How to use this checklist

Work the phases in order, because the sequence itself protects you. Phase 0 can change everything that follows. Phases 1 and 2 take less than an hour and should come before any contact with a site. Phases 3 to 5 handle removal, Phases 6 and 7 are for anyone weighing a claim, and Phase 8 is for the company on the other end of the request.

Three people may use this page. The listed person can complete Phases 0 to 5 alone. Counsel should read Phases 2, 6, and 7 before opening any account or running any search on the client's behalf. The operator should start at Phase 8.

For the reasoning behind each item, read People-Search Sites and the Right of Publicity: Yearbooks, Data Brokers, and the Persona Class Actions. For narrative explanation and worked examples, see Removing Yourself From People-Search Sites and Evaluating a Publicity Claim: A Practical Guide. For letters and worksheets to fill in, use the People-Search Toolkit: Opt-Out Letters, Claim Evaluation Worksheets, and Defense Frameworks.

Phase 0: Safety screen (first ten minutes)

  • Ask one question: could someone use this address to hurt me or my household? Authority: the FTC's 2014 report, Data Brokers: A Call for Transparency and Accountability, quoted in Jackson v. Whitepages, Inc. (4th Cir. 2026), recognizes that people-search products can facilitate stalking and harassment. Note: If yes, finish this phase before doing anything else, and treat every later step as secondary to a safety plan.
  • Contact a domestic violence or stalking advocate if an abuser or stalker is involved. Authority: state address confidentiality program rules; Domestic Violence and Protective Orders: Safety Planning and the Legal System. Note: An advocate can tell you whether a removal request or new account could tip someone off. A hotline call does not commit you to anything.
  • Use a clean device and a new email address for all removal work. Authority: practical safeguard; no statute requires it.
  • Check eligibility for your state's address confidentiality program. Authority: for California, Safe at Home and Cal. Gov't Code § 6208.1. Note: In California, a participant's sworn written demand lasts four years. A business that then knowingly and intentionally posts the address faces injunctive relief and mandatory fees for a successful plaintiff.
  • Determine if you are a covered official or household member. Authority: N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.1 and 47:1B-1, as described in Atlas Data Privacy Corp. v. We Inform, LLC (N.J. 2026); Daniel Anderl Judicial Security and Privacy Act, Pub. L. No. 117-263, §§ 5931 to 5939. Note: If yes, go to Phase 4 right after capture. Federal judges should coordinate with court security staff.
  • Decide who may know about this. Authority: practical safeguard. Note: Shared phone plans, shared email, and family accounts leak. Tell people only what they need.

Red flag: A threat, a stranger at the door, or a message quoting your new address is a police and advocate matter, today. Removal paperwork can wait until the morning.

Phase 1: Capture evidence (before contacting anyone)

  • Stay logged out and do not create an account. Authority: Nolen v. PeopleConnect, Inc. (9th Cir. 2026), footnote 1, recording that four former named plaintiffs dismissed after registered accounts showed consent under the terms.
  • Capture the full page with URL, date, and time. Authority: Fed. R. Civ. P. 11 (a later pleading needs a factual basis), and the proof issues in Wilson v. Ancestry.com LLC (S.D. Ohio 2024). Note: Save as PDF and image. Name files with the site and date.
  • Record the path. Note whether you reached the page through a search engine result or only through the site's own search box. Authority: the distinction between display on request and public holding out in Fischer v. Instant Checkmate LLC (N.D. Ill. 2022).
  • Capture the sales language next to your identity. Copy any "view report," price, or upgrade text. Authority: 765 ILCS 1075/5 ("commercial purpose"); Cal. Civ. Code § 3344(a), (e).
  • Capture what is in the preview, field by field. Authority: Lukis v. Whitepages Inc., 454 F. Supp. 3d 746 (N.D. Ill. 2020), which treats name plus identifying attributes as identity even for a shared name.
  • Save third-party sightings. Keep the friend's text, the client's email, the landlord's comment, with dates. Authority: Fry v. Ancestry.com Operations Inc. (N.D. Ind. 2023). Note: This is often the most valuable evidence you will ever have, and it is usually sitting in someone's phone.
  • Note suspected errors and any sign the report is offered for screening. Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 1681a(d).
  • Store captures privately. Authority: practical safeguard. Note: Public web archives create a new public copy, which is the opposite of what a person with safety concerns wants.

Red flag: If a screen demands that you agree to terms to go further, stop there and capture that screen. Clicking through for evidence can create the very contract the site later invokes. See Knapke v. PeopleConnect, Inc., 38 F.4th 824 (9th Cir. 2022).

