Data broker opt-out: How retirees can protect their data

Your home address, phone number and relatives’ names may be sitting on people-search websites you’ve never visited. Anyone who finds those listings could learn more about you than you’re comfortable sharing. A data broker opt-out can help reduce that exposure, especially during retirement, when protecting your finances, family and home becomes a priority.

And a tragic case in Minnesota shows why publicly available personal information deserves a closer look. Here’s what happened in Minnesota and the steps you can take to make your personal information harder to find online.

Minnesota attacks expose a troubling privacy risk

In June 2025, Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were murdered in a targeted attack. State Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were seriously injured in a separate shooting. Investigators discovered notebooks containing the names of public officials and a handwritten list of 11 people-search websites in the suspect’s vehicle. The list included TruePeopleSearch, Spokeo, Pipl, PeopleFinders, BeenVerified, Whitepages, TruthFinder, Intelius, Ownerly, USSearch and PeopleLooker. The notes described which services were free and what information someone could find through them.

However, the discovery alone did not establish whether the websites supplied the victims’ addresses. On June 11, 2026, Vance Boelter pleaded guilty to federal charges involving the murders, shootings and stalking of the victims. He was sentenced on July 23 to two consecutive life terms plus 40 years in federal prison. Separate state charges remain pending. The case raised an unsettling question: How easily could someone find your home address and information about your family?

What data brokers know about you

Data brokers collect information from public records, online activity, commercial databases and other sources. They then combine those details into profiles that businesses and individuals may be able to purchase or access. Some companies specialize in marketing information. Others operate people-search websites that make personal details available through free searches or paid reports.

Depending on the company and the available records, those profiles may include:

• Your current and previous home addresses
• Phone numbers and email addresses
• Age, birth date and marital status
• Names of relatives and possible associates
• Property ownership and estimated home values
• Employment and education history
• Purchasing interests and other consumer information
• Financial, health-related or political inferences

Not every broker collects or sells all this information. Credit reporting agencies also operate under different legal requirements than many people-search services. Still, these records can reveal details you never intended to share with strangers. For a closer look at how criminals assemble this information, read our CyberGuy report on how scammers build a profile on you using data brokers.

Want to see how much of your personal information may already be exposed? Run the free scan below to find out what data brokers may have on you.

Why exposed personal information is risky for retirees

Scammers can use publicly available details to make their stories more convincing. As a result, a suspicious call or message may sound surprisingly personal.

Here are some of the potential risks.

• Financial scams: Someone who knows your age, address and family relationships may use those details to impersonate a financial institution, government agency or relative. That familiarity can make a fraudulent request sound credible.
• Home and personal safety: People-search listings may expose where you live, where you previously lived and who lives nearby. This can be particularly concerning for people dealing with stalking, harassment or threats.
• Medicare and healthcare fraud: A scammer who knows your name, age or location could use those details to make a fake Medicare call or insurance offer seem legitimate. Never provide your Medicare number to an unexpected caller.
• Family impersonation scams: Criminals may use relatives’ names and personal details to create convincing emergency stories. They might claim someone you love needs money immediately.
• Spam calls and unwanted messages: Data brokers and marketing lists can contribute to unwanted contact. However, removing your information will not eliminate every robocall, spam text or phishing email.

Even if you’ve never experienced one of these problems, reducing the amount of personal information available online can make it harder for someone to research you.

How to opt out of data brokers yourself

You can request removal from many people-search websites for free. However, each company may have different requirements, and removing a listing doesn’t always prevent it from returning.

Here’s how to get started.

