Why your address shows on Ratsit and Hitta, and how to remove yourself for free

Once you’re registered in Sweden, you can become a search result. Anyone who searches for your name on Ratsit, Hitta, MrKoll or similar sites can see your address, your age, your phone number and who you live with. It’s legal, but you can remove yourself, and it costs nothing. Our free guide Kolla själv shows you how, site by site.

Why do I show up?

When you’re registered (folkbokförd), your details go into the population register at Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency. The details there, such as your name, personnummer and address, are public as a rule, and according to Skatteverket anyone can ask for them by calling or writing. Skatteverket: Public and confidential information (in Swedish).

The details also go to SPAR, the state address register, which sells names and addresses to companies. With a register extract (registerutdrag) from SPAR, you can see which companies got your details in the last year. SPAR: Register extract (in Swedish).

The people-search sites then gather details from several places and show them on a single page, which often comes up when someone googles your name.

Are they really allowed to do that?

The sites hold a publishing certificate (utgivningsbevis), which gives them the same constitutional protection as a newspaper. That’s why they’ve said the GDPR doesn’t apply to what they publish.

In July 2026, that changed a little. The EU Court ruled that a publishing certificate doesn’t by itself exempt a site from the GDPR. The case was about Lexbase, and whether the same applies to sites that show addresses and phone numbers hasn’t been tested yet. EU Court ruling C-199/24 (in Swedish).

IMY, the Swedish data protection authority, is now reviewing MrKoll and Upplysning, among others, and meanwhile doesn’t investigate individual complaints about the same question. IMY on the review (in Swedish). So for now, you remove yourself, site by site.

What stays

Your details stay at Skatteverket, and anyone who calls or writes there can still get them. But Skatteverket doesn’t put them online; the sites do. That’s why you become much harder to find once you’ve removed yourself.

If you need real protection, for example because you’re exposed to threats or violence, you can apply for protected personal data (skyddade personuppgifter) at Skatteverket. Skatteverket: Protected personal data (in Swedish).

How to remove yourself, for free

Every site has its own way of removing you. With BankID, the big ones, such as Ratsit, Hitta, MrKoll, Merinfo and Eniro, take about 20 minutes. No BankID yet, which is common at first? It works too, through contact forms, email or chat. It just takes longer.

That’s why we built Kolla själv, a free guide that goes through 26 sites with you, one by one and with or without BankID. It also shows how to remove results on Google and get an unlisted number (hemligt nummer), so your details don’t come back, and it can remind you in your calendar when it’s time to check again, for example after a move. The guide is free, with no login and no ads, and the name you type stays in your browser.

Remove yourself with Kolla själv

Kolla själv is available in Swedish, English, Arabic, Persian and Somali.