How to Remove Yourself From PeopleSmart

To opt out of PeopleSmart, follow the “Opt-Out” link in the footer of peoplesmart.com to its opt-out search page, then follow the steps on that page. It usually asks you to search your name and location, find the listing that matches you, request the opt-out and confirm by email. The opt-out should be free, you shouldn’t need to be a member, and each listing needs its own request. Check again every few months, because new data can create a new listing.

PeopleSmart has long been known as a people-search site. When we checked in September 2026, its homepage described it as a business contact and company data service for finding leads, prospects and customers, so the details it shows may now lean toward work contact information. The opt-out is quick, but people often miss duplicate listings and forget to click the verification link. For a wider plan covering many sites, see our guide to removing yourself from people-search sites.

What PeopleSmart shows about you

PeopleSmart listings draw on public records and other data sources. Depending on the listing, it may show your name, phone numbers and email addresses, and details such as a job title or employer; older-style people-search listings also showed age, addresses and possible relatives. Fuller details sit behind a paid plan.

Because records are matched from several sources, one person can appear more than once, for example under a maiden name or at an old address. Each listing is separate, so removing one leaves the others in place.

Before you start

• Set up a throwaway email. A separate address for privacy requests keeps your main inbox out of broker databases.
• List your identifiers. Every name you’ve used, and the cities and states you’ve lived in over roughly the last decade.
• Go to the real site. Type peoplesmart.com yourself and follow the Opt-Out link in the footer, rather than clicking an ad or a third-party “removal” page.
• Keep a log. Note each listing you remove, the date and the email you used.

Step by step: the PeopleSmart opt out

1. Open the opt-out page. Follow the “Opt-Out” link in the footer of peoplesmart.com. When we checked in September 2026, it led to PeopleSmart’s contact opt-out search, and the footer’s “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link went to the same page.
2. Search for your listing. Enter the name and location details the page asks for. If it offers optional fields such as job title or company, they can help narrow results for a common name.
3. Find the matching record. Check the details to confirm it’s you, then choose the opt-out option for that listing.
4. Give an email address if asked. Use your throwaway address and complete any captcha.
5. Click any verification link. If PeopleSmart emails you a link, click it and check spam and promotions folders. Requests like this usually aren’t processed until you confirm.
6. Keep any confirmation. Save any email confirming the request has been processed.
7. Repeat for each listing. Search your other name versions and past locations, and submit every match separately.

We couldn’t confirm a processing time on PeopleSmart’s own pages. After a week or two, run the same searches again and make sure your listings no longer appear.

What the PeopleSmart opt out covers and what it doesn’t

Item	Covered?
The listing you selected and verified	Yes, once processed.
Other PeopleSmart listings for you	Only if you submit each one.
Reports already bought by someone else	No. Those can’t be recalled.
The original public records	No. Agencies and courts still hold them.
Other people-search sites	No. Opt out of each site separately.
The Google result for the old listing	Not straight away. Google updates it after recrawling, or sooner with a refresh request.

PeopleSmart’s footer also has a “Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information” link. If you live in a state with a comprehensive privacy law, that request, or a formal deletion request, can go further than hiding a single listing. Our guide to “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” requests explains how those rights work in general. If you can’t get the opt-out to work, check PeopleSmart’s privacy policy and Contact Us page for its contact details.

If you can’t find your listing

An empty result doesn’t always mean you aren’t listed. The opt-out search matches on name and location, so a small difference can hide your record.

• Try older cities and states. Listings are often filed under a previous address, not where you live now.
• Try name variations. Middle initial or not, a maiden name, a shortened first name.
• Leave optional fields blank. Adding a job title or company, if the form offers them, can filter out a listing that lists an old employer.
• Search for yourself on Google. Your name plus “PeopleSmart” sometimes surfaces a listing page directly, which tells you which city to search.

If you still can’t find a listing you know exists, contact PeopleSmart support using the details on its site and ask how to identify it. Share only what’s needed to find the record.

Why your PeopleSmart listing can come back

People-search sites refresh their records from outside sources. A new address, phone number or name change can create a new listing that isn’t linked to the one you removed. It’s the normal pattern for these sites, not necessarily a sign your opt-out failed.

• Search yourself on PeopleSmart every three to four months, and soon after any move.
• Use the same name variations and locations as your first round.
• Remove any new listing the same way.

It helps to reduce what feeds these databases in the first place. Our guide on how to remove your phone number from the internet covers one of the most common details that keeps resurfacing.

Clean up the Google result

PeopleSmart pages can rank for people’s names, and the snippet may keep showing your city or age for a while. Once the listing is gone, use Google’s “Refresh outdated content” tool to ask Google to update or drop the result. Google’s Results about you tool can also flag results that show your phone number, home address or email, and let you request their removal from Google.

A worked example

This is an illustrative scenario, not a real client.

Nadia, a small-business bookkeeper, searches her name after a move and finds a PeopleSmart listing with her mobile number, her current city and her employer.

• She searches her name and location on PeopleSmart’s opt-out page and finds the listing. A second search with her maiden name and her old city turns up another listing with a former employer.
• She opts out of both using an email address created for privacy requests, and clicks both verification links.
• Confirmation emails arrive, and two weeks later neither listing appears in PeopleSmart’s search.
• She submits a Google refresh request for the old result, then works through the other sites on her list.

Without the maiden-name search, her second listing would have stayed online.

Common mistakes

• Stopping at the first listing. Search name variations and past cities too.
• Not clicking the verification link. If one is sent, the request may not be processed until you do.
• Using your main email. Use a separate address for privacy requests.
• Paying for removal. The opt-out shouldn’t cost anything.
• Assuming it covers other sites. Every people-search site needs its own request. That includes directories like PeopleByName and Neighbor.report.
• Not re-checking. New listings often appear after a move.

When to get help

You can do a PeopleSmart opt out yourself in a few minutes. Help makes sense when you’re listed on many sites, when your details are exposed because of harassment or a safety concern, or when listings are part of a wider search-result problem. Our data broker opt-out list covers the other sites to check, and our personal reputation management service handles opt-outs, re-checks and wider cleanup, with honest advice about what can and can’t be removed.

Frequently asked questions

Is the PeopleSmart opt out free?

It should be. You shouldn’t need to be a member or pay anything. Use the Opt-Out link in the site’s footer and follow the steps on that page.

How long does PeopleSmart take to remove my listing?

There’s no set timeline, and we couldn’t confirm one on PeopleSmart’s own pages. Search again after a week or two. Google may keep showing the old result longer until it recrawls or you submit a refresh request.

I didn't get PeopleSmart's verification email. What now?

Check spam and promotions folders, then submit again with the address typed carefully. If it still doesn’t arrive, contact PeopleSmart support using the details on its site.

Why am I back on PeopleSmart after opting out?

New data, such as a new address or phone number, can create a new listing. Search again and opt out of any new record the same way.