How to Opt Out of TruthFinder, Intelius & the PeopleConnect Network (2026)

TruthFinder, Intelius, Instant Checkmate, and USSearch are four separate brands owned by one company, PeopleConnect Inc. One free request through PeopleConnect's own Suppression Center removes your Background Report from all four sites at once, confirmed directly on each site this session.

Opt-out flow verified: August 14, 2026

Who Owns TruthFinder, Intelius, Instant Checkmate, and USSearch

PeopleConnect Inc., based in San Diego, owns TruthFinder, Intelius, Instant Checkmate, USSearch, Zabasearch, and Classmates.com. This guide verified the connection directly rather than relying on secondhand reporting: navigating to truthfinder.com/opt-out/, intelius.com/opt-out/, instantcheckmate.com/opt-out/, and ussearch.com/opt-out/ each redirects to the same page, suppression.peopleconnect.us, branded with the PeopleConnect logo.

That shared destination is PeopleConnect's Suppression Center, and its own text describes exactly what it does: "Actively manage the display of your Background Report on people search websites owned by PeopleConnect."

The Suppression Center: One Request, Four Sites

The Suppression Center's own FAQ answers the question this guide exists to answer, in its own words: "Our Suppression Tool provides a free way to manage the display of your Background Report when searched by name on all people search sites in the PeopleConnect family including TruthFinder.com, InstantCheckmate.com, Intelius.com and USSearch.com, without needing to engage with our team."

That is a direct, current confirmation that one submission reaches four separate brands. If you have never searched your own name on any of these sites, you likely do not know how many of the four carry a listing; the single request removes your Background Report from all of them regardless.

Step-by-Step: How the Suppression Tool Works

This is the process as it appears on suppression.peopleconnect.us, read directly this session.

1. Go to suppression.peopleconnect.us, or use the /opt-out/ link on any of the four sites; all of them land on the same page.
2. Enter your email address in the "Step 1" field and check the box agreeing to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
3. Submit. PeopleConnect sends a verification email with a link to continue.
4. Click the link in that email to proceed to identity confirmation. The page states you will need to confirm your identity with your full name, date of birth, and a phone number or email address you can verify.
5. Complete the confirmation step. PeopleConnect matches the details you provide against Background Report records and suppresses matching listings across the four sites.

Difficulty: Moderate. No account and no fee are required, and one request covers four brands, which is the best-case outcome in this cluster. The friction is the two-step verification (email confirmation, then identity confirmation) rather than a single-click form.

What the Suppression Tool Does Not Cover

Three limitations are stated directly on PeopleConnect's own page, and are easy to miss:

• Zabasearch is not listed. The Suppression Center names only TruthFinder, Instant Checkmate, Intelius, and USSearch. Zabasearch's own footer reads "ZabaSearch powered by Intelius" and "Intelius LLC," and its "Exercise My Data Privacy Rights" link goes to Intelius's separate Data Privacy Center, not this tool. See How to Opt Out of Intelius for that path.
• Classmates.com is explicitly excluded. PeopleConnect's own text states the tool "does not apply to... other sites in the PeopleConnect family, including Classmates.com." A Background Report suppression here does nothing on Classmates.com.
• It only reaches your Background Report, not your "User Data." PeopleConnect draws a line between the public-facing Background Report (covered by this tool) and account or usage data the sites collect directly from a paying customer (not covered; you would need to contact that specific site if you have a paid account).

PeopleConnect also warns that the same discrepancies and inaccuracies common to public-records data can make it hard to remove every version of a listing: different spellings, initials, or address combinations can create a second record that the suppression request does not match. If a listing reappears after suppression, contact PeopleConnect directly rather than assuming the tool failed.

Judges, Law Enforcement, and Other Protected Persons

PeopleConnect's own page carries a dedicated process for legally protected persons: an active or retired federal, state, or municipal judge, law enforcement officer, public official, or other covered person in a state with an applicable suppression law can email PeopleConnect directly instead of using the standard tool. The request should include your complete name, date of birth, city and state of residence, phone number and email address, the specific law you are relying on, and your protected status. PeopleConnect states it may decline a request it cannot verify against an applicable law, with an appeal path through its privacy contact.

The FCRA Warning: TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate's $5.8 Million Settlement

In September 2023, the Federal Trade Commission announced that TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate would pay $5.8 million to settle FTC charges. The FTC's complaint alleged the companies operated as consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act because they marketed and sold background reports for employment and tenant screening, including through search-engine keywords like "best background check for landlords" and "pre-employment screening," while failing to ensure the reports' maximum possible accuracy as FCRA requires.

