To get your phone number off a people-search site, you send that site an opt-out request — one site at a time — and then check that the number no longer appears. There is no single form that covers every site, and the National Do Not Call Registry does not cover listings at all: it tells telemarketers not to call you, not people-search sites to stop publishing your number. Opt-out forms often work on a whole profile rather than a single field — That's Them's form, for one, has no way to pick out just the number — so in practice "remove my phone number" usually means "ask the site to suppress the profile that shows it."
This guide explains where phone numbers show up, what a typical request needs, and where to find the steps for each site. "Remove" here always means ask to remove: each site decides what to do with a request, and some do not respond.
Where your number shows up
Phone numbers appear in three kinds of places:
- People-search profiles. A profile under your name lists current and past numbers alongside addresses and relatives. Whitepages, Spokeo, TruePeopleSearch and FastPeopleSearch are common examples.
- Reverse-phone lookup sites. These let anyone type in a number and see a name attached to it. USPhoneBook and Spy Dialer work this way.
- Caller-ID and contact apps. Some apps build a directory from contact lists their users share. Sync.ME runs an unsubscribe page for this.
A number can appear on all three at once, and each one needs its own request.
Step 1: find the listings
Search for yourself on the sites most likely to list you, by name and — on sites that offer it — by phone number. Search every number you have used, including old landlines. Profiles often show numbers you gave up years ago.
Two shortcuts:
- Google's Results about you looks for Search results showing your phone number and lets you ask Google to stop showing them. It does not change the site, but its list of results is a quick map of which sites list your number. See our guide to Results about you.
- The free kit at /scan/ gives you search links for the most common people-search sites, filled in with your name, in your browser. It does not send your details to us.
Copy the URL of each profile you find. Many opt-out forms ask for it.
Step 2: send the opt-out request on each site
Each site runs its own process. What they tend to ask for:
- The profile URL. Some forms start from the URL of your listing.
- Matching details. Some forms ask you to enter the name, address and number exactly as the listing shows them. That's Them's form, for example, asks for full name, street address, city, state, ZIP code, email and phone, all required (checked 2026-10-06).
- An email address for confirmation. Many sites send a link you must click before they process the request.
- A phone call. Some sites verify by calling the number on the listing. Our Whitepages guide describes its phone-verification step.
Because the site is checking that the request comes from the person listed, it may ask for the same number you want taken down. That is normal. Give only what the form needs; you do not have to add anything the listing does not already show.
Our per-site guides list the opt-out page, the verification method and the known quirks for each site. Start with these:
The full directory is at /sites/.
Step 3: if there is no form, send a written request
Some sites have no opt-out form, or route you to an email address. A short written request works there. If you live in a state with a consumer privacy law, cite it. In California, the CCPA gives residents the right to ask a business to delete personal information it collected about them, and the California Attorney General says businesses must respond within 45 calendar days, extendable by another 45 if they tell you.
The California AG also notes that businesses may deny deletion requests in several cases, including where the information is "publicly available." People-search sites sometimes rely on that. A request costs little to send even so, and many sites run an opt-out process regardless of where you live.
The free kit writes these letters for you in your browser, citing the law you choose, and opens them in your own email app. See also the CCPA deletion request template and state privacy laws with a right to delete.
Step 4: check the live page
A confirmation email tells you the request was received. It does not tell you the number is gone from the page. Once the site says it has acted, open the profile URL again, and search the site by your number if it allows reverse lookup. See how to check a removal worked.
If the site does not respond, see what to do if a data broker ignores you.
What the Do Not Call Registry does and does not do
People often register their number with the National Do Not Call Registry expecting it to stop their number appearing online. It does not. The FTC describes the registry as "a list that tells registered telemarketers what numbers not to call — it doesn't block calls." It has no effect on what people-search sites publish.
It is still worth doing if sales calls are the problem. Registration is free and never expires. See the National Do Not Call Registry.
Why the number can come back
People-search sites rebuild profiles from new records. A number you still use can reappear on a new profile, under a new URL, after an earlier one was suppressed. Re-checking periodically is part of the job. See why your information reappears.
A few practical points
- Do every number. Old numbers you have given up can still be tied to your name and address.
- Expect one request per site. A request to one site does not reach its competitors. Some sites share an opt-out system — see the PeopleConnect network.
- Keep a record. Note the date, the site, the URL and any confirmation. The kit's checklist does this in your browser.
- Nothing here is guaranteed. Removal is not guaranteed — some sites don't comply, and some take a long time.