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Opt Out of Whitepages – Revised Oct 2017

How to remove yourself from whitepages
How to remove yourself from whitepages

Delete your Whitepages information

Whitepages is an important and commonly used directory however, when it comes to opting out, it is on my list of most frustrating sites to deal with. Firstly, intermittent technical issues get in the way of opt outs going as expected. Secondly, Whitepages responds to every email with a boilerplate email letting the sender know they read all emails but can’t respond to them all. Hence, when running into an issue, multiple emails may need to be sent before obtaining a solution or a human response. Finally, Whitepages continuously changes their opt out method and as a result, tutorials become obsolete. However, with the help of readers like you, I manage to stay on top of changes so if anything in this tutorial does not go as planned, please let me know so I can edit or replace this tutorial, yet again.

Since my March 2015 tutorial, WhitePages no longer provides the ability to edit or add information. That said, information removal seems to be easier now than it was before. Let’s begin:

 

10/31/2017 WHITEPAGES HAS CHANGED THE OPT OUT PROCESS AGAIN. THIS TUTORIAL IS NO LONGER CORRECT. See updated version below.

CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED TUTORIAL 

* Links open in a separate window so toggle back and forth from this tutorial to your opt out steps.

  • 2] Enter your name and begin your search by clicking on the green search box.  (Note: Personal information is blocked out in sample screenshots.)

* Leave city and state blank unless you get too many results without it. Narrow down results by entering  state and city, if necessary.

Begin your whitepages search

Begin your whitepages search

  • 3] Locate the record that belongs to you. Below is the record I will be removing.

* If there is more than a single record with your information, repeat all steps for each record, one at a time.

Sample for removal

Notice logos of house and telephone

* The house logo indicates existence of an address; the telephone logo indicates existence of a telephone number.

If there is a telephone icon on your search result and you have access to that telephone number while doing this tutorial, go directly to Step 4]. If not, continue with steps a through e below:

A. Click on “View Full Profile” for the profile you want to remove.

B. Copy the URL of your profile

Request assistance

Copy the URL so you can provide it to Customer Support

C. Contact Whitepages Customer Support for assistance. (A form will open from the link.)

D. Paste the URL in the “Description” part of the online form.

E. Complete the form and then click “Submit.” (You are done with the tutorial if there are no additional profiles you want removed. If not, go back to Step 1] for each remaining profile.)

* Please be advised that it is challenging getting a response from Whitepages and you may have to contact them several times via email before they finally handle your request. There is currently no telephone support for removals.

Continue on to Step 4] if there is a telephone number listed in your Whitepages result that you have access to while doing this tutorial:

  • 4] Click on “View Full Profile” and the complete listing will open up with a Google map of the address.

Full whitepages profile

  • 5] Copy (Command C on a Mac computer or Control C on a PC) the URL for your listing – it’s in the address bar at the top of the page as seen in the example above.
Delete your information in whitepages

This is the footer at the bottom of the page

  • 7] At this point, you will either be given the option to paste the URL as in the image below or you will be required to log into Whitepages. If you have an existing account, go ahead and log in. The rest of the tutorial will remain the same. If you do not have an account and you don’t end up at the Opt out of Whitepages pictured below, then unfortunately, you will need to create an account and confirm the email address you used for it. Then you will be ready for Step 8] below.
  • 8] You will get the response below. Click your mouse into the box asking for the URL, and paste the URL you copied. (Command V for a Mac or Control V for a PC). Then click on the “Opt-out” button.
How to opt out of whitepages

Paste the URL you copied into the box

  • 9] You will get a screen like the one below. If the information is correct, click on the “Remove this info from Whitepages.”

6 Remove Info

  • 10] Next, Whitepages wants to know why you want to remove your information and they want to gather more information about you at the same time. I recommend selecting “Other” for your occupation and then select one of the 4 choices from the drop down menu for the reason you are removing your information. Then click “Next Step.”
Whitepages wants to know who you are and why you want to opt out

Whitepages wants to know who you are and why you want to opt out

  • 11] Assuming there was a telephone number on your profile, you will then get the screen below asking you to verify your number. You must be able to answer that number in order to proceed so only click on “Call now to verify” if you can answer the phone immediately.
Make sure you are able to answer the phone number that is listed before proceeding

Make sure you are able to answer the phone number that is listed

  • 12] After you click “Call now to verify,” the message below will pop up and the phone will ring.
Your phone should ring immediately

Your phone should ring immediately

  • 13] Answer the phone and follow the automated instructions. (Press “1” to remove your profile.)
  • 14] Click here to do a new search to make sure your information has been completely removed.
    • If the information has been removed, you are done.
    • If you had more than one profile to start, now is the time to go back to Step 1] to repeat the steps for each additional profile you have.
    • If your information is still there, you have several options.

1. Try again from Step 1].

2. Contact Whitepages for assistance.

3. Contact me for assistance.

On a positive note, I contacted Whitepages yesterday for removal assistance on a profile with no phone number and I received a human response today and confirmed the removal was completed correctly! Maybe things have changed for the better with Whitepages? That would be terrific!

I hope your removal process was smooth, quick and easy and that your opt out was successful. If it wasn’t, please let me know what happened so I can keep on top of any changes and so I can update this tutorial, if necessary.

Until next time, … Stay Cyber Safe!

 

CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED TUTORIAL – WHITEPAGES KEEPS CHANGING THEIR METHOD FOR OPTING OUT! 
Opt Out

If you want to remove your info from multiple directories and need help, click image.

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