Tracking Intelius: How to Monitor and Manage Your Personal Data

What Is Intelius and Why Should You Track It?

Intelius is one of the largest people search and background check platforms on the internet, boasting access to over 20 billion public records. Founded in 2003, the Seattle-based company aggregates data from government sources, court records, property documents, and commercial databases to create detailed profiles on individuals.

When people search for "tracking Intelius," they typically want one of three things: to see what personal information Intelius has collected about them, to monitor their ongoing data exposure, or to understand how Intelius tracks and updates its records. This guide covers all three scenarios with actionable steps you can take today.

The reality is stark: even if you've never used Intelius yourself, they likely have a detailed profile on you that includes your current and past addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, family members, employment history, and potentially criminal records. This information is available to anyone willing to pay for it—which makes tracking what they have on you essential for personal security.

How to Find Your Intelius Profile

Before you can manage your data, you need to know what Intelius has. Here's how to find your profile:

Step 1: Search for yourself. Go to Intelius.com and use their search function. Enter your full name and add a city or state where you've lived to narrow results. You may see multiple profiles that match your information.

Step 2: Identify your listing. Intelius will ask narrowing questions about age, residence, and family members. Answer these to find your specific profile. Note that you may have multiple listings if you've lived at different addresses or used name variations.

Step 3: Review the preview. Intelius provides basic information for free—typically your name, age, and past locations. Full reports with criminal records, contact details, and family connections require a paid subscription starting around $21-25 per month.

If you're conducting background research on others rather than yourself, you might want to try our free Background Checker tool, which provides comprehensive reports with trust scores without requiring a subscription commitment.

Understanding Intelius Pricing and Plans

If you want to access full background reports through Intelius, here's what you'll pay:

• People Search Plan: Approximately $25.11 per month, or $21.35 per month when billed bi-monthly ($42.70 total). This includes unlimited people and address reports.
• Reverse Phone + People Search: Around $35.30 per month with unlimited phone, person, and address reports.
• One-time Criminal Records: $14.95 for statewide searches, $29.95 for nationwide criminal record checks.
• Trial offers: Intelius frequently offers $0.95 trials for 5-7 days, though these automatically convert to full subscriptions.

Be cautious with trial offers. Many users report unexpected charges when trials automatically renew. Common complaints center around the subscription model, with users frustrated by auto-renewals and cancellation difficulties. If you sign up for a trial, set a calendar reminder to cancel before it converts.

How to Opt Out and Remove Your Information

Tracking what Intelius has on you is only half the battle. Here's the complete process to remove your information:

Step 1: Access the opt-out page. Go to Intelius.com, scroll to the bottom, and click "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information." You'll be redirected to PeopleConnect's data privacy center—Intelius is part of their network of data brokers.

Step 2: Navigate to suppression tools. Click "View Public Data Tools," then "Manage My Suppression Rules" to open the opt-out form.

Step 3: Verify your email. Enter your email address and agree to the Terms of Use. They'll send a verification link that expires after 15 minutes, so have your email ready.

Step 4: Provide your information. Enter your date of birth and full name to help Intelius locate your profile. This may seem counterintuitive when trying to remove data, but it's necessary for accurate matching.

Step 5: Select your record. Multiple profiles may appear. Choose the one belonging to you. If you have multiple listings, you'll need to repeat this process for each one.

Step 6: Request suppression. In the "Desired Behavior" section, select "Suppressed" to conceal your personal information, then click "Save."

Processing typically takes 72 hours, though some requests require up to 10 business days. After this period, search your name again to verify removal. The bonus: opting out of Intelius also removes your data from related sites including ZabaSearch and USSearch.

Why Your Data May Reappear

Here's the frustrating truth about data brokers: removal isn't permanent. Intelius automatically scans for new records, and whenever something appears in public databases, they create new listings. Your information may resurface if you:

• Move to a new address
• Register a new phone number
• Get married or divorced
• Have any new court records
• Update voter registration

The only way to prevent this completely is to have your original government records sealed—which isn't possible in most situations. The practical solution is to monitor your Intelius profile monthly and repeat the opt-out process whenever your information reappears.

Tracking Your Overall Data Exposure

Intelius is just one of hundreds of data broker sites exposing your information. To truly track your data exposure, you need to consider the broader ecosystem:

Related PeopleConnect sites: When you opt out of Intelius, you're also removed from their family of sites. However, competitors like BeenVerified, Spokeo, and TruthFinder operate independently and require separate opt-out requests.

Regular monitoring: Set a quarterly reminder to search your name on major people search sites. This includes Intelius, Whitepages, Spokeo, BeenVerified, and MyLife at minimum.

Variation searches: Don't just search your current name. Check maiden names, previous married names, common misspellings, and name variations with or without middle initials. Each variation may have its own profile.

For ongoing due diligence on others—whether for sales prospecting, recruiting, or personal safety—our Background Checker aggregates information from multiple sources to give you a comprehensive view without the subscription trap.

FCRA Limitations: What Intelius Can't Be Used For

An important caveat for anyone tracking Intelius data for professional purposes: Intelius is not a Consumer Reporting Agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This means you legally cannot use Intelius reports for:

• Employment screening or hiring decisions
• Tenant screening or rental applications
• Credit or lending decisions
• Insurance underwriting
• Any purpose requiring FCRA compliance

Intelius requires users to confirm they won't use information for these purposes before accessing reports. If you need FCRA-compliant background checks for business purposes, you'll need a specialized service designed for that use case.

Alternatives for Background Research

If you're researching someone else rather than tracking your own data, here are smarter approaches than paying Intelius subscription fees:

For email verification: Before reaching out to any contact you find, verify their email address actually works. Our Email Verifier instantly tells you whether an email is valid, risky, or invalid—preventing bounces that hurt your sender reputation.

For finding contact information: If you have someone's name and company but need their direct contact, our Mobile Number Finder can locate cell phone numbers from email addresses or LinkedIn profiles.

For comprehensive background research: Our Background Checker provides detailed reports with trust scores, pulling from multiple public data sources. Unlike Intelius, there's no subscription to cancel or auto-renewal to worry about.

Protecting Your Privacy Long-Term

Tracking and managing your Intelius profile is an ongoing commitment, not a one-time task. Here's how to maintain control:

Limit data generation. Be cautious about what personal information you share online, especially on social media and forums. The less data you put out there, the less data brokers can collect.

Use privacy settings. Social media platforms, voter registration systems, and many other databases have privacy options. Enable them wherever possible.

Consider automated services. If manual opt-outs become too time-consuming, services like Incogni, DeleteMe, and Optery can handle removal requests across dozens of data brokers automatically. These typically cost $10-15 per month but save significant time.

Stay vigilant. Even with all precautions, your information will continue appearing on data broker sites as public records are updated. Quarterly monitoring is the minimum frequency for effective privacy management.

Taking Action Today

The search term "tracking Intelius" reflects a growing awareness that our personal data is being bought, sold, and exposed without our direct consent. While you can't stop data collection entirely, you can take meaningful steps to reduce your exposure:

1. Search for yourself on Intelius today to see what they have
2. Complete the opt-out process using the steps above
3. Set a monthly reminder to check if your data has reappeared
4. Repeat the opt-out for name variations and other data broker sites

For your professional research needs—whether you're in sales, recruiting, or just doing due diligence—skip the subscription traps and use free tools that get the job done. Our background checking and contact finding tools are built by practitioners who understand that you need reliable data without the billing headaches.

The internet remembers everything, but that doesn't mean you have to make it easy. Start tracking and managing your Intelius profile today.