What are personal services?
Reviewed by Anthon Wansland
Head of Product & Co-Founder
Serus is a privacy company with paid tools to find and remove your personal data. This page is free and based on official sources.
Definition
A personal information removal service asks data brokers and people-search sites to delete the personal information they hold about you, so your details are harder to find online.
- Category
- Privacy
- Also called
- personal services, data removal service, opt-out service, delete me service
- Last updated
Sources checked: csrc.nist.gov
Last verified against the official page:
"Personal services" can mean different things, from hairdressers to accountants. People searching it next to phrases like "best delete me service" usually mean one thing: a service that removes their personal information from the internet.
NIST defines personal information as information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual's identity, alone or combined with other information linked to that person. Your name, address and phone number all qualify, and data brokers collect and sell them.
What these services do
A removal service finds the sites that list you, files an opt-out or deletion request with each, and checks that the listing is gone. Because sites refresh their data, listings often return, so good services re-file the request and keep watching.
What you can do yourself
The manual route works and is free. Each data broker has its own opt-out form, and our data broker guides walk through them. The catch is time: dozens of sites, each with different steps, repeated every few months.
What they can't do
A removal service can't pull data out of a breach or off the dark web. It can ask the sites that publish your details to take them down.
How to protect yourself
- 1
Search for yourself first
Look up your name, phone number and address in a private window and list the sites that show your details.
- 2
Opt out of the sites you find
Use each site's own form. Start with the ones that show your home address.
- 3
Recheck every few months
Listings return when sites refresh their data, so run the same search again.
- 4
Automate it if the time cost is too high
Serus finds the data brokers that operate where you live and removes you from them, then keeps watching for re-listings.
See where your personal data is exposed
Serus finds it on data brokers and people-search sites and removes it.
Frequently asked
Is a data removal service worth it?
It saves time if you'd rather not file requests by hand. You can do the same opt-outs yourself for free, but it means repeating them as listings come back.
Can a service remove me from the whole internet?
No. It can ask sites and brokers to remove your information. It can't erase breached data or what others have copied.
How long do removals take?
It varies. Many low-friction sites clear within a few days, and harder ones can take a month or more.
Sources
- Personal Information - Glossary · csrc.nist.gov
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.
