- Removal services and breach monitors side by side
- Ten services that clear or watch your data
- Removal service or breach monitor: know which job you need
- Automated opt-outs versus a human on the case
- Services aimed at people with higher exposure
- What to check before you hand over your details
- How to start shrinking your data broker footprint
- My plain advice on choosing a data removal service
- Frequently asked questions
A data removal service finds your personal details on data broker and people-search sites, sends the opt-out requests for you and keeps checking for new listings. A breach monitor is a different thing: it tells you which leaks include your email and leaves the fixing to you. Ten options of both kinds follow, in no particular order.
Your home address, phone number and even your relatives' names can end up on people-search sites, put there by data brokers who sell profiles to marketers. You can opt out of each site by hand, but there are hundreds of them, and they can list you again later. That's the chore these services take on.
The ten below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order. Every description comes from each company's own website, as of Nov 2026. This page describes what each service says it does; it isn't legal or safety advice.
Removal services and breach monitors side by side
| Tool | Type | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Aura | Identity protection suite with broker removal | Broker removal inside a wider identity suite |
| Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection | Identity and breach monitoring service | Alerts when your details turn up in a breach |
| DeleteMe | Data broker removal service | Ongoing removal from brokers and people-search sites |
| EasyOptOuts | Automated data removal service | Bot-driven opt-outs from brokers and Google searches |
| Incogni | Data broker removal service | Cutting spam and scam risk from broker profiles |
| Kanary | Personal threat monitoring and removal | Doxxing and impersonation risk for public people |
| Mozilla Monitor | Data breach scanning service | A free scan for breach exposures |
| Optery | Data removal service with a free tier | Removal from Google results and broker sites |
| Privacy Bee | Data broker removal service | Contact details removed from Google and brokers |
| PrivacyDuck | People-led data removal service | Human-handled removal for the whole household |
Ten services that clear or watch your data
Aura
Best for: Households who want data broker and people-search removal as one part of a bigger suite covering identity, finances, family and devices.
Bitdefender Digital Identity Protection
Best for: People who mainly want to know which organisations exposed their details, with tips for each breach, rather than opt-outs sent for them.
DeleteMe
Best for: Anyone who'd like a team to search data broker and people-search sites, submit the opt-out requests and keep removing their details all year.
EasyOptOuts
Best for: Individuals happy with a fully automated, bot-driven service that removes their details from Google searches and data brokers, with minimal data collected.
Incogni
Best for: Those tired of spam and scam calls who want their profiles taken off the data brokers and people-search sites that marketers buy from.
Kanary
Best for: People in the public eye, executives and their families who need to manage doxxing, impersonation, phishing or physical risk, with a threat model per person.
Mozilla Monitor
Best for: Anyone who wants to check which data breaches include their email address and get steps to fix each exposure themselves.
Optery
Best for: Individuals who'd like to start on a free tier and upgrade to have removals managed for them, with options listed for high-risk communities and businesses.
Privacy Bee
Best for: Starting with a free scan, people who want their contact info deleted from Google and the data brokers that sell it on to telemarketers.
PrivacyDuck
Best for: Families who'd prefer a named person handling removals for everyone in the household, with repeat checks and re-filing because brokers re-list.
Removal service or breach monitor: know which job you need
The vendor pages split cleanly. DeleteMe's title is Remove Personal Data from Internet and Data Brokers, Incogni calls itself a Data Broker Removal Service, and Aura says it will help remove your personal info from data brokers and people search sites, as one part of a much wider identity suite.
Mozilla Monitor works differently. Its page says it scans data breaches to see if your data has been leaked and gives you steps to fix it, and Bitdefender's identity service is built around breach detection and alerts. Those tell you what's leaked. They don't send opt-outs to brokers on your behalf.
That's the split most people miss. Removal services do the opt-outs for you; breach monitors only show you what's out there and leave the fixing to you. Plenty of people want both, but they aren't the same thing, and buying one won't do the other's job.
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Automated opt-outs versus a human on the case
Within the removal camp, the work gets done in different ways. EasyOptOuts describes itself as fully automated, with bot-driven removals. PrivacyDuck takes the opposite line: its page says removal is handled by people, and it's been doing that since 2011. Privacy Bee's title puts a number on its reach, Remove Your Info From 1,319 Data Brokers, which is the company's own count.
One vendor page makes a point worth knowing before you sign up anywhere: removals don't stay done on their own, because brokers re-list people. Look for repeat checks and re-filing rather than a one-off sweep.
Services aimed at people with higher exposure
A couple of services go further than spam calls. Optery's menu has a section For High-Risk Communities, and Kanary describes digital and physical attack surface management for people, built for those who need to manage doxxing, impersonation, phishing or physical risk. If your worry is more than nuisance calls, those are the pages to read first.
What to check before you hand over your details
- Which sites are covered. Several vendors publish the list of brokers and people-search sites they remove from. Read it, and look for the sites where you've found yourself.
- Who does the work. Automated requests, a human team or a mix of the two.
- How often they re-check. Brokers can list you again after a removal, so repeat scans matter.
- Family cover. If your relatives appear on the same profiles, check whether they can be added.
- What reports you get. You want to see which requests went out and which sites confirmed them.
- Which countries are covered. Many of the people-search sites named on these pages are US sites, so check what's offered where you live.
- What you're handing over. A service needs your details to remove them, so read its own privacy and security pages first.
How to start shrinking your data broker footprint
- Search your own name, town and phone number, and note which people-search sites come up.
- Run a free breach scan with your main email address to see which leaks include it.
- Change any reused passwords from those leaks and move them into a password manager.
- Choose a removal service, or work through the opt-out forms yourself if your list is short.
- Read the service's reports after the first round, then search your name again a few weeks later.
- Repeat the search every few months, because new listings appear.
If you're picking a password manager for step three, my Bitwarden vs 1Password comparison sets the two side by side. And if you run a website, your domain records can expose you too: my piece on what WHOIS privacy protects explains where that cover stops.
Do you make a data removal or privacy protection service? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on choosing a data removal service
Work out which job you need first. If spam calls and people-search listings are the problem, you want a removal service that sends the opt-outs and keeps re-checking. If you only want to know whether your email turned up in a breach, a monitor will tell you, and several are free to start. If you're in the public eye or worried about doxxing, look at the services that build a plan around your risk. Whatever you pick, read its list of covered sites before you sign up, and don't expect any removal to be a one-time fix.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
What does a data removal service do?
It searches data broker and people-search sites for your personal details, sends opt-out or removal requests on your behalf, and keeps checking for new listings.
Is a data removal service the same as a breach monitor?
No. A removal service sends the opt-outs for you. A breach monitor scans known data breaches for your email or details and tells you what leaked, but the fixing is left to you.
Can I remove my details from data brokers myself?
Yes. Most data brokers and people-search sites have their own opt-out forms. It's free but slow, because there are so many sites and they can list you again later.
Will my details stay off data broker sites?
Not necessarily. Brokers can re-list people after a removal, which is why most services describe ongoing monitoring and repeat requests rather than a single sweep.
Can a service remove my family's details too?
Some say so. At least one service on this list says it removes the whole household, so check each vendor's own page for family options.
Do data removal services work outside the US?
Coverage varies. Many of the people-search sites named on vendor pages are US sites, so check which countries and sites a service covers before you sign up.
