How to Remove Your Information from Instant Checkmate
Instant Checkmate markets itself as a standalone background-check service, but it's part of the same PeopleConnect family as Intelius and TruthFinder. Its opt-out address redirects you to that shared system, and its in-report "Remove" button isn't a substitute for it.
Last checked: October 2026 · Steps checked against PeopleConnect's own Suppression Center
Quick overview
- Instant Checkmate is owned by PeopleConnect, which also owns Intelius and TruthFinder, and its opt-out address redirects to the shared Suppression Center.
- The Suppression Center is a free five-step tool, and one request covers the sites it names but not Classmates.
- Canceling a membership doesn't remove your listing, and the FTC alleged that Instant Checkmate's own "Remove" button only hid a record from the person who clicked it.
- Suppression only stops reports from being provided on name searches, and the Suppression Center doesn't say whether suppressed reports can return.
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What is Instant Checkmate
Instant Checkmate sells background reports on a name, phone number, or address — criminal records, contact history, social profiles, and more — through a monthly membership. It is owned by PeopleConnect, Inc., the same Seattle-based company behind Intelius — see that page for the fuller picture of the whole PeopleConnect family, including TruthFinder, US Search, Classmates, ZabaSearch, and OmniWatch, all sharing one suppression system.
How to remove yourself
Instant Checkmate's opt-out address redirects to PeopleConnect's Suppression Center, the same tool that serves Intelius and TruthFinder. These steps follow that Suppression Center, checked in October 2026.
- 1
Start with your email
Go to instantcheckmate.com/opt-out, which redirects to PeopleConnect's Suppression Center (suppression.peopleconnect.us). Enter your email, agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and click the verification link emailed to you. The tool is free.
- 2
Enter your date of birth
Enter your birthdate (MM/DD/YYYY) and tick the box confirming it is correct. PeopleConnect warns that once it's saved, it can't be changed. It says the birthdate is used to match the right records to you.
- 3
Enter your legal name
Enter your first, middle and last name and confirm it is your legal name. You can add other legal or informal names you've used. PeopleConnect uses your names together with your birthdate to find records about you.
- 4
Select your matching record
Choose the record that describes you. Each one lists locations, partly hidden email addresses and partly hidden phone numbers. If none is you, PeopleConnect says the record may be missing or incorrect, or may already have been suppressed by someone using a different email, and points you to its identity editor.
- 5
Verify your identity
Pick one of the phone numbers or email addresses on the record that you control. PeopleConnect uses it to make sure you are the person in the record. If you can't verify this way, it says to contact its customer care team.
Residents of California, Virginia, Connecticut, Utah, and Colorado also have a separate "User Data Rights" path in the same help center for deleting account-level data like your email or IP address. For direct contact, Instant Checkmate's own California data broker registration lists [email protected] and (800) 222-8985; its general help line is (877) 564-3003, Monday through Friday, 7am to 4pm Pacific.
Notice: Instant Checkmate usually isn't the only place this kind of information about you shows up — the same details often turn up on other data-broker and people-search sites too. It's worth running a free data-broker exposure check to see the rest of the picture.
Why canceling a membership isn't enough
Instant Checkmate's business model charges a monthly membership fee to unlock full background reports — the record itself, and the ability to view it, are two different things. Canceling the membership only stops the billing; it doesn't submit any request to take your listing out of the database, and it leaves the record fully searchable by anyone who runs a new search.
In a 2023 complaint, the FTC alleged that the site's own "Remove" and "Flag as Inaccurate" buttons did not work as advertised: removing a record hid it only from the user who clicked, and flagged items were not investigated. Instant Checkmate and TruthFinder agreed to pay $5.8 million under a proposed order announced in September 2023.
The Suppression Center doesn't state a processing time or say whether a suppressed report can come back. Search your name again after the request has been processed.
If the listing comes back, or you're on several of these sites, our Data Broker Removal service handles the opt-outs for you, and Privacy Monitoring re-checks the sites so a returning listing is caught early.
Common questions
Who owns Instant Checkmate?
Instant Checkmate is owned by PeopleConnect, Inc. — the same Seattle-based company that owns Intelius and TruthFinder. PeopleConnect's Suppression Center covers Instant Checkmate, Intelius, TruthFinder and USSearch, so one request should cover all four. It says it doesn't apply to Classmates.com or to the user data those sites collect.
Does Instant Checkmate have its own removal page, or do I have to use PeopleConnect's portal?
You use PeopleConnect's. Instant Checkmate's opt-out address, instantcheckmate.com/opt-out, redirects to the Suppression Center at suppression.peopleconnect.us. It's the same tool used for Intelius and TruthFinder.
Does suppression remove all of my information from Instant Checkmate?
No. According to the Suppression Center, suppressing your report means a report with your information won't be provided when someone searches you by name on those sites. It says this doesn't affect whether the information is available from other sources, and your details may still appear in some features, such as phone, address or email reports. If you still see data about you after using the tool, it tells you to contact PeopleConnect.
If I cancel my Instant Checkmate membership, does that remove my listing?
No. The paid membership only unlocks the ability to view full background reports — it's billed monthly on top of the underlying record, which is a separate piece of data. Canceling stops the charges; it does not submit a suppression request or take the listing down.
Will my information come back after I opt out?
The Suppression Center doesn't say whether a suppressed report can come back. Search your name again after the request has been processed to confirm.
Do I pay if my listing isn't removed?
Opting out yourself is free. Our removal services are no-removal, no-fee: you're invoiced only once we achieve the removal defined in your Service Agreement. Search suppression is billed for the work performed.
Related
Also listed on TruthFinder? See our TruthFinder removal guide, read about the wider PeopleConnect family on our Intelius removal guide, or see the full Data Broker Removal service. If a listing stays online, see Search Suppression and Google De-indexing.
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