Guide
How to remove your personal information from the internet
Summary. Data brokers collect and sell details about you. You can ask them to delete those details, for free or through a paid service, so that fewer companies hold them if one of those companies is breached later. Removal cannot pull back data already leaked, cannot touch what your bank or a shop holds, and does nothing for a leaked password, so fix your passwords first.
1What removal can and cannot do
California's privacy regulator describes a data broker as "a business that gathers and sells consumer information that a consumer didn't give them directly" [1]. Removal asks these companies, and the people-search sites they feed, to delete what they hold about you.
- It can lower how many companies hold and sell your details. That is one less place for them to be bought from, and one less place for them to leak from.
- It cannot pull back what has already leaked. New Zealand's Privacy Commissioner says stolen personal information is "often sold to malicious actors on the dark web" [2].
- It cannot touch your own accounts. Your bank, your employer and the shops you use keep their own records, and a removal service does not reach them. You can still ask those companies to delete old accounts you no longer use.
- It does nothing for a leaked password. Change those first.
Can you remove your personal information completely? No. If you have asked how to remove my personal information from the internet, the honest answer is that you can only reduce it, and these are the limits.
Does it stop scam calls? We cannot promise that. The US FTC says: "Sometimes robocalls are random. But sometimes, a company tries to trick you to get your information and sells it" [3]. Australia's OAIC says that after a breach, "a scam email might be personalised and address you by name" [4]. We found no official figure for how much removal reduces scams, so be wary of any that you see.
2Free routes, by country
| Where | Route |
|---|---|
| Anywhere Google offers it | "Results about you" finds your address, phone number or email in search results. Google says some features are "rolling out" in "certain markets" [5]. It affects Google's results only, and the page itself stays online. |
| California | DROP sends "a single deletion request to every registered data broker in California", more than 500 of them [1]. For California residents only. |
| United Kingdom | You can ask an organisation to delete data about you, and "in some circumstances, they must then do so" [6]. The ICO says this guidance is under review. |
| Ireland and the EU | The GDPR gives a right to erasure, with limits [7]. |
| Canada | The Privacy Commissioner says you can ask a data broker to correct information and "request that the information be deleted", and can complain if unhappy with the answer [8]. This is a 2010 post. |
| Other US states, Australia, New Zealand and India | We did not find an official route aimed at data brokers on the pages we read. You can still write to a company and ask it to delete your details. |
To stop new copies being made, read the small print before you enter your details on a coupon, prize or quote site. The FTC warns that small disclaimers can mean you agree to your information being collected and sold [3].
3What paid services offer
Most free routes take time, one company after another, and brokers can add you again. Paid services send the requests for you and repeat them. We read their pricing pages and did not test them, so we do not rank them. Check that a service covers your country before you pay.
| Provider | Serves | Offers | Price | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeleteMe | US plans: US residents. Its international page also lists Australia, Canada, Ireland, the UK and others, so check at sign-up | Custom removal requests plus automated services, quarterly privacy reports and a 100% satisfaction guarantee | USD 14.54 a month for 2 people on its 2-year plan (USD 349 billed every 2 years). See its page for one person | Choose this if you want custom removal requests on every plan. |
| Incogni | Residents of the US, EU, UK, Canada, Switzerland and three other European countries | 420+ data broker sites, recurring removals and monthly progress reports, with a money-back guarantee | Standard GBP 71.88 a year (GBP 5.99 a month, billed yearly), as shown from the UK | Choose this if you live in a place it serves and want monthly progress reports. |
| Optery | US, Canada (not Quebec), Australia, New Zealand and South Africa | A free plan with a self-service opt out. Paid plans add automated removals from 380+ sites (150+ unless you enable its Expanded Reach) and up, with a 30-day money-back guarantee | Free Basic. Core USD 3.25 a month (USD 39 billed yearly) | Choose this if you want to see a free report first, then decide whether to pay. |
| Privacy Bee | Says it covers any country where data brokers operate, apart from US-sanctioned countries | Essentials covers 561 people-search sites. Higher plans cover more. Essentials and Pro have a 30-day money-back guarantee | Essentials about USD 8 a month, billed yearly | Choose this if you live outside the countries the others list, and accept its own statement of coverage. |
We found no service that lists India. We earn nothing from these links today: see our disclosure.
4What to do, and in what order
- Fix your passwords first. Check them, and change any found in a breach.
- Give each site its own password, kept in a password manager.
- Then shrink what is out there: the free routes above, or a paid service if you would rather not do it by hand.
Sources
- [1]California Privacy Protection Agency, January 2026: DROP Is Coming, published 10 December 2025 (United States). Read the source. Read 30 October 2026.
- [2]Privacy Commissioner, Protect your personal information (New Zealand). Read the source. Read 30 October 2026.
- [3]US Federal Trade Commission, How are robocallers getting your phone number?. Read the source. Read 30 October 2026.
- [4]Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, Respond to a data breach notification (Australia). Read the source. Read 30 October 2026.
- [5]Google Search Help, Find and remove personal info in Google Search results. Read the source. Read 30 October 2026.
- [6]Information Commissioner's Office, Your right to get your data deleted (United Kingdom). Read the source. Read 30 October 2026.
- [7]Data Protection Commission, Right to Erasure (Ireland). Read the source. Read 30 October 2026.
- [8]Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Big Broker is Watching You, 4 November 2010 (Canada). Read the source. Read 30 October 2026.