Data removal. Updated 2026-09-13. About 5 minutes to read.
Remove your listings from address-based people-search sites and hide old sale photos first, then ask your county or land registry whether it offers name suppression or protection for people at risk.
When you buy a home, your name is recorded against the property in a public register. That system exists so ownership can be proved, taxes can be assessed and buyers can check who they are dealing with. It also means that anyone who knows your name, or who stands outside your house, can often find out who owns it, what was paid and when.
You cannot take a property record out of the land register. You can reduce how easily it links your name to your address: by using name-search suppression where a county offers it, protected-person programs if you are at risk, removal from address-based people-search sites, and hiding the listing photos that stay online after a sale. This guide covers each option by country.
Data companies collect assessor and recorder data from thousands of counties and resell it. People-search sites join it to names, phone numbers and relatives. Some sites are organised by address rather than by person, listing everyone who has lived at a property, the estimated value and nearby residents. NeighborWho, Ownerly, ClustrMaps, Homemetry and Rehold all work this way.
Real estate portals add another layer. Listing photos, floor plans and room descriptions often remain online for years after a sale, which shows strangers the layout of your home.
Large property data companies generally treat ownership records as exempt from deletion requests, because they come from public registers. Cotality, formerly CoreLogic, limits consumer requests mainly to tenant screening and employment data. Focus your effort on the people-search sites that put your name and address on a free page.
The title register itself cannot be made private, but HM Land Registry lets you apply to exempt certain documents from the general right to inspect and copy them, if they contain information that would be prejudicial. You apply with form EX1 when lodging the document. HM Land Registry considers each application on its merits, and a general statement that information is sensitive is not enough. You must explain why disclosure would cause distress or damage.
HM Land Registry's price paid data, which is open data, shows addresses and prices but not buyer names. Your name appears on the title register itself.
Australian land titles identify owners by name and anyone can order a title search. If your safety is at risk, contact your state land registry and ask whether it has a process for protected persons, and speak to a family violence service about other steps, such as silent enrolment on the electoral roll and a silent phone number. For companies that hold your details, the Privacy Act 1988 lets you request access and correction, with complaints to the OAIC.
In Canada, provincial registries make title records available for a fee. Ask your registry about options for people at risk, and use PIPEDA and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for private companies that republish your information.
Not from the official register, in most places. You can sometimes remove your name from a county's online name search, qualify for protection if you are in a protected group or at risk, and remove the people-search listings that republish the data.
Address-based people-search sites buy or collect assessor and recorder data in bulk. They do not need your permission because the underlying records are public. Most offer a free removal request for each address.
It can keep your name off the deed and the assessor's owner field, but not always off mortgage records, tax records or ownership disclosures. Get legal advice before you buy, because changing ownership later can have tax and lending consequences.
Often yes. Zillow and Redfin let verified owners hide listing photos. In Australia, ask the listing agent or the portal. Street-level imagery is separate, and Google Street View lets you request that your house be blurred.