How to remove your personal data from MyLife.com

MyLife.com is one of the biggest people search sites, collecting the personal data of hundreds of millions of Americans and turning it into searchable online profiles. From your phone number and address to court records and net worth — if MyLife can get hold of it, it’s there for anyone to see with a quick search. 

If you’d rather not have your personal information publicly available, you can remove it from the platform. Read on to learn how to opt out of MyLife in three easy steps.

What is MyLife.com, and why is your information listed?

MyLife is a people search site that aggregates and shares personal information. It claims to have records for more than 320 million people in the US. 

It started back in 2002 as Reunion.com, a platform for tracking down and reconnecting with old classmates. In 2008, after merging with Wink.com — a search engine that scraped profiles from social media and other sites — it rebranded as MyLife and leaned into monetizing personal data.

What MyLife.com does

Put simply, MyLife scrapes personal data from public records and broker databases and compiles it into searchable profiles that anyone can look up online. 

To do that, the site pulls data from different sources, including:

• Public and government records: court documents, property deeds, liens, bankruptcies, business registrations, voter rolls, and marriage/divorce filings;
• Business and commercial records: employer information, corporate filings, and professional licenses;
• Social media sites and online profiles: data collected from platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Reddit;  
• Third-party data broker sites: purchased or licensed datasets from other data brokers.

MyLife then pieces together the data and builds public profiles for millions of people. You can see some basic details for free, but fuller background reports are kept behind a paywall. 

MyLife also assigns each profile a Reputation Score — a number meant to sum up your online reputation. While the company doesn’t reveal the math behind the score, factors like finances, court filings, criminal records, and online reviews can all influence it. 

Why MyLife.com’s data collection matters

It’s easy to shrug off your personal data on MyLife as a minor inconvenience of life online, but it can cost you much more than you think. Let’s take a look at the very real risks it creates.  

Unwanted exposure
MyLife automatically builds profiles using public records and data broker feeds. You don’t need to create an account, agree to terms, or even know the site exists before your profile is generated. Yet your name and other personal details still end up visible to anyone for free. 

Since these profiles aren’t locked behind a login, search engines like Google or Bing can index them. That means anyone searching your name — from hiring managers to curious neighbors to bad actors — can dig up your personal details with just a few clicks. 

In short, MyLife packages your scattered public records into a publicly-accessible dossier, consent or no consent. 

Frequent misinformation
Since MyLife pulls data from numerous sources and updates automatically, errors are incredibly common. 

Sometimes those mistakes are relatively harmless — wrong age, an address you never lived at, or a supposed “uncle” with no real connection to you. But other times, they’re much more serious. Lawsuits, bankruptcies, or arrests can show up on your profile with zero context, even if they were dismissed, resolved, or actually tied to someone else with a similar name. 

Taken out of context, these records paint a misleading picture that’s easy to misread or just plain wrong. The potential harm from this misrepresentation was serious enough that it drew the attention of the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). 

In 2020, the FTC filed a complaint claiming MyLife violated the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act). The agency said MyLife promoted its reports for housing, lending, and employment decisions and knew consumers were using the reports for these purposes, but failed to ensure the reports were accurate or verify how they were being used. 

Data abuse
MyLife and other similar sites make it extremely easy for anyone — including those with malicious intent — to gather personal information about you. Scammers, stalkers, and identity thieves can then use these details to target, manipulate, or exploit you. 

Here are some ways people can misuse your MyLife data:

• Impersonation or account takeover: they can combine your profile info with leaked emails or passwords from a breach to access your accounts; 
• Targeted phishing: scammers might reference relatives, past employers, or events to make their fake message seem more legitimate;
• Doxxing: bad actors can use addresses and workplaces from your profile to locate where you live and work, which could lead to unwanted in-person contact; 
• Spam: marketers and spammers can grab your phone number and email from MyLife to flood you with unsolicited calls, texts, or emails;
• Identity theft: malicious actors might piece together bits of personal info from your MyLife profile to open accounts or commit fraud in your name.

False impressions
MyLife markets its proprietary Reputation Score as a measure of your trustworthiness. In reality, the score is based on unclear criteria and can be skewed by data errors. Online reviews feed into it too — and because anyone can leave anonymous reviews on your profile, someone with a grudge or even a total stranger could drag your score down.

That’s not the only potentially misleading tactic on MyLife. In the 2020 lawsuit, the FTC also claimed that MyLife sold subscriptions by implying — often falsely — that individuals had criminal records visible only to paying users. Even for people with no criminal or other legal history, teaser reports would say they “may have” such records. 

Flashy, clickable buttons also encouraged users to “View [Person’s] Court, Arrest, or Criminal Records,” making it seem as though these records existed. Many users assumed these claims were true and paid to see the details, only to find no such records at all.

