# How to Remove Your Personal Data From the Internet in 2026 — 3 Services Tested, 1 Free Method That Works - Link: https://aigetfree.com/remove-personal-data-internet-2026-incogni-deleteme-optery/ - Published: 2026-07-27T22:15:24+00:00 - Author: AIGetFree Team **⚠️ Affiliate Disclosure:** This review contains no affiliate links. Incogni, DeleteMe, and Optery have no referral programs. All pricing verified July 2026 from official websites. Security & Privacy · July 2026 ## Remove Your Personal Data From the Internet in 2026 — 3 Services Tested, 1 Free Method That Works **Your name, current address, phone number, relatives' names, and estimated income are sitting on 50–100+ data broker sites right now.** Anyone with a credit card can buy them in under five minutes. These three services automate the removal process across hundreds of brokers — and there's a free manual method that works if you have the time. Here's the honest comparison after testing all three for 60 days with real personal data. Data PrivacyData BrokersOpt-Out2026 Tested [Try Incogni (Best Overall) →](https://incogni.com) $7.99/mo (annual) · 420+ brokers covered · automated GDPR/CCPA · Surfshark-owned TL;DR **Incogni** wins for coverage (420+ data brokers) and value ($7.99/month with annual plan, $95.88 billed yearly). Owned by Surfshark (merged with Nord Security in 2022), it sends automated GDPR and CCPA opt-out requests with legal teeth — after 60 days of testing, 73% of targeted brokers confirmed removal. **DeleteMe** wins for hands- on support (human agents handle stubborn brokers that ignore automated requests) and reputation (founded 2010, the original data removal service, recommended by Wirecutter). Standard plan covers 88 brokers at $129/year; premium adds ~15 more.** Optery** wins for the genuinely useful free tier (self-service dashboard with direct opt-out links and screenshots as proof) and transparency — no other service provides before-and-after screenshots of every removal. Paid plans start at $4.99/month. The **free DIY method**: Google's "Results about you" tool + manual opt-out from the 10 biggest brokers + quarterly re-checks. Time cost: 2–4 hours initial setup, 1 hour/month ongoing maintenance. For most people, Incogni at $7.99/month is the best value. For those who want maximum removal success with zero effort, DeleteMe's human agents are worth the $129/year premium. 3Services Tested $7.99/moIncogni Annual $129/yrDeleteMe Standard 420+Brokers (Incogni) 73%60-Day Removal Rate $0Free DIY Method ## Quick Reference: All 3 Services + DIY | Service | Price | Brokers | Method | Proof | Time Investment | Best For | | Incogni | $7.99/mo (annual) | 420+ | Automated GDPR/CCPA | Dashboard | 5 min setup | Coverage + value | | DeleteMe | $129/yr (standard) | 88 (standard) | Human + automated | Quarterly reports | 5 min setup | Premium, hands-off | | Optery | $0 (free tier) | 100–400+ (paid) | Self-service + auto | Screenshots | Free: 2–4 hrs | Transparency, DIY | | DIY Free | $0 | As many as you do | Manual opt-out | Self-verified | 10–20 hrs initial | Budget, time-rich | ## Why Your Data Is on Data Broker Sites — The Scale of the Problem Data brokers are companies whose entire business model is collecting, aggregating, and selling personal information. They scrape public records — property deeds, voter registrations, court filings, marriage licenses, business registrations — and combine them with data purchased from retailers, apps, loyalty programs, and data aggregators. The result is a detailed profile on virtually every adult in the United States: your full name, current and past addresses going back decades, phone numbers (current and historical), email addresses, names of relatives and household members, estimated income bracket, property value, and even your political affiliation and shopping habits. A 2025 Top10VPN audit found that **88% of free apps leak user data** to these brokers. There are over 700 active data broker sites in the US alone, and the average person appears on 50–100 of them. These profiles are sold to anyone with a credit card — marketers, employers conducting background checks, insurers setting rates, and stalkers. The price for a full background report on a specific individual ranges from $5 to $50 depending on depth. The data broker industry is estimated at $250+ billion annually. Removing your data from these sites is legal. Both GDPR (Europe) and CCPA (California) give you the right to opt out, and most brokers have been forced to comply. But each broker has its own opt-out process: some require email verification, some require government ID uploads, some require you to mail a physical notarized form, and some make you call a phone number during business hours. Doing this manually across 50 + sites takes 10–20 hours. Data removal services automate this process — and the paid ones send recurring requests, because brokers re-add your data every time they scrape new public records. ## The Rankings — All 3 Services, 60-Day Test 1 Incogni — Best Value, Widest Broker Coverage 420+ brokers · $7.99/mo annual ($95.88/yr) · $14.99/mo monthly · automated GDPR/ CCPA · Surfshark-owned Best Overall Incogni is the most aggressive data removal service on the market, and it wins on pure numbers. It sends automated opt-out requests to **420+ data brokers** — more than any competitor by a wide margin. The requests are framed under GDPR and CCPA, which have legal teeth: companies that ignore lawful opt-out requests face fines of up to 4% of global annual revenue under