TL;DR: Go to whitepages.com/suppression-requests, paste the URL of your free (not Premium) listing, click “Remove Me”, pick a reason and verify with an automated phone call and a four-digit code. It takes about 15 minutes and usually works within hours. Whitepages refreshes its data, so check again every few months.
What Whitepages shows about you
Whitepages is one of the oldest US people-search sites. A free listing can show your name, age range, current and past addresses, relatives and phone numbers, and the paid “Premium” reports add more. For a stranger, that’s often enough to find your front door. That’s why it’s usually first on any data broker opt-out list.
Step by step
These steps follow DuckDuckGo’s Whitepages opt-out guide.
- Find your listing. Search whitepages.com for your name plus city, state or ZIP. Skip the “Whitepages Premium” results and open your free listing. Copy its URL: it should include your name, city, state abbreviation and a unique ID.
- Open the suppression page. Go to whitepages.com/suppression-requests, paste the URL and click “Next.”
- Confirm it’s you. Click “Remove Me”, check the details, choose a reason from the dropdown and click “Next.”
- Verify by phone. Enter a phone number, tick the box and click “Call now to verify.” Answer the automated call and type the four-digit code shown on screen. Wait for the “thank you” message.
The phone verification question
Yes, you have to give Whitepages a phone number to be removed from Whitepages. It’s the privacy equivalent of being asked for ID to prove you don’t want to be identified. If that bothers you, a virtual or secondary number works for receiving the call; see our guide to aliases and temporary numbers.
How long it takes
About 15 minutes of your time. Processing is typically within an hour, and the listing should vanish within a few hours of verifying. Google and Bing may show a cached copy for days or weeks; use Google’s Results About You tool to speed that up.
Keep it off
Whitepages refreshes its database, so listings can return. Set a reminder to search yourself every three months. If you have several listings (old addresses, maiden name, middle initial), each one needs its own request.
Do the rest of the set
Removing yourself from one site helps, but the same data is copied across dozens. Next stops: Spokeo, TruePeopleSearch, FastPeopleSearch and the PeopleConnect sites. And if you’d like to see how exposed your email is in breach data too, run a free email exposure check.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I remove myself from Whitepages?
Copy your free listing URL, submit it at whitepages.com/suppression-requests, click Remove Me, choose a reason and verify with the automated phone call.
Does Whitepages opt-out require a phone number?
Yes. Verification is by an automated call where you enter a four-digit code.
How long does Whitepages removal take?
About 15 minutes to complete, and the listing is usually removed within a few hours.
Can my Whitepages listing come back?
Yes. Whitepages refreshes its data, so check every few months and resubmit if needed.