• Search for yourself online. Look up your full name, city, current address and phone number. Check major people-search websites for matching listings. Avoid paying for reports unless you have a specific reason.
• Save the website addresses. Keep a record of the pages exposing your information so you can return to them later.
• Find each site’s removal instructions. Look for links labeled “Opt Out,” “Remove My Information” or “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information.” You can also check the site’s privacy policy.
• Submit your removal request. Follow the company’s instructions. Some sites require you to verify your identity or confirm that the record belongs to you. Share only the information necessary to complete the request.
• Complete any verification steps. Check your email for confirmation links or follow-up instructions. A request may remain incomplete until you finish the process.
• Consider search-result removal. If sensitive information appears in Google search results, you may qualify to request its removal. Keep in mind that removing a search result does not erase the information from the original website.
• Check again periodically. Brokers may refresh their records, and previously removed details can reappear. Revisit the sites and submit new requests when necessary.

For more detailed instructions, Incogni maintains a free collection of 85 data broker opt-out guides.

A new privacy shortcut for California residents

If you live in California, you now have another option. The state’s free Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) launched in January 2026. It allows eligible residents to submit one deletion request to more than 600 registered data brokers. Beginning August 1, 2026, covered data brokers were required to start processing those requests. The system also requires recurring checks for matching information, although legal exceptions apply and removal is not immediate. Other states have their own privacy laws and removal rights, so your options may depend on where you live.

How Incogni can help remove your personal information

If manually contacting dozens of websites sounds exhausting, a data removal service can handle much of that work for you. Incogni automates removal requests to covered data brokers and people-search websites. Instead of finding and contacting each company individually, you authorize the service to submit requests on your behalf.

According to Incogni, its current services include:

• Automated removal requests: Its Standard plan covers more than 420 data broker and people-search websites.
• Recurring removals: The service sends additional requests and checks for information that may have reappeared.
• Progress reports: You can review the status of removal requests and see which companies have responded.
• Multiple personal details: You can provide supported current and previous addresses, email addresses and phone numbers to expand the search.
• Custom removals: Eligible Unlimited plans allow you to submit additional website links for review and manual removal attempts by Incogni’s privacy team.

To begin, you create an account, provide the identifying information needed to match your records and authorize Incogni to act on your behalf. For households that want to protect several people, Incogni also offers family plans supporting up to five members.

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Exclusive Deal for CyberGuy Readers (60% off): Incogni offers a 30-day, money-back guarantee and applies a special CyberGuy discount to all annual plans, as low as $6.39/month for one person (billed annually) or $13.19/month for your family (up to 5 people). This fully automated data removal service provides ongoing protection from 420+ data brokers, and the Unlimited plan allows you to request removals from specific sites where your personal information appears.

I recommend the family plan, especially if you’re already checking your parents’ phones. It works out to only $2.64 per person per month (or $4.80 per person per month for the Family Unlimited plan) for powerful, year-round privacy protection. It’s an excellent service and well worth trying to see exactly how much of your information is being exposed right now.

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Not ready to decide yet? Start with Incogni’s free exposure scan to see where your personal information is already showing up online.

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What a data removal service cannot do

Even with automated removal, some information may remain publicly accessible. For example, property ownership records, government databases and certain court records may continue to display personal information. A private removal service generally cannot force those public records to disappear. Likewise, Incogni’s custom removal feature has legal and technical limitations. It cannot remove information from every website. Removing broker listings also cannot undo an earlier data breach or guarantee that scammers will stop contacting you. However, reducing the number of places where your information appears can make your personal details less accessible. For retirees, that can be especially valuable when protecting retirement savings and helping family members recognize suspicious requests.

Related Links:

• Why it’s so hard to find every data broker selling your information
• Take back your privacy with custom data removals
• Best services for removing your personal information from the internet

Kurt’s key takeaways

What concerns me most is how much someone can learn about you without ever meeting you. Your address, family connections and personal history can give scammers information they can use to gain your trust. And once that information starts circulating, controlling where it goes becomes difficult. That’s why I recommend taking a proactive approach. Start by finding out what’s publicly available, remove what you can and keep checking. If the process becomes overwhelming, a reputable data removal service can help with the ongoing work. You may never erase every trace of yourself from the internet, but you can make your personal information harder to find.

Have you ever searched your name on a people-search website and been surprised by how much information was available? Let us know in the comments below.

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This article was created in partnership with Incogni.

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