What Data Does Intelius Collect About You?

Intelius markets itself as a background check and people-search platform. It aggregates personal data from public records, commercial data brokers, and court filings — then packages it for sale to anyone. A typical Intelius profile is more comprehensive than most people expect:

🏠
Address History
Current and previous home addresses, sometimes going back 10-20 years
📞
Phone Numbers
Cell and landline numbers, including numbers associated with your address history
✉️
Email Addresses
Personal and sometimes work email addresses linked to your name or addresses
📅
Age & Birthday
Your approximate age and, in some listings, full date of birth
👥
Relatives & Associates
Names of family members, former roommates, and people associated with your addresses
🏘️
Property Records
Home ownership data, property value estimates, and related mortgage filings
⚖️
Criminal Records
Arrest records, criminal court filings, and sex offender registry checks
📱
Social Media Profiles
Linked social media accounts and profile data scraped from public sources

Intelius sources this data from county property records, voter registration databases, court filings, commercial data aggregators, and social media. You never consented to this — the data was sourced from public records, and Intelius compiled it legally.

⚠ Real Risk

Intelius is routinely used for background checks, skip tracing, and people searches. Your home address, phone number, email, and the names of your relatives are available to anyone — for free previews or a paid unlock. Intelius does not verify who is searching or why.

⚠ The Intelius Family of Sites

Intelius is owned by PeopleConnect, the same parent company behind TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, and US Search. These sites share data infrastructure but operate separate opt-out systems. Removing yourself from Intelius does not remove you from TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, or US Search. You must opt out of each separately.

How to Find Your Intelius Profile

Before you can request removal, you need to locate your listing. You may have more than one. Here's how to search thoroughly:

  1. Go to intelius.com and search your full legal name plus your current city and state.
  2. Try name variations: Intelius often creates separate listings for maiden names, middle name variations, and common nicknames. Search each one.
  3. Search past addresses: If you've moved in the last 5-10 years, search each previous city. Intelius can maintain distinct profiles tied to old addresses.
  4. Review each result carefully: Click the listing that matches you and confirm the details — address history, age, relatives — before proceeding to opt-out.
⚠ Multiple Listings

People who have moved frequently or have common names often have 2-4 separate Intelius profiles. Each requires its own opt-out request. There is no bulk removal option.

Note your name and address details as shown in the listing before going to the opt-out form — you'll need to match your record in Intelius' removal portal.

Intelius Opt-Out: Step-by-Step Removal Process

Intelius uses email verification to confirm opt-out requests. The process is straightforward — the critical step most people miss is actually clicking the confirmation email link.

  • 1

    Go to intelius.com/opt-out

    Navigate to intelius.com/opt-out — Intelius' official removal portal. This is the only legitimate way to request removal. Do not use third-party services that charge for this.

  • 2

    Search for your listing

    Enter your name, city, and state in the opt-out search form. Intelius will return matching records. Browse the results and identify the listing that matches you.

  • 3

    Select your record

    Click on your listing to select it. Review the details — address history, age, relatives — to confirm it's your record. If you have multiple listings, start with the most current one.

  • 4

    Submit the opt-out request

    With your record selected, submit the opt-out form. You'll be asked to enter your email address — use one you actively check. Intelius sends a verification email that expires within a few hours.

  • 5

    Verify via email

    Check your inbox for an email from Intelius with the subject line about opt-out confirmation. Click the confirmation link in the email. Without this step, your opt-out will not be processed. Check your spam folder if it doesn't arrive within a few minutes.

  • 6

    Wait 24-72 hours for removal

    After email confirmation, Intelius typically processes the removal within 24-72 hours. Search your name on Intelius to verify the listing is gone. If it persists past 72 hours, resubmit the opt-out request.

  • 7

    Repeat for every listing and related sites

    If you found multiple Intelius profiles, complete the process separately for each one. Then separately opt out of TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, and US Search — all owned by the same parent company but with independent opt-out systems.

⚠ Common Mistake

The most common reason Intelius removals fail: the confirmation email goes to spam, or the link expires before the user clicks it. Check your spam folder immediately after submitting, and click the link within the same session if possible. If the link expired, start the opt-out process again.

Remember: Completing the Intelius opt-out does not remove you from TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, or US Search. All four are separate opt-outs despite being owned by the same company (PeopleConnect). Budget time for each one.

What to Do When Your Intelius Data Reappears

Like most data brokers, Intelius continuously re-imports data from upstream sources. Your opt-out removed the existing listing — it did not block future data imports.

