What are data brokers and people-search sites?
How people-search sites build profiles about you, where the data comes from, and why it matters.
Data brokers are companies that collect personal information about people and sell or publish it. A subset — people-search sites — make that information searchable by anyone, often showing a name together with phone numbers, addresses, ages and relatives.
Where the information comes from
- Public records such as property, court and business registrations, where these are published in a given country.
- Commercial sources such as marketing lists, loyalty programmes and other data brokers.
- Online sources such as public social-media profiles and directories.
Because brokers buy from each other, the same record often appears on several sites, and a record removed from one may later reappear from another source.
Why it matters
Exposed contact details make it easier to send targeted scams, impersonate someone, or find where a person lives. Reducing what is publicly searchable lowers that risk, even though it cannot remove every trace.
What you can do
Most reputable people-search sites publish an opt-out process. Using it is free, but each site works differently, and many require email confirmation. Keeping track of which requests you made — and checking later whether they worked — is the part most people find hardest.
Want help with this?
SerliShield finds your listings on supported sources and guides you through each opt-out.
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