How to remove your personal details and stop spam (free)

The TPS is the UK's only official "Do Not Call" register, for landlines and mobiles. It's free and you only register once. Firms must screen against it at least every 28 days, so calls should stop within 28 days. [source: TPS]

• Online: tpsonline.org.uk/register ↗
• Mobile: text TPS and your email address to 85095 from that phone (free). [source: TPS]
• Phone: 0345 070 0707 [source: mygov.scot]

TPS covers live sales calls. It doesn't stop scammers, who ignore the law. TPS will never ask you for payment, so anyone who does is a scammer.

Most networks let you forward a suspicious text to 7726 for free. Your provider can then look into the sender and block it. On iPhone, press and hold the message, tap More, then forward it. On Android, press and hold it, tap ⋮ and choose Forward. You can also send a screenshot to [email protected]. [source: NCSC]

• ICO handles live and automated marketing calls, spam texts and marketing emails: report online ↗ or call 0303 123 1113.
• Ofcom handles silent and abandoned calls: report online or call 0300 123 3333.
• Scams (including spoofed caller ID) go to Report Fraud ↗ (0300 123 2040) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, or Police Scotland on 101.

Note the date, time, number and company name if you can. [source: Ofcom] [source: Ofcom – silent and scam calls]

Many UK networks offer free call blocking or scam-call filtering, so check your provider's help pages or call them. On your handset you can block individual numbers. iPhone has call screening and blocking (see "Screen and block calls" in Apple's iPhone User Guide ↗) and Android phones have spam filtering under Phone settings. Ofcom also has tips on protecting yourself from nuisance calls ↗.

• Forward suspicious emails to [email protected], the NCSC's Suspicious Email Reporting Service. [source: NCSC]
• Unsubscribe safely: only use "unsubscribe" in emails from firms you know you signed up with. For anything that looks like a scam, don't click. Report it and delete it.
• Report persistent marketing emails from real UK firms to the ICO ↗.
• Alias emails: give shops a separate or alias address (many email providers offer free aliases or "plus" addressing, e.g. you+shop@…). If it starts getting spam, you'll know who leaked it, and you can switch it off.

• Mailing Preference Service (MPS) is free and official. It removes your name and address from many addressed direct-mail lists. mpsonline.org.uk ↗ [source: MPS]
• Royal Mail Door to Door opt-out stops unaddressed leaflets delivered by Royal Mail. Print, sign and post the form, or email [email protected] to get one sent to you. It takes effect within 6 weeks and lasts 2 years. It doesn't cover other leaflet distributors, or post addressed "To the occupier". [source: Royal Mail] [source: Citizens Advice]

The open register (called the "edited register" in Northern Ireland) can be bought by anyone, and data brokers use it. Opting out doesn't affect your right to vote. To opt out, use the register to vote service ↗ (even if you're already registered) or contact your local electoral registration office. In Northern Ireland, contact the EONI. You can't opt out of the full register, which only has limited uses such as elections, credit checks and crime prevention. [source: GOV.UK]

Have I Been Pwned ↗ is a free, long-running service. It tells you whether your email address has appeared in a known data breach. If it has, change that password and any accounts that reuse it, and turn on two-step verification.

People-search and directory sites such as 192.com (see our 192.com removal guide), as well as marketing data brokers, often compile names, addresses and phone numbers. Under UK GDPR you can ask them to erase your data. This applies, for example, where you object to direct marketing, withdraw consent, or the data is held unlawfully. The request is free in most cases. They have one calendar month to respond, which can be extended by up to two more months if they tell you. They may ask for just enough ID to confirm it's you. If they say no, they must explain why. [source: ICO]

To send one, look for a "privacy", "remove my listing" or data protection contact on the site. If you're unhappy with their reply, complain to them first, then to the ICO ↗.

Note: the ICO says its guidance is under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.

Template erasure request

[Your full name]
[Your address]
[Your email]
[Date]

To: Data Protection Officer, [Organisation name]

Subject: Right to erasure request (UK GDPR Article 17)

I am asking you to erase all personal data you hold about me under Article 17 of the UK GDPR. I also object to my data being used for direct marketing (Article 21).

Details to help you find my data:
- Name(s): [full name, and any previous names]
- Address(es): [current and previous addresses]
- Phone / email: [as shown on your site]
- Web address(es) of any listing: [URL]

Please:
1. erase my personal data and remove any listing about me;
2. tell anyone you have shared my data with about this erasure (Article 19);
3. confirm in writing once you have done this.

Please reply within one calendar month. If you refuse, tell me why and confirm my right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office.

Yours faithfully,
[Name]

Based on the ICO's own template. Keep a copy and note the date you sent it.

Some companies charge a subscription to send erasure requests to many data brokers for you and repeat them over time. Incogni (owned by Surfshark) is one example. See our honest Incogni review. They can save time, but they only do what you can do yourself for free with the template above. Check the price, which brokers they cover and how cancellation works before signing up.