Intelius re-scrapes county property records, voter registration files, commercial data aggregators, and court systems on a regular cycle. When those upstream sources refresh, your data can be re-imported as a new listing — sometimes with updated information if you've moved or changed phone numbers.

📊 Re-listing Timeline

Most successfully removed Intelius listings reappear within 30-90 days as upstream data sources refresh. The re-listing is often more current than the original — pulling your most recent address from the latest county records import.

The cycle:

  1. You complete email verification. Intelius processes the opt-out and removes your listing within 24-72 hours.
  2. 30-90 days later, Intelius re-imports a batch from county records, voter rolls, or commercial aggregators.
  3. Your listing reappears as a new record — sometimes with fresher data than before.
  4. No notification. Your information is simply live again.

Your options when data comes back

  • Manual re-removal: Repeat the opt-out process every 60-90 days. Set a calendar reminder. This works if you're consistent, but a single missed cycle means months of exposure.
  • Automated monitoring: Use a service like Vanish that monitors Intelius and 2,300+ other broker sites monthly. When your listing reappears, Vanish detects it and re-submits the removal automatically.
  • Upstream data reduction: Minimize new entries in public records where possible — opt out of voter registration public access in states that allow it, minimize public court activity. This slows re-listing but doesn't stop it.

The underlying problem: Intelius' opt-out removes today's listing from their index. The upstream data — county records, voter registration, commercial aggregators — still exists and gets re-imported on Intelius' next scraping cycle. One-time removal is a temporary fix to a permanent data pipeline.

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Is Intelius Legal? Your Privacy Rights

Yes — Intelius operates legally. Data brokers collect information from publicly available sources and are not required to obtain your consent. But depending on where you live, you have meaningful rights:

  • CCPA (California): California residents can request deletion of personal data and opt out of its sale. Intelius is required to comply within 45 days.
  • California DELETE Act (DROP): As of January 2026, California residents can submit a single deletion request to 500+ registered data brokers through privacy.ca.gov/drop. Intelius and its sister brands are covered.
  • Vermont, Oregon, Texas, Connecticut: Multiple states have consumer data privacy laws with opt-out requirements for data brokers. Check your state attorney general's website.
  • FTC complaints: If Intelius fails to honor a valid opt-out request, file a complaint with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Important caveat: Even if you exercise your legal opt-out rights, Intelius — like all data brokers — can re-list you when it re-imports data from public sources. Your legal right is to suppress the current listing. It doesn't prevent Intelius from creating a new one the next time it scrapes public records.

California residents should absolutely file a DROP request in addition to the direct Intelius opt-out. The DROP system covers Intelius, TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, and hundreds of other brokers in one submission.

Frequently Asked Questions About Intelius Removal

Go to intelius.com/opt-out, search for your name, select your listing, and submit the opt-out request form. Enter your email address when prompted — Intelius will send a confirmation email with a link you must click to complete the removal. The process is free and typically processes within 24-72 hours after email confirmation.
After you click the email verification link, Intelius typically removes your listing within 24-72 hours. Search your name on Intelius after waiting to confirm the listing is gone. If it persists past 72 hours, resubmit the opt-out. Google's cache may still show the listing for a few days after Intelius removes it from their live index.
No. Intelius, TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, and US Search are all owned by PeopleConnect but operate independent opt-out systems. Removing yourself from Intelius has no effect on your listings at the other properties. You must submit separate opt-out requests at each site. Services like Vanish handle all four — plus 2,300+ other broker sites — automatically.
Intelius continuously re-imports data from county records, voter registration, commercial aggregators, and court systems. When those upstream sources refresh — typically every 30-90 days — your information gets re-imported as a new listing. Your opt-out only removed the existing record. It doesn't block Intelius from creating a new listing the next time it ingests public records. The only sustainable solution is ongoing monitoring with automatic re-removal.
A typical Intelius profile includes your full name, current and past addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, age, relatives and associates, property records, criminal records, and linked social media profiles. The data comes from public records, county filings, voter registration, commercial data aggregators, and social media scraping.
No. Intelius is one of over 2,300 data broker and people-search sites that likely have your information. Beyond the PeopleConnect family (TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, US Search), other major brokers include Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, FastPeopleSearch, Radaris, MyLife, and hundreds more. Each requires its own opt-out. A comprehensive data removal strategy needs to cover the full broker landscape — services like Vanish handle this automatically.

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