How to Remove Your Information from TruePeopleSearch
TruePeopleSearch.com offers a free removal request for its public-record listings. But before you opt out, there's something more important to understand: truepeoplesearch.net is a different, unaffiliated site — and removing yourself from one does nothing for the other.
Quick overview
- TruePeopleSearch.net is a separate, unaffiliated site run by a different operator — this is critical to understand first.
- The .com removal request is free and doesn't require ID — here's the process.
- At least one complaint alleges a request was denied based on the requester's state — here's what we found.
- A 2024 Krebs on Security investigation found truepeoplesearch.net is run by a Chinese company, Shenzhen Duiyun Technology, using a fabricated "founder" identity built around a stock photo. More on the .net site.
What is TruePeopleSearch — and the .com vs .net trap
TruePeopleSearch.com is a free people-search site publishing public-record listings — addresses, phone numbers, and relatives. Its business is registered to a PO Box in San Francisco, California, and the domain has been active since 2008; its true parent company isn't publicly disclosed, though it's confirmed to not be part of the PeopleConnect family that owns Intelius and TruthFinder.
Here's the part that trips up almost everyone: truepeoplesearch.net is a completely different, unaffiliated site, despite the near-identical name. A March 2024 Krebs on Security investigation found that truepeoplesearch.net's listed "founder," a woman named "Marilyn Gaskell" supposedly based in Phoenix, Arizona, is a fabricated identity built around a stock photo.
The investigation ties the .net site to a Chinese company, Shenzhen Duiyun Technology Co., as part of a wider network of affiliate-marketing people-search sites that drive traffic toward legitimate data brokers like Spokeo for referral commissions.
The domains were even registered in different years — .com in 2008, .net in 2019 — further evidence they're not run by the same operation. Opting out of one does not touch the other.
How to remove yourself from TruePeopleSearch.com
This process is specifically for truepeoplesearch.com. If you also find a listing on truepeoplesearch.net, it needs to be handled as an entirely separate matter, since the two sites don't share data or ownership.
- 1
Find your listing
Search your name on truepeoplesearch.com and locate your listing.
- 2
Submit the removal request
Go to truepeoplesearch.com/removal and submit your full name and an email address. No ID is required.
- 3
Confirm by email
Click the confirmation link within 24 hours and confirm matching details — name, city, state, phone — plus a CAPTCHA.
If a request is denied or a listing reappears
At least one Better Business Bureau complaint record alleges that TruePeopleSearch denied a removal request specifically because the requester lived in a state without a comprehensive consumer privacy law, and that the company only honors opt-outs where legally compelled by state-level legislation. We're flagging this as a single documented complaint rather than a confirmed blanket policy, but it's a real reason a legitimate request can be refused — worth knowing rather than assuming every submission is automatically honored.
And again, the single most common source of frustration with this site isn't the .com opt-out failing — it's discovering a nearly identical listing still live on truepeoplesearch.net afterward. That's not a failed removal; it's a different site entirely, and it needs its own separate approach.
Common questions
Why does TruePeopleSearch.net exist if it's not the real site?
The same 2024 Krebs on Security investigation found that truepeoplesearch.net functions as an affiliate-marketing front: it uses the near-identical name to capture search traffic, then refers visitors toward other, legitimate data brokers (like Spokeo) for referral commissions, rather than running its own independent public-records database.
Does TruePeopleSearch charge a fee to opt out?
No — the standard removal request through truepeoplesearch.com/removal is free and doesn't require ID, based on cross-verified third-party guides to the process. It just asks for your name and email, an emailed confirmation link within 24 hours, and matching details like city, state, and phone plus a CAPTCHA.
Does TruePeopleSearch have a BBB rating?
It holds a B rating and is not BBB-accredited, with 307 complaints on file — the BBB describes the dominant complaint theme as consumers alleging their personal information was disclosed and asking for its removal, which lines up exactly with the friction this page is about.
Will my information come back after I opt out?
Likely, yes, for the .com site — third-party privacy trackers report reappearance over time, consistent with how most people-search sites re-acquire public records. And a .com opt-out does nothing for the separate .net site, which would need its own investigation.
Related
Also showing up on PeopleFinders or SearchPeopleFree? See our PeopleFinders or SearchPeopleFree removal guides, or the full Data Broker Removal service.
We track which people-search "lookalike" sites are actually the same operator and which only share a name — so you're not left thinking a removal worked when a separately-run site under a near-identical domain is still showing your information.
Start today
Want your listing gone from every site, not just one?
We track which lookalike sites are actually connected and handle each one, then keep watching for it to come back.
Get my confidential assessment