Clear.me is a website that lets you search for and manage information about yourself online
Clear.me is a free service that helps you find out what personal information is publicly available about you on the internet. You can search for your name, see what data brokers and public records sites are showing, and request that information be removed or hidden. The site does not sell your data — it shows you what others are selling or publishing about you, and gives you tools to contact those sites directly and ask them to take it down.
The service is run by Clearview AI, a company that built a database by scraping billions of photos and personal records from public sources. Clear.me lets you use that same database to search for yourself, then helps you send removal requests to the data brokers and public records sites that are hosting your information. You do the requesting yourself; Clear.me provides the contact information and sometimes a template letter.
This is different from a credit freeze or a paid identity theft monitoring service. Clear.me focuses on what is visible to anyone searching the internet right now, not on protecting your credit or watching for fraudulent accounts opened in your name.
Key Takeaways
- Clear.me lets you search for your own name and see what personal information is publicly available online through data brokers and public records sites.
- The service is free and does not require a paid subscription to search for yourself or send removal requests.
- Clear.me provides contact information for data brokers and public records sites so you can request they remove or hide your information.
- Removal requests go directly from you to each site — Clear.me does not remove the information itself, but helps you contact the sites that host it.
- This service focuses on public online information, not on credit monitoring or identity theft protection.
How to search for yourself on Clear.me
Go to Clear.me and enter your full name in the search box. The site will show you results from its database of public records and data broker listings. You will see what information is associated with your name, including addresses, phone numbers, family members, and sometimes photos or social media profiles.
The search is free and does not require you to create an account or provide payment information. You can search as many times as you want. The results show you what data brokers and public records aggregators have collected about you — the same information that would show up if someone else searched for you online.
Keep in mind that Clear.me's database is not complete. It shows information that Clearview AI was able to collect, but other data brokers and public records sites may have information about you that does not appear in these results. If you want a full picture, you may need to search other data broker sites separately or use a paid service that monitors multiple sources.
Requesting removal of your information
After you search for yourself, Clear.me shows you which data brokers and public records sites are hosting your information. For each one, the site provides a link or contact information so you can send a removal request directly to that company. Some sites have online removal forms; others require you to email or mail a request.
Clear.me sometimes provides a template letter you can use or adapt when contacting these sites. You will need to prove your identity — most data brokers ask for a copy of your ID or a utility bill to confirm you are actually the person requesting removal. The process is free, but it takes time. Each site handles removal requests separately, and some take weeks to respond.
Not every data broker will remove your information. Some will hide it from public search results but keep it in their database. Others may charge a fee for removal, though many offer free removal if you request it. You have to contact each site individually — there is no single button that removes you from all of them at once.
What information Clear.me can help you find
Clear.me's search results typically include your name, current and past addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and family member names. Depending on what data brokers have collected, you might also see age, date of birth, property ownership records, court records, and sometimes photos or social media links.
The specific information available varies by person and by what public records exist in your state or county. If you have been involved in court cases, own property, or have been listed in public directories, that information is more likely to show up. If you have kept a low public profile, the results may be thinner.
Clear.me does not show you information that is behind paywalls or restricted to law enforcement — it only shows what is publicly searchable online right now. It also does not monitor the dark web or private databases.
The difference between Clear.me and other privacy services
Clear.me is a search and removal tool. It shows you what is out there and helps you contact sites to take it down. It does not monitor your credit, watch for fraudulent accounts, or alert you if your information is used in a data breach. Those are services offered by credit monitoring companies and identity theft protection services, which are different products.
Some people use Clear.me to get a baseline picture of what is publicly available about them, then use a separate credit monitoring or identity theft service to watch for misuse going forward. Others use it just to clean up their public footprint — removing old addresses or phone numbers from data broker sites so they are harder to find.
Clear.me is also different from a credit freeze, which stops credit bureaus from opening new accounts in your name. A credit freeze protects your credit; Clear.me protects your privacy by reducing what strangers can find about you online.
Limitations and what Clear.me cannot do
Clear.me cannot remove information from all sources. Government websites, court records, and some public records databases do not respond to removal requests from data brokers or individuals. If your information is on a county assessor's website or a court records database, Clear.me cannot take it down — you would have to contact the government agency directly.
Clear.me also cannot remove information that you posted yourself. If you have a public social media profile, a personal website, or a listing in an online directory that you created, you need to remove that yourself by logging into those accounts or contacting the site directly.
The service works best for removing your information from data broker aggregator sites — companies that collect and resell personal information. It is less effective for removing information from government records or sites you control yourself. If your goal is to remove information from a specific government database, you will likely need to contact that agency directly.
Cost and privacy concerns
Clear.me's search function is free. You do not pay to search for yourself or to get the contact information for removal requests. Some data brokers may charge you a fee when you request removal, but Clear.me itself does not charge for the service.
There is a privacy trade-off: to use Clear.me, you have to give the site your name and sometimes other personal information. The company says it does not sell this data, but you are sharing information with a company that built its business by collecting personal data. If you are uncomfortable with that, you can skip Clear.me and contact data brokers directly on your own — it just takes more work to find their contact information.
Clear.me is owned by Clearview AI, which has faced legal challenges and criticism over how it collected its database. Before using the service, you may want to research the company's privacy practices and decide whether you are comfortable with it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Clear.me the same as a credit freeze?
No. A credit freeze stops credit bureaus from opening new accounts in your name. Clear.me removes your personal information from data broker websites so it is harder for strangers to find you online. They protect different things — credit freezes protect your credit, Clear.me protects your privacy.
Do I have to pay to remove my information?
Clear.me itself is free. Some data brokers may charge a fee when you request removal, though many offer free removal if you ask. You will not pay Clear.me, but you may pay individual data brokers depending on their policies.
Will Clear.me remove my information from Google search results?
No. Clear.me removes information from data broker sites, not from Google. If your information appears in Google search results, you can request removal directly from Google using their removal tool, or you can ask the website hosting the information to take it down.
How long does it take for information to be removed?
It varies by data broker. Some remove information within days; others take weeks or months. You will need to contact each site individually and follow their removal process. There is no single timeline — each company handles requests at its own pace.
What if a data broker refuses to remove my information?
Some data brokers will not remove information, or will only hide it from search results while keeping it in their database. If a company refuses, you can try contacting them again, file a complaint with your state's attorney general, or use a paid removal service that specializes in dealing with uncooperative data brokers.