Is it legal to remove your home and personal information from the internet?

Personal information: a statutory right in most states

California's CCPA/CPRA gives residents the right to have personal information deleted and to opt out of its sale or sharing, and it applies to any business that meets its size thresholds, no matter where the business is located. Texas, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Oregon, Montana, Iowa, Delaware, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Minnesota, Maryland, Nebraska, Kentucky, Rhode Island, Indiana, and Florida (for large companies) have comparable laws. Most people-search sites honor deletion requests from anyone, because maintaining state-by-state rules is more expensive than complying.

Home photos: policy, not statute

Photos of your house aren't "personal information" in most privacy laws. Listing sites remove them under their own policies for verified owners, and the MLS restricts them at the listing agent's request. The photographs are typically copyrighted by the photographer or brokerage, which is why the request is framed as an owner privacy request rather than a copyright claim.

Street imagery: provider policy, permanent

Google, Apple, and Bing each maintain a blur policy for homes at the request of the owner or occupant. There is no statute behind it, but the policies are long-standing and reliable.

What no request can remove

• County property records, deeds, and assessed values. These are public records by law.
• Satellite and aerial imagery.
• The address itself as a map location.
• Records held by government agencies, courts, or credit bureaus (those have their own separate processes).

You don't need a lawyer

Every request described here is a consumer request, filed in plain language by email or web form. A lawyer only matters if a site refuses a valid request under a state law that covers you. Even then, the usual next step is a complaint to the state attorney general or privacy agency, not a lawsuit.

Common questions