data broker ecosystem. This is why removing yourself from one site rarely solves the problem completely.

Social Media and Online Activity:

While PeopleByName primarily focuses on offline records, their profiles may include links to social media accounts and other online presences associated with your name and location.

The comprehensiveness of your profile depends on your digital footprint, how long you've lived at your current address, whether you own property, and your state's public records policies. States with more accessible public records (like Florida) tend to have more detailed profiles on data broker sites.

How Long Does PeopleByName Removal Take?

The timeline for removing your information from PeopleByName typically follows this pattern:

Immediate: Email verification link sent (within minutes to 1 hour)

24-48 hours: Initial processing of your opt-out request after you click the verification link

7-10 business days: Complete removal from search results and profile pages—this is the timeframe PeopleByName typically cites in their privacy policy

Reality check: While PeopleByName may process your request within their stated timeframe, several factors can extend the actual removal time:

• Caching delays: Search engines like Google cache pages for days or weeks, meaning your profile might still appear in search results even after PeopleByName removes it from their site
• Database synchronization: Large data brokers operate multiple servers that need to synchronize, which doesn't always happen instantly
• Third-party sites: Other websites may have copied or linked to your PeopleByName profile, creating persistent copies beyond PeopleByName's control

In practice, you should expect 2-4 weeks before your information is fully scrubbed from both PeopleByName and search engine results. Some users report removals taking longer, particularly if they have common names or multiple profiles.

What If Your Removal Takes Longer?

If your profile remains visible after 10 business days:

• Check that you clicked the email verification link (this is the most common failure point)
• Search for your profile using the exact URL you submitted—sometimes profiles are removed from search but the direct link remains temporarily active
• Submit a follow-up request through the opt-out form, referencing your original submission date
• If you're a California resident, invoke your rights under CCPA by explicitly stating "This is a formal request under the California Consumer Privacy Act (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.105) to delete my personal information"

How to Verify Your PeopleByName Removal

Successfully removing your information requires verification—don't just assume your request was processed. Here's how to confirm your data is actually gone:

Method 1: Direct Profile Check

• Return to the exact URL you originally found for your profile
• If removal was successful, you should see either:

- A "Profile Not Found" or similar error message

- A page stating the information has been removed per user request

- A redirect to the homepage or search page

• If your profile still appears unchanged, your removal either hasn't processed yet or failed

Method 2: Fresh Search

• Go to peoplebyname.com
• Perform a new search using your name and location
• Review all results carefully—your old profile should not appear
• Check for any alternate spellings or name variations that might have separate profiles

Method 3: Google Search Check

Even after PeopleByName removes your profile, Google's cache may preserve it temporarily:

• Search Google for: `site:peoplebyname.com "Your Full Name" "Your City"`
• If results appear, click on them to see if they lead to active profiles or error pages
• For cached results, click the three dots next to the result and select "Cached" to see when Google last indexed the page
• If the cached version is recent but the live link shows removal, the search result will eventually disappear as Google re-crawls the site

Timeline note: Google typically updates its index every few days to a few weeks, depending on the site's crawl priority. PeopleByName search results may persist in Google for 2-4 weeks after actual removal.

Method 4: Third-Party Monitoring

Consider using these approaches to monitor for reappearance:

• Set up a Google Alert for your name combined with "PeopleByName" to get notified if new results appear
• Check quarterly to ensure your information hasn't been re-added from updated public records
• Use a privacy monitoring service that tracks multiple data brokers simultaneously (more on this below)

Preventing Future PeopleByName Listings

Here's the frustrating reality: removing yourself from PeopleByName is not permanent. Data brokers continuously refresh their databases with new public records, meaning your information can reappear within months. Understanding this cycle is crucial for maintaining long-term privacy.

Why Your Data Reappears

PeopleByName and similar brokers update their databases by:

• Purchasing fresh data feeds from public records aggregators (monthly or quarterly)
• Scraping newly published court records, property transfers, and voter files
• Acquiring updated information from commercial data sources
• Cross-referencing multiple databases to fill gaps in existing profiles

When these updates occur, the system doesn't check against previous opt-out requests—it simply adds the "new" record, which happens to be about you.

