How to Opt Out of Thomson Reuters

Thomson Reuters is one of the largest data aggregators in the world, and its CLEAR investigative platform is used by law enforcement, government agencies, and private investigators to search for people using vast databases of personal information. If you want to remove your data from Thomson Reuters, here's how to navigate their opt-out process.

What Is Thomson Reuters CLEAR?

CLEAR (Consolidated Lead Evaluation and Reporting) is Thomson Reuters' people-search and risk intelligence platform. Unlike consumer-facing people-search sites like Spokeo or BeenVerified, CLEAR is primarily marketed to professional investigators, law enforcement, and compliance teams.

CLEAR aggregates data from hundreds of sources including:

• Public records: court filings, property records, liens, judgments, and bankruptcies
• Utility records: address history tied to utility connections
• Vehicle registrations and driving records
• Business filings and professional licenses
• Social media profiles and online activity
• Credit header data (name, address, SSN, date of birth)

How to Opt Out of Thomson Reuters

Method 1: Online Privacy Portal

1. Visit thomsonreuters.com
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page
3. Click "Do not sell or share my personal information and limit the use of my sensitive personal information" in the footer
4. You'll be redirected to an online form
5. Select your relationship to Thomson Reuters
6. Choose your state of residency
7. Select your request type (deletion, opt-out, or access)
8. Select the product (CLEAR, Westlaw, etc.)
9. Enter your personal information: first name, last name, email, date of birth, phone number, current street address, city, state, and zip code
10. Submit the form

Method 2: Phone Request

Call Thomson Reuters' Data Subject Rights line at 1-866-633-7656. Be prepared to verify your identity and specify which Thomson Reuters products you want to opt out of.

Method 3: Written Request

Send a written opt-out request to:

Chief Privacy Officer
Thomson Reuters
610 Opperman Drive
Eagan, Minnesota 55123
United States

Include your full name, date of birth, current address, and a clear statement that you want your personal information deleted from CLEAR and other Thomson Reuters consumer-facing databases.

What to Expect After Submitting

Thomson Reuters is required to respond to privacy requests within 45 days under the CCPA, with one possible 45-day extension. However, because CLEAR serves regulated industries, there are important limitations:

• Law enforcement data: Information used in active investigations may not be deletable
• Compliance records: Data required for regulatory compliance (anti-money laundering, know-your-customer) may be retained
• Public records: Thomson Reuters may continue to access and display publicly available records even after you opt out
• Re-collection: Your data may reappear as Thomson Reuters ingests new data from public record sources

How to Verify Your Data Was Removed

Thomson Reuters does not offer public-facing search tools for CLEAR (it requires a paid subscription), so verifying removal is difficult for consumers. After submitting your request:

1. Wait for Thomson Reuters' confirmation email or letter
2. Follow up after 45 days if you haven't received a response
3. Request a copy of the data they hold on you (a "data access request") to verify deletion
4. File a complaint with your state attorney general if your request is ignored

Preventing Re-Collection

Thomson Reuters pulls data from hundreds of underlying sources. Even after a successful opt-out, your data can be re-collected from:

• County court records and property filings
• DMV records (in states that sell data)
• Voter registration databases
• Other data brokers that feed into Thomson Reuters' systems

To meaningfully reduce your footprint across Thomson Reuters and its data sources, you need to address the upstream suppliers. A comprehensive data removal service like PrivacyOn monitors over 100 data broker sites — including many of the sources that feed into platforms like CLEAR — and automatically submits removal requests on your behalf. This multi-layer approach is far more effective than opting out of Thomson Reuters alone.

PrivacyOn also provides ongoing monitoring to catch re-listings, which is critical given that Thomson Reuters continuously ingests new data from public and commercial sources.