How to remove yourself from MyLife.com

You can opt out of MyLife in three steps, but manual removal can require a lot of time and effort. Plus, processing can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks, leaving you second-guessing whether you did it right. So, here’s a step-by-step guide to keep you on track.

1. Search for your profile

Go to www.mylife.com and enter your first and last name in the search bar. Select Search to find your listing.  

Don’t open the profile page. Instead, right-click your listing and select Copy Link Address — you’ll need this profile URL for the removal request.

2. Visit the opt-out form

Head to MyLife’s opt-out page. Fill out the required fields (marked with an asterisk) and paste the profile URL you copied in the previous step. You’ll also need to provide an email address to receive the confirmation link. Avoid filling in optional fields to limit what you share with the site.

Then, check the I’m not a robot box and select Opt Out.

3. Confirm removal request via email

You’ll get a verification email confirming that MyLife has received your opt-out request and will respond within 24–48 hours. Click the confirmation link to complete your request. The platform typically removes profiles within 1–2 weeks, though it can sometimes take a little longer. 

After 15 days, run another search to make sure your MyLife profile has been removed.

Alternative way to opt out (by email)

If the MyLife opt-out form doesn’t work, you can also request removal by emailing privacy@mylife.com or customercare@mylife.com. 

In the email, provide your full name and a link to your profile. Clearly state that you want to opt out of MyLife under applicable privacy laws — such as the CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) — and request permanent deletion of your personal information. Also, ask the platform to send email confirmation once your data has been removed so you know it followed through.

Removing yourself from MyLife is not enough

You might think that once you submit an opt-out request to MyLife, your personal data is gone for good from the internet. In reality, that’s rarely the case. Instead, your info is likely to reappear on MyLife or elsewhere online. 

That’s because the problem goes far beyond MyLife. 

It’s just one player among thousands of data brokers and similar sites that aggregate, distribute, and monetize personal data. So, even if you opt out of MyLife, your data may still be on Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, Intelius, Radaris, PeopleFinders, and more. It will keep resurfacing unless you remove it from other sources, too. 

However, the sheer number of sites makes it nearly impossible to manually remove your info from every platform, especially since each has its own opt-out process. Additionally, these databases refresh constantly. That means removing your data today doesn’t guarantee it won’t reappear tomorrow.

The faster way to remove your data from MyLife and beyond

Removing your data from MyLife is only the beginning. For a more comprehensive, longer-lasting solution to keeping your personal information off the internet, follow up with Incogni — a data broker removal service. 

Why Incogni works better

Incogni automates removal requests for your personal data to 420+ data brokers. It handles everything — that means no opt-out forms to fill out, no emails to send, and no procedural hoops to jump through. That’s hours of tedious work off your plate. 

For sites not covered by Incogni’s automated service (like MyLife), you can use custom removals. Just share the links to pages where your data appears, and Incogni’s privacy experts will handle the removal process for you.

Even after your data is removed, Incogni doesn’t stop there — it automatically resubmits opt-out requests if your data reappears. It also sends regular follow-up requests to make sure even stubborn listings get taken down.    

Here’s a side-by-side look at how Incogni compares to the DIY data removal approach:

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How to prevent your personal data from being shared again

Removing your profile from MyLife and other broker sites is a huge step in the right direction. But to keep your personal information from being shared online again without your consent, you’ll also need to adjust how you manage your data and take full advantage of privacy tools.  

Change your data habits

Small shifts in how you handle your details can make a big difference in data privacy. Here are a few changes to start with: 

Watch out for freebie traps
Avoid giving out your real info for sweepstakes, loyalty cards, or “free” online tools — they’re often just fronts for data-harvesting. Instead of staying with the company, your data usually gets bundled and sold to brokers, advertisers, and other third parties. Before long, your info ends up in multiple databases and people search sites like MyLife without you knowing it. 

Keep contact details private 
Don’t post your phone number or home address on social media accounts, forums, or public websites. Once exposed, these details can be scraped and sold to spammers, scammers, and other willing buyers.  

Use burners and aliases 
When you sign up for things like free trials, newsletters, or online store accounts, use a burner email or Surfshark’s Alternative ID instead of your main address. That way, the site only gets your throwaway email, not your primary one. Even if there’s a data leak, your main email address stays safe.

Keep your personal data personal

Finding yourself listed on MyLife can be frustrating and invasive — and ignoring it isn’t really an option. The good news is, you can take back control of your personal data with the help of Incogni. 

Incogni automatically contacts 420+ data brokers and people search sites to remove your information, while its custom removals help scrub your private details from even more places online.

Stop your data from spreading across the internet

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