Proactive Steps to Limit Exposure

While you can't completely prevent data broker listings without becoming a ghost, these strategies reduce your footprint:

1. Limit Public Records Creation

• Voter registration: Most states allow you to register with a confidential address if you qualify under safe-at-home programs (typically for domestic violence survivors, judges, and law enforcement)
• Property records: Consider holding property in a trust or LLC rather than your personal name (consult a real estate attorney about implications)
• Court records: When possible, request that sensitive personal information be redacted from publicly accessible court filings

2. Reduce Commercial Data Trails

• Use a P.O. box or commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA) for subscriptions and non-essential mail
• Opt out of pre-approved credit offers at optoutprescreen.com (this removes your name from lists sold by credit bureaus)
• Decline to provide phone numbers and addresses when they're not legally required
• Use privacy-focused email addresses for online purchases and registrations

3. Implement Regular Monitoring

The most effective approach is continuous monitoring and removal rather than one-time opt-outs. This means:

• Setting quarterly reminders to check major data broker sites
• Documenting which sites you've opted out from and when
• Resubmitting removal requests when information reappears

4. Understand State Privacy Laws

Depending on where you live, you may have stronger privacy rights:

• California (CCPA/CPRA): Right to know what data is collected, right to deletion, right to opt out of sale
• Virginia (VCDPA): Similar rights effective January 2023
• Colorado (CPA): Consumer data privacy rights effective July 2023
• Connecticut (CTDPA): Privacy protections effective July 2023

If you're a resident of these states, explicitly invoking your statutory rights in opt-out requests may result in faster processing and more thorough removal.

The Reality of DIY Data Broker Removal

If you're committed to removing yourself from PeopleByName, you should know what you're actually signing up for. PeopleByName is just one of hundreds of data broker sites operating in the United States. The Data Broker Watch project and various privacy researchers have identified over 500 active people-search sites, with new ones launching regularly.

Each site has its own opt-out process with variations in:

• Whether they require email verification, phone verification, or physical mail
• How long removal takes (ranging from 24 hours to 90 days)
• Whether they honor opt-out requests at all (some sites have non-functional removal processes)
• How frequently data reappears (some sites refresh monthly, others quarterly)

The time investment: Privacy advocates who manually opt out from major data brokers report spending 40-60 hours on initial removals, then 2-4 hours monthly on maintenance to catch reappearances and new sites. This doesn't account for the mental burden of tracking dozens of opt-out requests and verification emails.

The effectiveness question: Even perfect execution of manual opt-outs leaves gaps. Smaller, less-known data brokers often don't appear in standard lists, yet they're actively selling your data to marketers, private investigators, and anyone willing to pay. A comprehensive approach requires addressing not just the 20-30 major sites but the long tail of smaller operators.

Alternative: Automated Removal with GhostMyData

This is where automated data removal services provide genuine value. Rather than spending dozens of hours navigating different opt-out processes, services like GhostMyData handle the entire workflow on your behalf.

Here's what makes comprehensive removal different from DIY:

Scale: While you might manually opt out from 10-20 major sites, GhostMyData monitors and removes your information from 2,100+ data brokers—exponentially more coverage than the 35-500 brokers handled by competing services. This includes PeopleByName along with hundreds of lesser-known sites that most people never discover.

Automation: The platform uses 24 AI agents specifically trained on different data broker opt-out processes. These agents handle variations in forms, verification methods, and follow-up requirements without manual intervention.

Continuous monitoring: Instead of one-time removal, automated services perform ongoing scans to catch when your data reappears or surfaces on new sites. This addresses the fundamental problem that public records continuously feed the data broker ecosystem.

Time savings: What takes 40-60 hours initially and 2-4 hours monthly becomes a set-it-and-forget-it process. You get regular reports on removal progress without investing your own time.

Verification and follow-up: Automated systems track whether removals actually complete and automatically resubmit requests when brokers fail to process them—something that's nearly impossible to manage manually across hundreds of sites.

The economics make sense when you consider opportunity cost. If your time is worth $25/hour, manually managing data broker opt-outs costs $1,000-1,500 in the first year alone. Professional removal services typically cost a fraction of that while delivering more comprehensive results.

Getting started: You can see exactly where your information appears by running a free scan that checks major data brokers including PeopleByName. This gives you a baseline understanding of your exposure before deciding whether to tackle removals manually or automate the process. You can also compare services to understand how different providers approach the problem and what coverage they actually offer.

The reality is that data privacy in 2024 requires ongoing effort, not one-time fixes. Whether you choose to manually remove yourself from PeopleByName and other brokers or use an automated service, the key is consistency. Your data will continue appearing on these sites as long as public records exist and data brokers profit from aggregating them. The question is whether you want to make that a recurring personal project or delegate it to specialized tools designed for exactly this purpose.

For most people, removing yourself from PeopleByName is just the beginning of understanding how exposed your personal information really is. The how it works page explains the technical process behind automated removal if you're curious about the mechanics, and the pricing page breaks down the cost comparison between DIY and automated approaches.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it really free to remove myself from PeopleByName?

Yes, PeopleByName offers a free opt-out process