Archives.com Opt-Out: How to Remove Yourself (2026 Guide)

The Archives.com opt-out is a form at archives.com/optout. You enter the name and address you want suppressed, tell Archives.com who you are, describe the records you saw and how you found them, and agree to its Opt-Out Policy. Archives.com says requests are processed within 30 days and are subject to manual approval and verification, and that an opt-out lasts 5 years.

Archives.com is a genealogy site. Its About page says it has run since July 2009 and has been part of the Ancestry.com family since August 2012. Alongside its historical records it has a living person search, and the opt-out is for suppressing your information from the living person search results on Archives.com. The form lets you list a name, up to three address lines, a phone number and an email address to suppress.

Checked against Archives.com's opt-out form, its Opt-Out Policy, help page, contact page and About page (none shows a date beyond a 2026 copyright), Ancestry's privacy statement (effective May 12, 2026), Ancestry's "How We Process Non-User Data" page (May 12, 2026), Ancestry's help article "Requesting Content Removal," California's 2026 data broker registry and the California Privacy Protection Agency's data broker page, on October 25, 2026. We read the pages; we did not search for anyone or submit anything.

How to opt out of Archives.com

1. If you have seen yourself in Archives.com search results, note what you searched for (the name, the place, any filters) and what the results showed. The form asks for this.
2. Go to archives.com/optout. The page is headed "Opt-Out Request Form."
3. In the first section, Enter the personal information you'd like to suppress from Archives.com living person search results, enter the first name, last name and an address in Address 1. These three are required. The form has no separate city, state or ZIP boxes, so type the full address, city, state and ZIP into Address 1. Middle name, Address 2 and Address 3, phone number and email address are optional. The form doesn't say what Address 2 and 3 are for; we'd put another full address in each. Enter everything as it appears in the results.
4. Under Please tell us who you are, enter your first and last name and your email address twice. The confirmation email goes to this address, so use one you check.
5. Fill in Additional Information. It is required; see below.
6. Tick Yes, I agree to the Opt-Out Policy.
7. Complete the CAPTCHA and submit. The form's confirmation text reads "Your opt-out request has been successfully submitted."

Archives.com says it emails you once your records are identified and suppressed. If you have lived at more than one address, put the others in Address 2 and Address 3; the policy doesn't say whether each address needs its own request, so list any others in Additional Information as well.

What to write in Additional Information

The form asks you to explain, if you have seen records you want removed, the steps and search criteria you used to find them. It says more detail makes removal faster and easier. For example:

> I searched Archives.com's living person search for [first and last name] in [city, state]. The results showed my address [address] and phone number [number]. Please suppress all results for me, including at my previous address [address].

If you haven't searched the site yourself, say so, and list the names and addresses you want suppressed.

The Opt-Out Policy in plain terms

• It's for you or your family. The policy says you must be the person the information is about, or a family member of that person. You must be 18 or older; a parent or legal guardian files for anyone under 18.
• It's checked by hand. The policy says requests are not necessarily processed automatically and are "subject to manual approval and verification." Archives.com may ask for proof that you are who you say you are.
• It lasts 5 years. "The opt-out term is for 5 years." Archives.com says it may extend the term at its discretion. The policy doesn't say the opt-out renews on its own, so put a reminder in your calendar for five years after the confirmation email.
• It covers Archives.com search results only. The policy says opting out does not remove your name and address from data sources Archives.com does not control, such as public records or marketing lists.
• Some general details can stay. The policy says Archives.com may still publish details that are not specific to you, such as the city that goes with a phone number's area code.
• Incomplete requests aren't processed. Fill in every required field.
• It doesn't touch a subscription. The form says an opt-out does not affect your current subscription or future scheduled billings, so cancel separately if you want that too.

How long does it take?

The form says requests are processed within 30 days, and the form's confirmation text says removal typically takes 30 days. The policy says you can contact Archives.com's support team at any time to find out your opt-out status.

If it doesn't work

• Contact Archives.com. The contact form is at archives.com/contact and asks for your name, email, phone, a category, a subject and a description. The page gives hours of Monday through Friday, 9am to 11pm Eastern, and says it usually takes 24 to 48 hours to hear back. It asks members to sign in before sending. Ask for your opt-out status and give the date of your request.
• If the opt-out form is down. The policy says Archives.com may suspend the opt-out feature if it suspects bot activity, and that requests are then handled through the contact form.
• Write. The About page gives Archives, Attn: Archives Member Services, 1300 West Traverse Parkway, Lehi, UT 84043.
• Ancestry's privacy team. Archives.com's privacy link goes to Ancestry's privacy statement, which lists Archives as a "Related Brand." The statement gives usprivacyrequests@ancestry.com for U.S. privacy questions, says Ancestry may ask for a copy of a government-issued ID to verify your identity, lets an authorized agent file with your signed permission, and says you may have the right to appeal a denied request. Its U.S. address is Ancestry.com Operations, L.P., Attn: Privacy Office, 42 Future Way, Suite 400, Draper, UT 84020. Its deletion route is written for account holders: it says that to delete your personal information, you must delete your account.

Archives.com isn't one of the sites in Defynta's free scan, and Defynta doesn't file requests with it: this one is do-it-yourself.

Who runs Archives.com. Archives, part of Ancestry since August 2012, at the Lehi, Utah address above. We did not find Archives or Ancestry on California's data broker registry (searched October 25, 2026), so the state's DROP tool, which sends requests to registered brokers, is not a route here. File directly.

Check Ancestry.com separately

Archives.com's policy covers Archives.com search results and doesn't mention Ancestry.com, which has its own route.

• Report it. Ancestry's help article "Requesting Content Removal" says to report information that relates to you or your living minor children that you're concerned about having published online. It links to a form at ancestry.com/feedback/reportissue, and says you can also click Report a problem on any record detail page.
• What Ancestry says it holds. The same article says its database contains only information about living people that government institutions or other groups have already made public.
• Search indexes. Ancestry's privacy statement says it will consider requests to remove personal information from the searchable indexes of the records it holds on a case-by-case basis, and that requests about linked archival records should go to the archive responsible for them.

Related pages

• FamilyTreeNow, a genealogy-style people-search site with its own opt-out
• LocateFamily, which takes removal requests through its own form
• How to remove your phone number from people-search sites
• How to remove your home address from Google search results
• Where data brokers get your information

Full list: the master opt-out guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Archives.com opt-out free?

None of the pages we read mention a fee, and the form says an opt-out doesn't affect a subscription or billing.

Do I need an Archives.com account to opt out?

The opt-out form we read doesn't ask you to sign in. The separate contact form asks members to sign in first.

How long does an Archives.com opt-out last?

Five years, according to the Opt-Out Policy. Archives.com says it may extend the term at its discretion.

Can I opt out a family member?

The policy says you must be the person the information is about or a family member of that person, and that a parent or legal guardian files for anyone under 18. Archives.com may ask for proof of identity.

Does the Archives.com opt-out remove me from Ancestry.com?

The policy doesn't say so; it covers Archives.com search results. Use Ancestry's own report form for anything you find there.

Who runs Archives.com?

Archives, part of Ancestry since August 2012, in Lehi, Utah.

A genealogy site is one place your address and phone number can turn up; people-search sites are another. See which of the sites we track list you with a free Defynta scan.