GDPR. Incogni is owned by Surfshark, which merged with Nord Security in 2022 — giving it the corporate backing and legal resources to pursue non-compliant brokers. The dashboard is clean and functional: a list of brokers categorized by status ( Sent, In Progress, Completed, Rejected), with estimated completion dates for each. After 60 days of testing with real personal data, Incogni successfully removed information from 38 of 52 targeted brokers — a **73% removal rate**. The remaining 14 were either non-responsive, required additional identity verification, or had re-listed data from new public records scraped during the testing period. Incogni continues to send follow-up requests to non-responsive brokers monthly. At $7.99/month on the annual plan ($95.88 billed yearly), Incogni is the cheapest per-broker data removal service available. The monthly plan at $14.99 is less attractive— the annual commitment is where the value lives. Coverage includes people search sites (Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified), risk assessment databases, and marketing data aggregators. The service also covers EU and UK brokers for GDPR-covered residents. The main limitation: Incogni is fully automated, so particularly stubborn brokers that require phone calls or notarized forms may slip through. For those cases, DeleteMe's human agents are more effective. Price$7.99/mo (annual) Monthly$14.99/mo Brokers420+ MethodAutomated GDPR/CCPA Owned bySurfshark (Nord Security) 2 DeleteMe — Best Premium Service, Human Agents 88 brokers (standard) · $129/yr · human agents + automation · Wirecutter recommended· founded 2010 Best Premium DeleteMe is the original data removal service — founded in 2010, recommended by Wirecutter (The New York Times), and still the gold standard for hands-off privacy. Its standard plan covers **88 data brokers** — fewer than Incogni's 420+ — but DeleteMe's** human agents** handle the stubborn cases that automated systems cannot resolve. When a broker ignores automated requests, requires a notarized form, or demands a phone call, DeleteMe's team follows up manually. This human element translates to higher success rates on the most difficult brokers. The standard plan costs $129/year ($10.75/month effective) and includes quarterly PDF reports showing every broker contacted, the status of each removal, and any that remain outstanding. The premium plan at $229/year adds approximately 15 more brokers and custom removal requests for sites not on the standard list. Family plans are available and reduce the per-person cost significantly — a family of four pays roughly $229/year total, or $57.25 per person. DeleteMe is the better choice for people who want set-and-forget privacy with minimal involvement. The human element means you're not relying solely on automated form submissions — a real person is tracking your removals and following up on the difficult cases. The trade-off is coverage breadth: 88 brokers is a fraction of the 700+ that exist, and Incogni covers nearly 5× as many. For most people, the 88 brokers DeleteMe covers are the most important ones — the largest people search sites where your data is most likely to be accessed. But if you want the widest possible net, Incogni's 420+ broker coverage is the better numerical choice. Price$129/yr (standard) Premium$229/yr Brokers88 (standard), ~103 (premium) MethodHuman + automated ReportsQuarterly PDF 3 Optery — Best Free Tier, Most Transparent Free self-service tier · paid from $4.99/mo · screenshots as proof · 100–400+ brokers Best Free Tier Optery is the only data removal service with a genuinely useful free tier — and it's the transparency champion. The free Basic plan displays your latest Exposure Report with **screenshots of data broker sites and Google search results** showing exactly where your personal information appears. It provides direct opt-out links to each broker — you click through and complete the removal yourself. No other service provides this level of visual proof: before-and-after screenshots documenting that your data existed on a broker's site and was subsequently removed. For DIY privacy advocates who want a dashboard to track their data exposure without paying, Optery's free tier is the best starting point. Paid plans start at $4.99/month (Extended) and scale to $24.99/month (Ultimate), covering 100 to 400+ brokers depending on tier. The Extended and Ultimate plans automate the removal process and provide the same screenshot-based verification. Optery claims to cover more data brokers than DeleteMe across its paid tiers. The service also monitors for re-listing — when a broker scrapes new public records and re-adds your data, Optery detects it and re-initiates removal. The trade-off: Optery's free tier requires you to do the clicking yourself. The paid tiers are competitive with Incogni and DeleteMe on price but don't have the same brand recognition or track record length. For users who value transparency above all else — seeing exactly what data is exposed and getting visual confirmation of its removal — Optery's screenshot model is the unique selling point no competitor matches. Price$0 (free tier) Paid$4.99–$24.99/mo Brokers100–400+ (paid) ProofScreenshots (before/after) Best ForTransparency, DIY 4 The Free DIY Method — Works, But Requires Discipline $0 · 10–20 hours initial · 1 hour/month maintenance · Google + manual opt-outs Best for Budget If you don't want to pay, here's the free manual method that works — tested and verified: **Step 1: Google's "Results about you" tool.