How to keep your home address private

You can’t make your home address completely secret, because some public records will always include it. What you can do is make it much harder to find: take it off the sites that publish it to anyone, keep it out of new records where you have a choice, and stop it from being linked to your name online.

Start with people-search sites

These are where most strangers would find your address, because they show it for free next to your name. Opting out is the single most useful step.

1. Search your name and city on the big people-search sites.
2. Use each site’s own opt-out page to ask for your listing to come down.
3. Check back later, because listings come back. See Why people-search listings come back.

If you live in California, also use the state’s free DROP service, which sends a deletion request to every registered data broker at once.

Ask Google to stop showing it

Google’s Results about you tool lets you add your home address and get told when it shows up in search results. You can then ask Google to stop showing those pages. The page itself stays on the site, but it becomes much harder to stumble across.

Public records you can and can’t change

• Property records. If you own your home, the county records your name as the owner, and these are usually public. Some people buy their home through a trust or an LLC so their name isn’t on the record. It’s a legal decision with tax and cost questions, so talk to a lawyer first. Some states also let certain people, such as judges or police officers, ask for their name or address to be hidden in property records.
• Voter registration. In many states, voter files are public or can be bought, and they include your address. Some states let certain voters keep their address confidential. Check with your state or county election office.
• Court records. Addresses in court filings are usually public. If you’re involved in a case, ask about redacting your address.
• Business filings. If you’ve registered a business at your home address, that address is public. A registered agent service or a business address can replace it.

Address confidentiality programs

Most US states run an address confidentiality program. If you’re eligible, you get a substitute address to use on public records, and the state forwards your mail. These programs are usually for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking, and some states have opened them to other groups, like election workers or health care workers. Search for “address confidentiality program” and your state, or ask your secretary of state’s office.

Keep it out of new places

• Use a PO box or mail service for deliveries, subscriptions, warranties and anything that doesn’t need your home address. People-search sites buy data from sources like these.
• Be careful with change-of-address forms and loyalty programs. Both can feed marketing data.
• Don’t post the outside of your home, your street or your house number. See What your photos can give away.
• Ask family not to share your address or tag you at home.
• Use a separate email and phone number for shopping and sign-ups, so your main ones aren’t tied to your address in more databases.

If you’re moving

A move is a good chance to start fresh. Your new address isn’t linked to your name online yet, so the steps above go much further. Set up a mail service before you move, give your home address only where it’s legally needed, and opt out of people-search sites again a few months later, since they’ll pick up the new address from new records.

How Oko helps

Oko’s report shows which people-search sites list your address, what else each listing shows, and the routes a stranger could take from your email or username to your home. The fixes are ranked, so you know which opt-outs to do first, and a recheck later shows whether your address has come back anywhere.