How to remove your personal information from the internet in the UK
The short answer
There is no single button that removes you from the internet. In the UK, most of the details strangers can find (your name, address, age range and phone number) come from a small number of sources: the open electoral register, people-search websites such as 192.com, the phone directory and marketing lists run by data companies.
You can close most of them yourself, for free, in about two hours. Start with the open register, then 192.com, then the marketing lists. The table below lists each one.
Where UK details appear, and how to remove them
The main UK sources, in the order we suggest. Each one is free to do yourself.
| Where | What it holds | How to get off it | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open electoral register | Name and address, sold by councils to anyone who buys it | Email your council, or use the GOV.UK register to vote service. Our guide | From the next sale; redo when you move |
| 192.com | Name, address, age range, others at the address | Free removal form, then click the confirmation email. Our guide | Usually within 24 hours |
| UK Phonebook, PeopleTraceUK, Tracesmart | Names, addresses, phone numbers and address history | Each has its own removal form or email | Varies; up to one month |
| Phone directory | Landline number and address | Ask your landline provider to make you ex-directory | Usually a few weeks |
| Credit agency marketing (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) | Marketing lists, not your credit file | Opt-out form or email to each agency | Up to one month |
| Mailing lists | Name and address for addressed junk mail | Mailing Preference Service. Our guide | 2 to 3 months |
| Sales call lists | Your phone numbers | Telephone Preference Service. Our guide | Up to 28 days |
| Google search results | Pages that show your details | Google's free "Results about you" tool | Google reviews each request |
| Companies House (directors) | Home address on old filings | Form SR01, £34 per document | Weeks |
| Any other company | Whatever they hold | An objection and erasure request under UK GDPR. Our guide | One calendar month to reply |
Checked 26 October 2026 against each organisation's own website. Times are typical, not promises.
1. Search for yourself first
Before you remove anything, see what a stranger can see. Open a private browser window and search for:
- your full name in quotes, for example "Jane Smith";
- your name and your town;
- your name and your street or postcode;
- your phone number and your email address.
Note which websites come up. Most UK results come from the sources in the table above. Where's my data? explains each one and who can see it.
2. Close the sources, in this order
- Opt out of the open electoral register. It's the biggest single source, because councils sell it to data companies and people-search sites. It doesn't affect your vote or your credit. How to opt out.
- Remove yourself from 192.com, the UK's main people-search site, and do the same on UK Phonebook, PeopleTraceUK and Tracesmart. How to remove yourself from 192.com.
- Opt out of credit agency marketing at Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. This has no effect on your credit file or score.
- Register with the Telephone and Mailing Preference Services, to cut sales calls and addressed junk mail. Both are free.
- Go ex-directory if you have a landline.
- Set up Google's "Results about you", so Google tells you when pages with your details appear and you can ask for them to be removed from search results.
3. Ask everyone else to stop
For anything else you find, such as a website, a company that keeps contacting you or a directory you'd forgotten, UK GDPR lets you:
- object to your data being used for direct marketing (they must stop: they can't refuse);
- ask what they hold and where they got it;
- ask them to delete it.
One email can do all three. They have one calendar month to reply. Our guide has the wording.
4. What you can't remove
Be realistic about what this does. These stay:
- The full electoral register. It's used for elections, jury service and credit checks. Only people at risk can register anonymously.
- Your credit file, and records held by companies you're a customer of.
- Public records such as Land Registry titles, court records and current Companies House filings.
- Copies already sold. Opting out stops future sales; it doesn't recall lists already bought.
- Data breaches. Leaked data can't be taken back. You can limit the damage.
What does change: your main people-search listings come down, the sale of your details is cut back, and marketing calls and addressed junk mail drop over the following weeks.
5. Keep it that way
Data builds up again over time, so put an hour in your calendar once a year. Search your name again, send the request to anything new and check the opt-outs that expire (the Royal Mail leaflet opt-out lasts 2 years).
Moving home? Redo the open register opt-out, the Mailing Preference Service and 192.com at your new address. The opt-outs don't follow you.
Rather do it with us? All 10 main steps in one plan
- We send your Telephone Preference Service, Mailing Preference Service and Experian opt-outs in one click
- We write the emails for your council, 192.com, Equifax and TransUnion, so you just press send
- All 10 main steps in one plan, with your progress and every reply in one place
- A check of your email and passwords against known data breaches
- Moving home? Your new address is includedOne move within 12 months of signing up.
You can do everything in this guide yourself for free. We make it quicker and keep track of it for you. Nobody can promise your details are gone for good.
About 10 minutes to get started. Buying for a parent or grandparent? Choose “A family member” when you sign up. Cancel within 14 days for a full refund. We never sell your data.
Questions people ask
Can I completely remove myself from the internet?
No, and anyone who promises that is overselling. Some records must stay, such as the full electoral register, your credit file and public records. What you can do is take your details off the registers, people-search sites and marketing lists where they are bought and sold, which is where most of what strangers find comes from.
Can I do this myself for free?
Yes. Every step in this guide is free, apart from the Companies House fee for company directors. It takes about 2 hours by our estimate. Take Your Data Back charges £25 once per person to do it with you: we send some requests for you, write the rest, and keep track of the replies.
What is the most important step?
Opting out of the open electoral register. Councils sell it to anyone who buys it, and it feeds marketing lists and people-search websites. Opting out takes about 10 minutes and has no effect on your vote or your credit.
Will this stop scam calls?
Not all of them. Scammers ignore the rules. Taking your details off the lists that are sold makes you harder to find and makes scams less convincing, but nobody can stop every scam call. Hang up on anyone who asks for money or codes, and call 159 if they say they are your bank.
How long does it take to work?
192.com usually removes listings within 24 hours of you confirming by email. The Telephone Preference Service takes up to 28 days, the Mailing Preference Service 2 to 3 months, and organisations have one calendar month to answer a data request.
Do I need to do this again when I move?
Yes, for the address steps. The open register opt-out, the Mailing Preference Service and 192.com are tied to your address, so redo them at your new home.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Opt out of the open register
- 192.com: Remove your details
- Telephone Preference Service
- Mailing Preference Service: FAQs
- Experian: Your opt-out options
- ICO: The right to object to the use of your information
- ICO: Your right to get your data deleted
- Which?: How to remove personal information from Google
- GOV.UK: Remove your home address from the Companies House register (SR01)
Last checked: 26 October 2026. Time estimates are our own. General information, not legal advice.
Keep reading
Remove your home address
Where your address shows up online, and the free steps that take it down.
Read the guideRemove yourself from 192.com
The free form, the email you must click, and what removal does and doesn't do.
Read the guideOpt out of the open register
The biggest single step. It takes 10 minutes and doesn't affect your vote.
Read the guide