How to Remove Your Home Address From the Internet
You can remove your home address from most of the places people actually find it: Google results, people-search sites and Street View images. You usually can't remove it from government records like property and court filings, and it's hard to keep it off the internet permanently because data brokers repopulate.
The practical approach is to work in layers, starting with the ones that give strangers the fastest path to your door.
Layer 1: Google Search
Most people who look up your address start with a search of your name. Google's Results about you tool lets you ask Google to remove search results that show your home address, phone number or email.
In the Google app, tap your profile picture and choose Results about you. On the web, go to the Results about you page and choose Get started. You enter your name and the contact details you want monitored. Google then checks for matching results and can email you when new ones show up.
Two limits to know. First, removal only affects Google Search; the page stays on the original site, and other search engines may still show it. Second, Google may decline results from government sites, schools or news outlets, or information you published yourself.
Removing the Google result is worth doing even if the source stays up, because it cuts off the most common way people find the page. Our guide to what Google removes for free covers the other request types.
Layer 2: People-search and data broker sites
People-search sites are where your address, relatives and phone numbers get packaged together. Most have an opt-out page. The typical process: search for yourself on the site, copy the URL of your listing, paste it into the opt-out form, and confirm by email or phone.
A few tips that save time:
If you live in California, the state's DROP system lets you send one deletion request to every registered data broker. You can file at consumer.drop.privacy.ca.gov. For a full picture of broker removal, see personal information removal.
- Search each site for every variation of your name, including maiden names and old addresses. Each listing may need its own request.
- Use a separate email address for opt-outs so confirmation emails don't get lost and you aren't handing brokers your main inbox.
- Keep a spreadsheet of each site, the date you opted out and the confirmation. Re-check every few months. Listings often come back after a site gets new data.
- Don't pay a people-search site to remove you from that same site. Opt-outs are generally free.
Layer 3: Maps and Street View
If you're worried about people seeing your house as well as its address, you can ask Google to blur your home in Street View. Find your home in Google Maps, open the Street View image, click Report a problem in the bottom right, and complete the form.
For US homes, Google asks for proof of address, such as a letter, utility bill or bank statement with your name and account numbers redacted, dated within six months of the request. The blur is permanent once it's applied, so think it over before you submit.
Layer 4: Public records (the hard layer)
Property records at the county assessor or recorder, voter records in many states, court filings and business registrations are public by law. Data brokers pull from them, which is one reason your address keeps coming back after opt-outs. In general, you can't make a county take your deed offline just because you'd prefer privacy.
What you can do:
- Check for a state shielding program. Some states let specific groups, such as judges, law enforcement officers or certain victims, request that their address be withheld from some public records. Rules vary a lot, so check with your county recorder or secretary of state.
- Look into an Address Confidentiality Program (ACP). Many states run ACPs, usually through the Secretary of State or Attorney General, for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and some other crimes. Participants get a legal substitute address to use with government agencies, and mail sent there is forwarded. Washington's program is a good example of how they work.
- Think ahead on your next move. Some people hold a new home through a trust or LLC so their name isn't directly on the deed. Whether that actually protects you depends on your state and how the entity is set up. Talk to a real-estate attorney first; this is general information, not legal advice.
- Stop feeding new sources. Use a PO box or private mailbox for deliveries, subscriptions, warranty cards and online orders where you can. Data brokers buy a lot of their address data from these sources.
Layer 5: Places you put it yourself
Search your own address in quotation marks and look for things you control: an old resume posted online, a business listing registered at home, a marketplace listing, a nonprofit board page, a public social media check-in or a real estate listing with your name. Edit or delete those at the source, then use Google's Refresh Outdated Content tool to get Google to update its copy.
If your address was posted to threaten you
Posting someone's address along with threats is doxxing, and it's handled differently from a people-search listing. Document it first (screenshots with URLs and timestamps), report it to the platform, and contact police if you feel unsafe. Google's personal information policy specifically covers pages that pair your contact details with threats or calls to harm you. Keep a dated log of every post and report you make; it matters if you later go to police or court.
Set realistic expectations
Plan on this being maintenance, not a one-time fix. New broker sites appear, old ones refresh their data, and public records don't go away. Turning on Google's Results about you alerts and rechecking the major people-search sites a few times a year catches most of it.
When outside help makes sense
If you've already done a round of opt-outs and your address keeps coming back, or you're a public-facing professional who needs ongoing monitoring, paying someone to run the process can be worth it. If your safety is at risk, start with an ACP and a local victim advocate; those protections go further than any private service can.
Want this handled for you? See our personal information removal service.