Phase 2: Account, agent, and deadline check (before removal)

Phase 3: Removal

  • California residents: file through DROP at privacy.ca.gov/drop. Authority: Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.99.86. Note: Brokers must access the system at least every 45 days from August 1, 2026. Status can take up to 90 days to appear, according to the agency. An unverifiable request is processed as an opt-out of sale and sharing.
  • California residents: consider an authorized agent if handling this directly is unsafe or impractical. Authority: Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.99.86(b)(8).
  • List target sites and parent companies. Search your name in major search engines, then look at each site's privacy page. Authority: practical step; Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.99.82 registration data can help identify California registrants. Note: Corporate families are common. Jackson lists Intelius, PubRec, Instant Checkmate, TruthFinder, and The Control Group Media Company as related to PeopleConnect.
  • Read each opt-out form for terms before submitting it. Authority: Fischer (terms adding consent by those who search for themselves, or who authorize a search).
  • Send the minimum data needed. Use a dedicated email and the profile URL. Authority: practical step; deletion rights do not generally require more than reasonable verification. Note: Redact any ID you must send. Never send a full Social Security number.
  • Add a non-acceptance line. "This request is not an agreement to your terms." Authority: Berman v. Freedom Financial Network, LLC, 30 F.4th 849 (9th Cir. 2022) (assent must be unambiguous).
  • Invoke any applicable state deletion right. Authority: Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.105 and comparable state statutes; see State Consumer Privacy Laws: The CCPA, the CPRA, and the Multi-State Patchwork. Note: Expect the response that public record data is not "personal information" under Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.140. Ask for removal anyway. Many sites comply as a business matter.
  • Log every request. Record site, URL, date, method, response, and confirmation. Authority: useful for any later complaint under 15 U.S.C. § 45 or a state law.
  • Ask search engines to refresh or remove stale results once the page is gone. Authority: search provider policy, not a legal right in most cases.
  • Reduce upstream sources you control. Authority: Protecting Your Personal Information: A Practical Guide; the Privacy Toolkit: Deletion Requests, Report Disputes, and Surveillance Responses.

Red flag: A button labeled "Remove" may not do what it says. The FTC's 2023 complaint against TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate alleged that the companies' "Remove" button removed disputed information only from the report shown to that customer, and that items flagged as inaccurate were never investigated. Rely on your own re-check.

Phase 4: Covered officials and household members

  • Confirm which statute applies and read its current text. Authority: N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.1; the state list in Jackson (Del. Code Ann. tit. 10, § 1923; Haw. Rev. Stat. § 92H-2; Md. Code Ann., Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 3-2303; Mo. Rev. Stat. § 476.1304; Okla. Stat. tit. 20, § 3016).
  • New Jersey: send written notice stating you are an authorized person and asking that disclosure cease and that the protected information be removed. Authority: N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.1(a)(2), as quoted in Atlas.
  • Use a method that proves receipt, and calendar 10 business days from receipt. Authority: N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.1(a)(1).
  • Limit the request to the home address and unpublished telephone number. Authority: Kratovil v. City of New Brunswick (N.J. 2025) (exact street address, not municipality).
  • List covered household members in the notice where the statute reaches them. Authority: the covered person definition described in Atlas.
  • Review any assignment or platform agreement before signing. Authority: N.J.S.A. 56:8-166.1(b) (claims run to the covered person or assignee). Note: Read for control of settlement, share of recovery, and what happens if the law is held invalid.
  • West Virginia: do not rely on W. Va. Code § 5A-8-24(e) for damages. Authority: Jackson (facially unconstitutional). Request removal voluntarily and use any other available law.
  • Track the Third Circuit. Authority: Atlas (constitutional question left to the Third Circuit); Atlas Data Privacy Corp. v. We Inform, LLC, 758 F. Supp. 3d 322 (D.N.J. 2024) (upheld on a negligence reading the state court later rejected).

Red flag: A notice sent to a general inbox that nobody monitors may not produce a provable receipt date. Find the designated contact or send more than one way.

Phase 5: Re-check and maintain

  • Re-run your searches at 45 days, 90 days, and quarterly. Authority: Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.99.86(d) (recurring deletion) for the California cadence; for other sites, practice.
  • Capture every reappearance, with date. Authority: a relisting after confirmed removal may support willfulness under 765 ILCS 1075/40(b) and similar provisions.
  • Escalate non-responses. California: file a complaint with CalPrivacy; fines under Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.99.82(d) are $200 per request per day. Elsewhere: state attorney general, and the FTC for deceptive practices.
  • Update your program registrations and demands before they lapse. Authority: Cal. Gov't Code § 6208.1(b) (four-year demand).
  • Close the file with a one-page summary: where you were listed, what worked, next check date. Authority: none. Your future self will thank you.

Phase 6: Decide whether to pursue a claim

Red flag: If you first heard about this claim through an online ad recruiting plaintiffs, ask hard questions about who saw your listing. Dobija began with a solicitation and ended in a standing dismissal, and then a limitations loss for the replacement plaintiffs.

Phase 7: Pre-filing diligence for counsel

Phase 8: Operators receiving a request, notice, or demand

Red flag: A bulk batch of notices from one sender is not a reason to wait. The New Jersey Supreme Court acknowledged that a high-volume recipient acting reasonably might miss the window, and still held no mental state is required for actual damages. Planning for that surge is the operator's job.

This checklist is general information and is not legal advice for a specific situation.

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