How to remove yourself from SmartBackgroundChecks

What SmartBackgroundChecks shows about you

SmartBackgroundChecks is a people-search site that publishes free name, address and phone listings. It has its own opt-out page, which works by sending a link to your email. There is no account to create and no payment involved.

A listing there can include your name, age, current and past addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and associated people, based on the public records the site says it draws on. The exact fields vary from person to person, and the free view usually shows less than a paid one.

How we checked this guide

We read SmartBackgroundChecks' own opt-out page directly and its privacy notice (last updated August 4, 2026). The steps below follow what that page says. The site may change the form, so follow the on-screen prompts where they differ. Last checked October 31, 2026.

How to remove yourself from SmartBackgroundChecks for free

The free route is the one to try first. Here are the steps, in order. The official address is smartbackgroundchecks.com/remove.

• Search for yourself on smartbackgroundchecks.com the way a stranger would, and note the details exactly as they appear on the record you want removed. The site says the details you enter later should match that record.
• Go to smartbackgroundchecks.com/remove. The older address smartbackgroundchecks.com/optout redirected there when we checked.
• Enter your name and an email address, and complete the captcha. The site says it will email you a link to the opt-out form. Use a dedicated email address rather than your main one.
• Open the email and click the link. The site says it may take some time to arrive, and that if you wait more than 24 hours to click it you will need to request a new one.
• Fill in the form with information that matches the record. The site warns that leaving out details or giving inaccurate ones will only hinder the process.
• You should reach a confirmation page, and the site says you will also get a confirmation email. Keep both, then search for yourself again after a few days.

Use a dedicated email address for this and not your main one, and do not send a copy of your ID unless you have confirmed you are on the real site and there is no other way. Keep a spreadsheet with the date and the listing address for each request.

How long does SmartBackgroundChecks removal take?

SmartBackgroundChecks' own page says to allow 3 days for your record to be fully removed from the site. Treat that as the site's estimate and check back after that time before concluding anything.

Things to know before you start

• The opt-out page is written as a Do Not Sell / Right to Opt-out request, and says that depending on your state and applicable law you may have the right to opt out. If the form behaves oddly for you, say so in your reply to the confirmation email.
• You may have more than one record, for example under old addresses or name variants. Search again after the removal and repeat the form for any record that is still live.
• Removing a record here does not touch other sites that carry the same public records, and a site that collects from public records can list you again later.

Will your SmartBackgroundChecks listing come back?

It can. People-search sites build listings from public records and purchased data, and they refresh that data. If your information shows up in a new batch, a listing you removed can be created again. We are not aware of a reliable published figure for how often that happens, so be suspicious of anyone who quotes one.

A sensible routine is to search for yourself a few weeks after your request, then every few months. If you move, change your phone number or buy a home, expect new records. The same record also sits on many other sites, so clearing SmartBackgroundChecks does not clear the rest. Our guide to removing personal information from the internet covers the other sites, Google results and the legal tools that exist where you live.

If you would rather not do it yourself

Doing this by hand across many sites, then repeating it, is tedious. Data-removal services sell that repetition as a subscription. One of them is DeleteMe, the service we link, and we earn a commission if you sign up through the links marked Affiliate link. We have not tested DeleteMe, and the details below come from DeleteMe's own pages as we read them on October 30, 2026.

SmartBackgroundChecks is a people-search site of the kind removal services look at, but we could not confirm from DeleteMe's pages whether it is on DeleteMe's list or which plan covers it. Check DeleteMe's current list before you buy.

• What it says it does: you give it your details, and according to its site its team searches hundreds of data brokers and people-search sites, submits opt-out and removal requests and keeps monitoring and removing your information regularly, all year long.
• Price: DeleteMe's help center describes the solo plan as about $11 a month, billed annually at $129, for one person for one year. Plans renew automatically unless you cancel, and prices change, so check the live page.
• Our link's discount: the page our US link opens advertises 20% off all privacy protection plans with the code PARTNER20, valid for new members only on USA consumer plans. See the current DeleteMe offer (Affiliate link).

Removal services reduce how easy you are to find. They do not make you anonymous and they do not promise that a listing will never return. If you decide to look at it, see the DeleteMe plans (Affiliate link). If you prefer not to pay, the free steps above are enough to do the job for SmartBackgroundChecks.

More opt-out guides

This guide is part of a series. Related guides: how to remove yourself from Spokeo, how to remove yourself from TruePeopleSearch, how to remove yourself from FastPeopleSearch. The full list and the general method are in our hub guide, how to remove your personal information from the internet.