Junk Mail Magic

Keep each adult’s privacy and mailing choices separate

Do not assume one adult's privacy or mailing request covers everyone at the address. A company may keep a separate record for each person, and each adult decides what to request in their own name. A shared worksheet can show who chose which action with which sender.

By Junk Mail Magic. Updated .

Build the household worksheet

  1. Ask each adult whether they want to take part. Leave off anyone who declines or is unsure. Nobody submits a request for another adult without that person's permission.
  2. Write down every name variant that appears on the household's mail, including nicknames, initials and joint names.
  3. Let each adult review the available choices, such as a sender's mail preference or a privacy portal, and pick their own action.
  4. For each person, record the sender, the name used and the action they chose. That lets you match a later mailing to the right request.

What one confirmation can leave open

A request in one adult's name may leave the other adults' records unchanged. A piece addressed to a joint name may come from a record for either person or for both. Read the sender's confirmation to see which name it covers, rather than assuming it does or does not reach everyone.

In California, each adult resident decides about DROP separately and keeps their own DROP ID private. DROP sends deletion requests to participating registered data brokers and does not guarantee that postal mail stops. If someone in the household is a dependent in another member's care, the FTC links a separate list for dependents.

Private household worksheet

Example for your own use. Replace the bracketed details and review what you share.

Adult: [name] Agrees to take part: [yes/no] Name variants on mail: [list] Sender: [name] Action they chose themselves: [action] Date: [date] Confirmation wording: [text] Notes for follow-up: [text]

Match new mail to the person

When a new piece arrives, find the printed name on the worksheet. If that adult already made a request with this sender, they can follow up using the details recorded there. If they have not, ask whether they want to make one.

Official sources

Keep different postal preferences as a couplePlan prescreen choices for two adults at one addressCheck whose choice a joint-account privacy opt-out changesAgree before photographing a family member's mailPrivacy and marketing listsAll practical mail guides

Choose the route that matches the mailing

Use the official route described in this guide for this kind of mail. For a separate ordinary advertisement, Junk Mail Magic can help prepare a sender-specific removal request.

Compare removal routes