How to Opt Out of Spokeo, WhitePages, and BeenVerified

calendar May 25, 2026 / · 3 min read · opt out data brokers people search  ·
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The Three Sites That Show Up When People Google You

Spokeo, WhitePages, and BeenVerified are people-search sites: they aggregate your name, current and past addresses, phone numbers, relatives, and age from public records and data brokers, then display it to anyone who searches. These three rank highly in search results, so they are often the first place an ex, a stalker, or a scammer finds your details. The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, which has tracked the data-broker industry since 1992, classifies people-search sites as among the highest-exposure brokers because their listings are public-facing by design.

Each of the three runs its own opt-out process, and each is deliberately a little inconvenient. None requires payment, but they differ in what they ask for: WhitePages wants a phone verification, BeenVerified wants an email confirmation, and Spokeo wants the exact URL of your listing. The steps below walk through each one as it works in 2026.

A caveat before you start: removing your profile from these three does not remove your data from the 500-plus brokers feeding them. For broad coverage, treat this as the high-priority first pass and see our full data-broker removal guide for the rest.

How to opt out: step by step

  1. Find your exact listing on each site — Search your full name plus city on spokeo.com, whitepages.com, and beenverified.com. Open each profile that is actually you and copy its URL — Spokeo's opt-out requires the precise listing URL.

  2. Opt out of Spokeo — Go to spokeo.com/optout. Paste the URL of your listing, enter an email address, complete the CAPTCHA, and submit. Spokeo emails a confirmation link you must click to finalize removal.

  3. Opt out of WhitePages — Go to whitepages.com/suppression-requests. Find and select your listing, give a reason, and submit. WhitePages verifies via an automated phone call with a code — you'll enter the code to confirm. (No smartphone needed; a landline works.)

  4. Opt out of BeenVerified — Go to beenverified.com/app/optout/search. Search your name, select your record, enter your email, and click the verification link BeenVerified sends. This also covers their sister sites where applicable.

  5. Document every submission — Screenshot each confirmation page and save the confirmation emails. Brokers sometimes claim no request was received; a timestamped record is your evidence if you need to escalate or file a state complaint.

  6. Re-check in 60–90 days — Search your name again on all three. People-search profiles routinely reappear as new public records are ingested. If a listing returns, repeat the opt-out — there is no permanent one-and-done.

What to expect

Spokeo and BeenVerified typically remove a confirmed listing within a few days of you clicking the verification link. WhitePages can take up to 24 hours after phone verification. The harder part is permanence: because these sites continuously pull fresh public records, your profile can resurface within 6–12 months even after a clean removal.

If you are a California resident, you can also send a deletion demand under the CCPA, and several states now have similar rights — most brokers honor these nationally rather than maintain separate flows. For genuinely difficult cases (broken forms, confirmation loops that time out), the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse recommends documenting the failure and noting that ongoing automated removal services exist precisely because manual opt-outs do not stick.

References

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