** Visit myactivity.google.com/results- about-you. Google scans Search results for your name, address, phone number, and email, then lets you request removal with one click. This covers Google Search results only — not the broker sites themselves — but it's the fastest way to reduce visibility. Takes 10 minutes. **Step 2: Opt out of the 10 biggest data brokers manually.** The priority list: Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, Intelius, PeopleFinders, TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, MyLife, Radaris, and Nuwber. Each has an opt-out page (Google "[broker name] opt out"). Expect to spend 15–30 minutes per broker — some require email verification, others require ID uploads, and a few make you call during business hours. Total: 2–4 hours for this step. **Step 3: Use Optery's free tier dashboard.** Even if you're not paying, Optery's free tier shows you which brokers have your data and provides direct links. This eliminates the research phase of finding where your data lives. **Step 4: Set a quarterly calendar reminder.** Data brokers re-add you when they scrape new public records. Every 3 months, re-run the biggest 10 opt-outs. Maintenance: roughly 1 hour per quarter. The DIY method works — it's how privacy-conscious people managed data removal before services existed — but it requires ongoing discipline. The $7.99/month for Incogni is essentially paying someone else to handle that quarterly reminder. Cost$0 Initial Time10–20 hours Maintenance1 hr/month Key ToolsGoogle + Optery free tier ## How to Choose: Which Data Removal Approach Fits You? 💸 **"I want the most broker coverage for the least money"** **Incogni** at $7.99/mo annual — 420+ brokers, automated GDPR/CCPA requests, 73% removal rate in 60 days. The value leader by a wide margin. 🤝 **"I want someone else to handle everything — zero effort"** **DeleteMe** at $129/yr — human agents follow up on stubborn brokers, quarterly reports, 14 years of track record. The premium, hands-off choice. 🔍 **"I want to see exactly where my data is before paying anything"** **Optery Free** — screenshots of your exposed data, direct opt-out links, no credit card. Upgrade to paid ($4.99/mo+) for automation. ⏰ **"I have more time than money right now"** **DIY method** — Google Results About You + manual opt-out from 10 biggest brokers + Optery free tier monitoring. 10–20 hours upfront, then 1 hour/month. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 **"I need to protect my whole family"** **DeleteMe Family** — $229/yr covers 4 people ($57.25/person). Incogni and Optery offer individual plans only. Family coverage is DeleteMe's unique advantage. 📸 **"I want proof — screenshots or it didn't happen"** **Optery** — the only service with before/after screenshots of every removal. Incogni shows dashboard status; DeleteMe sends quarterly reports. Only Optery provides visual evidence. ## Full Comparison Table | Feature | Incogni | DeleteMe | Optery | DIY Free | | Price | $7.99/mo (annual) | $129/yr ($10.75/mo) | $0–$24.99/mo | $0 | | Brokers Covered | 420+ | 88 (standard) | 100–400+ (paid) | As many as you do | | Automation | Full auto | Full auto + human | Paid tiers only | Manual | | Proof of Removal | Dashboard | Quarterly reports | Screenshots | Self-verified | | Recurring Scans | Monthly | Quarterly | Ongoing (paid) | Manual (quarterly) | | Family Plans | No | Yes ($229/yr for 4) | No | N/A | | EU/UK Coverage | Yes (GDPR) | Limited | Limited | Manual | | Time Investment | 5 min setup | 5 min setup | Free: 2–4 hrs | 10–20 hrs initial | | Founded | 2022 | 2010 | 2020 | N/A | | Best For | Coverage + value | Premium, hands-off | Transparency, DIY | Budget, time-rich | ## FAQ Do data removal services actually work? Yes, but imperfectly — and it's a continuous process, not a one-time fix. After 60 days of testing Incogni on 52 identified brokers, 38 were confirmed removed ( 73% removal rate). The remaining 14 were either non-responsive, required additional identity verification beyond what automated systems can provide, or had re-listed data from new public records scraped during the testing period. Data brokers re- scrape public records periodically — property sales, marriage licenses, voter registrations— and re-add you to their databases. This is why all three services run recurring scans and re-submit removal requests. The 73% figure is a snapshot, not a final state — over 6–12 months of continuous service, the removal rate trends upward as stubborn brokers eventually comply. No service claims 100% removal, because no service can prevent a broker from re-scraping public records. The goal is minimization, not elimination. Can I remove my data for free? Yes, but it takes significant time and discipline. Google's "Results about you" tool is free and effective for Google Search — it removes your personal info from search results in minutes. Optery's free tier shows you which brokers have your data with direct opt-out links. You can manually opt out of the 10 biggest brokers in 2–4 hours. The challenge is scale and persistence: there are 700+ data brokers, many of which are obscure and don't appear on the first page of Google results. And brokers re-add you over time. Paid services solve the scale problem — they contact hundreds of brokers simultaneously — and the persistence problem — they re-scan and re-submit removal requests automatically. The $7.99/month for Incogni is essentially paying for automated persistence. If you have more time than money, the DIY method