The FTC also alleged the companies' "Remove" and "Flag as Inaccurate" buttons did not work as advertised: clicking "Remove" hid disputed information only from the customer who clicked it, while the same information stayed visible to every other customer searching that person, and flagged items were never actually investigated. The resulting order requires TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate to build a compliance-monitoring program and permanently bars them from FCRA violations or similar misrepresentations going forward.

The takeaway for readers: use this network's opt-out for personal privacy only. Never use TruthFinder, Intelius, Instant Checkmate, or USSearch, or any similar site, to screen a job applicant, a tenant, or a credit decision. Doing so is exactly the misuse the FTC's order targets.

California Residents: DROP and the PeopleConnect Registry

California's Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform (DROP), run by the California Privacy Protection Agency, has accepted consumer deletion requests since January 1, 2026. Under California Civil Code section 1798.99.86(c)(1), a registered data broker has been required to access DROP at least once every 45 days beginning August 1, 2026, and to process the deletion requests it finds there. Section 1798.99.82(d)(1) backs that duty with an administrative fine of $200 for each deletion request for each day the broker fails to delete the information, in an administrative action brought by the CPPA.

Every brand covered by this guide sits behind that duty. The CPPA's public data broker registry lists Instant Checkmate LLC (www.instantcheckmate.com), TruthFinder, LLC (www.truthfinder.com), and Intelius, LLC, whose registered site list covers www.intelius.com, www.ussearch.com, and www.zabasearch.com. Because all three entities are registered California data brokers, a single DROP submission reaches all four sites this page covers, and unlike PeopleConnect's Suppression Center it also reaches Zabasearch.

California residents also retain individual CCPA rights to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information and, subject to exceptions, to request deletion, on top of PeopleConnect's own Suppression Center. See CCPA Opt-Out Rights for the full mechanics.

If Your Information Reappears

Once suppressed, a listing can still resurface if PeopleConnect receives a new record from a data provider that does not exactly match your prior submission, for example a slightly different address or a name variant. Re-search your name on each of the four sites periodically rather than assuming a single request is permanent. If a listing reappears and you believe the original suppression should have caught it, contact PeopleConnect through the Suppression Center rather than resubmitting blindly.

Related Guides

• How to Opt Out of Intelius
• How to Opt Out of TruthFinder
• How to Opt Out of Data Brokers (2026)
• US Data Broker Registration Laws & the Delete Act
• Credit Freeze vs. Fraud Alert

Frequently Asked Questions

Does one opt-out request really cover TruthFinder, Intelius, Instant Checkmate, and USSearch?

Yes. PeopleConnect's own Suppression Center states directly that its tool manages your Background Report display "on all people search sites in the PeopleConnect family including TruthFinder.com, InstantCheckmate.com, Intelius.com and USSearch.com." This guide confirmed the connection live by checking that each site's own /opt-out/ page redirects to the same suppression.peopleconnect.us tool.

Does the PeopleConnect Suppression Center also remove me from Zabasearch?

No. Zabasearch is not named by the Suppression Center. Zabasearch's own footer identifies it as powered by Intelius, and its privacy-rights link goes to Intelius's separate Data Privacy Center rather than the shared suppression tool. Use the dedicated Intelius guide for that path.

Does this cover Classmates.com too?

No. PeopleConnect's own page states the tool does not apply to other sites in the PeopleConnect family, including Classmates.com, by name.

Do I need to pay or create an account to use the Suppression Center?

No. The tool is free and does not require an account. You provide an email address, confirm it, then confirm identity details such as your name, date of birth, and a phone number or email address.

Is it legal to use TruthFinder or Instant Checkmate to screen a job applicant?

No. In 2023 the FTC required TruthFinder and Instant Checkmate to pay $5.8 million to settle charges that they operated as consumer reporting agencies while marketing reports for employment and tenant screening, in violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act. These sites are for personal use only; using them for hiring, tenant, or credit decisions is the exact misuse the FTC's order addresses.

I am a judge or police officer. Is there a faster way to get removed?

Yes. PeopleConnect's Suppression Center page describes a separate email process for active or retired judges, law enforcement officers, public officials, and other legally protected persons under an applicable state law, without needing to use the standard automated tool.