What's Public and Why
Your name, home address, property ownership, voter registration, and court records are public by law in most US states. This isn't a data breach — it's how the system is designed. Property deeds, voter rolls, and court filings are public records maintained by county and state governments for transparency and accountability.
The problem isn't that these records exist. The problem is that data brokers — Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, Intelius, and hundreds of others — aggregate them into searchable profiles that anyone can access for a few dollars.
What You Can Remove
- Data broker profiles: Most data brokers are required to honor opt-out requests. Our Data Broker Opt-Out Guide covers the top 20 brokers with direct opt-out links. This is the highest-impact action you can take. Expect 2–4 hours for the initial round and periodic re-checking since brokers re-add profiles from new data sources.
- Google search results: Google's "Results About You" tool lets you request removal of search results that display your personal contact information. This doesn't remove the source — it removes Google's link to it.
- Social media profiles: Set all profiles to private. Remove your phone number and home address from every platform. Our Social Media Privacy Guide covers platform-by-platform settings.
What You Cannot Remove (But Can Reduce)
- Property records: Your county assessor's office publishes property ownership records. You cannot opt out. The workaround: some privacy-conscious homeowners hold property in an LLC or trust, which replaces their personal name in public records. This requires legal setup and varies by state.
- Voter registration: Most states make voter rolls public. Some states allow you to request that your address be excluded from public records (California, for example, offers a Safe at Home program for domestic violence survivors). Check your state's secretary of state website.
- Court records: Court filings are public unless sealed by a judge. You cannot remove them. Some states allow expungement of certain criminal records — check with a local attorney.
The Ongoing Work
Privacy from public records is not a one-time fix. Data brokers re-add profiles quarterly from new government data releases. The most effective approach is:
- Do the initial data broker opt-out round (2–4 hours)
- Set a quarterly calendar reminder to re-check the top 10 brokers
- Consider a paid service like DeleteMe or Privacy Duck if you don't want to maintain it yourself — they automate the re-checking and re-removal process
Complete elimination is impossible. Meaningful reduction is achievable with consistent effort.