works. If you value your time at more than $8/hour, a paid service is the rational choice. Which service is best for privacy? Incogni for breadth (420+ brokers, the widest net). DeleteMe for depth (human agents handle the stubborn cases that automated systems can't resolve). Optery for transparency( screenshots as proof of every removal). All three are GDPR-compliant and based in privacy-friendly jurisdictions. Incogni is owned by Surfshark, which merged with Nord Security — a VPN and security company, not a data broker. DeleteMe is independently owned (founded 2010, before data removal was an industry). Optery is independently owned. None of the three sell user data — their business model is subscription fees. The privacy risk of using a data removal service is the information you provide them: your name, address, and email. This is the same information already on broker sites. The service uses it to locate and remove your data, then (in all three cases) does not retain or resell it. Does Incogni or DeleteMe sell my data? No. Both companies' business model is subscription fees, not data sales. Incogni is owned by Surfshark (a VPN company, now part of Nord Security). DeleteMe is independently owned and has been operating since 2010. Both publish transparency reports and have been audited by third parties. The economic incentive aligns with privacy: their entire value proposition is removing data, not selling it. A data removal service caught selling user data would destroy its business overnight — the reputational damage would be terminal. Independent audits have not found either company engaging in data sales. The information you provide (name, address, email) is the minimum needed to locate your records on broker sites — and it's the same information already publicly available on those sites. How long does data removal take? Initial results appear within 1–2 weeks: Incogni and DeleteMe both begin sending opt-out requests immediately after setup, and the first batch of removals typically completes within 7–14 days. Full results take 30–90 days: some brokers are slow to process requests, and others require follow-up. Incogni and Optery provide ongoing status updates showing which brokers are pending. DeleteMe reports quarterly. The process is never truly "finished" — brokers re-scrape public records, and new brokers appear. Ongoing monitoring and re-removal is the standard. After 60 days, expect 60–75% of listed brokers to have removed your data. After 6 months, that number rises to 80–90% as stubborn brokers eventually comply or are escalated. What data can data brokers actually have on me? More than most people realize. A typical data broker profile includes: full name and aliases, current and all previous addresses (sometimes going back 20+ years), current and previous phone numbers, email addresses, date of birth, names of relatives and household members, estimated income range, property value and mortgage information, marital status, education level, political affiliation, shopping habits and purchase history, and in some cases, vehicle information and criminal records. This data is aggregated from public records (property deeds, voter registrations, court filings, marriage licenses), commercial sources (retailers, loyalty programs, warranty registrations), and data aggregators (companies that specialize in compiling and reselling consumer data). The broker doesn't need to have all of this data — having even 5–6 of these data points is enough to create a detailed and invasively accurate profile. ## Final Verdict Incogni = Best Value for Most People Incogni is the best value for most people — $7.99/month (annual) covers 420+ data brokers with automated GDPR/CCPA opt-out requests that have legal teeth. After 60 days of testing, 73% of targeted brokers confirmed removal, and the ongoing monthly scans catch re-listings. DeleteMe is worth the premium ($129/year) if you want human agents handling stubborn brokers and quarterly reports — the Wirecutter-recommended original with 14 years of trust. Optery's free tier is excellent for DIY privacy advocates who want a dashboard with screenshots and direct opt-out links without paying. The free DIY method works but requires 10–20 hours of initial effort and ongoing quarterly maintenance. The most important thing: start today. Every month your data sits on broker sites is another month it's being bought, sold, and aggregated into profiles that anyone can purchase. The $7.99/month for Incogni is a rounding error compared to the privacy cost of doing nothing. ◆ ## The Bottom Line **Incogni = Best Value**420+ brokers, $7.99/mo annual, automated GDPR/CCPA. 73% removal in 60 days. Surfshark-owned. Best breadth for the price. **DeleteMe = Premium**Human agents, $129/yr, quarterly reports. 88 brokers standard. Wirecutter recommended since 2010. Family plans available. **Optery = Transparent**Screenshots as proof. Free tier with self-service links. Paid from $4.99/mo. 100–400+ brokers. Best visual evidence. **DIY = Free But Works**Google Results About You + 10 biggest brokers. 10–20 hrs initial. 1 hr/month maintenance. Zero cost, maximum effort. 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You save the file and push to production, the tutorial already paying dividends. [Browse More Reports →](https://aigetfree.com/blog/) ### 🔬 Testing Methodology Test period7+ days of hands-on usePricingManually verified at time of writingAffiliateSome links may earn a commission — [full disclosure](https://aigetfree.com/disclosure/)