How Stop AARP Co-Branded Junk Mail and Further Contact Sharing?

[toddaoh]

Hello,

Ever since joining AARP and often in spurts - we seem to have experienced a large increase in junk mail via USMail either from AARP and/or from third parties co-branded w/ AARP or otherwise associated with AARP - or maybe AARP shared our contact info.

I would like to 100% stop this. No more junk mail offers. No more sharing of our address with 3rd parties. 

Suggestions on where/how to do this?

Thanks,

[ClaytonWing]

How to limit sharing: Which will stop AARP affiliate/third party postal mailers connected to your membership.

• Visit AARP’s website and select Privacy Hub and/or Your Privacy Choices (bottom of webpage). Both options will direct you to aarp.org/privacy > Fill out form “Right to opt out of sharing”. Enter name/email connected to your AARP account as well as your AARP member number. This will ONLY stop the affiliate/third party postal mailers connected to the membership number provided.

Unsure of membership number - see physical membership card, nine digit number on mailing label of AARP Magazine/Bulletin, log into AARP account and view your digital card.

If you continue to receive AARP affiliate/third party postal mailers you may have an inactive account.

• Locate old/inactive accounts: Visit AARP website (do NOT log in)  > search “Renew Membership” > select renew membership article (several may be listed) > renew now > Enter name/zip code of  current/old addresses as well as DOB. Old address info can be found via free lookup websites like truepeoplesearch and credit reports (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion & Innovis).

If account is connected to said info it will say “welcome back xxxx” and list name/address/partial account number. Select “edit” - to check if there is an email connected to account.

TIP: If your able to locate this old membership number limit sharing to this membership before closing account.

• Close inactive account - Email request to member@aarp.org, call AARP at 1-888-OUR-AARP (1-888-687-2277) Monday - Friday or use chat option. Explain you would like to close your inactive account OR merge both accounts.

[toddaoh · Accepted solution]

OK here's what I learned:

AARP does appear to default all it's membership into sharing their personal contact info with 3rd parties for the purposes of marketing products and services.

AARP does NOT provide ANY online options for opting out of sharing/selling your personal contact information with third parties. Nor is there any option for opting out that I recall at the time of enrolling online or via paper.

The ONLY way to stop your personal contact information from being shared with 3rd parties is, after enrolling, to call 1-888-687-2277. Have your member # ready. Respond to the voice bot with "Something else" followed by "Representative". 

The representative seemed to know exactly how to do this and opted me out of everything including "3rd party" etc. It will take 12 weeks to take effect however. 

Maybe they divulge this in the fine print when I enrolled - but I certainly don't recall it. Now that I've jumped thru the AARP hoops to stop it, hopefully in 12 weeks there will be no more junk mail. But the damage is done - my personal contact info has been shared and I hardly expect these companies are going to purge their systems of my information. 

AARP does plenty of good and in many respects is a fine organization. But I believe it to be less than genuine and forthright on the part of AARP to default members into such 3rd party sharing of personal contact information.

AT A MINIMUM: AARP needs to do a better job of advising members that they share your contact info by default AND to make it MUCH EASIER for members to opt out. I cannot think of a single other organization that that retains member information and doesn't provide an online option for opting out.

Let's not just complain but see if we can get this fixed!?!?

It would be best if they simply didn't do it by default in the first place. But as others have surmised, I suspect it's a revenue source to sell member contact information. And this is where AARP's interests are in conflict with mine. 

I am going to write a letter to AARP:

AARP

ATTN:  Dr. Myechia Minter-Jordan
601 E Street NW
Washington, DC 20049-0001

I don't see a more effective way than to send old fashioned letters to the above address. Calling or sending emails will likely not bubble up to the decision makers is my concern.

I'll complain about my information being shared and propose that AARP do a better job of explaining to members that their personal contact information will be shared by default and the need to make it easier for members to fully and completely opt out via their online accounts.

Further, once the site is back up again, I'll look into filing a privacy complaint with the FTC at: ftc.gov/complaint

Finally there is a great podcast called The Perfect Scam where the host Bob Sullivan covers among other things, how to protect your personal information from being shared. Maybe this is worth mentioning in a future podcast. Of course AARP sponsors the podcast - but I do think it's worth a shot on educating listeners how they can better protect their information shared by AARP.

Again - I think AARP is a fine organization but it has room to improve here and the only way to get AARP to notice and improve is for enough of us to complain and then give AARP a chance to fix this. So let's be fair about this and let them know our objections and see if they can fix this in time.

Thanks!

[SereneSeagull]

Further down on this post, Jan 27, 2026 at 10:30, you’ll see AARP’s Consumer Care answered the question as well with the instructions.  Most everything these days is an Opt-out system, so I would hope folks do that with everything anyway.  Hoops, yes.  

went to communication preferences in the help page area…

How Do I Unsubscribe From AARP Email?

• Aug 7, 2025

If you want to stop receiving email and newsletters from AARP, it's easy to manage your subscriptions. Here are a few different ways to unsubscribe. Please allow up to 10 days for requests to take effect in full. 

However, you may continue to receive service or account-related emails even if you are not subscribed to newsletters and marketing emails from AARP.

Click Unsubscribe link at bottom of email

You can unsubscribe from most AARP emails by clicking the Unsubscribe link located at the bottom of the email received. Service and account-related emails don't have an Unsubscribe link. 

Manage email subscriptions online using My Account

You can also manage your email communication preferences at any time online using My Account:

1. Log into your AARPAccount. If you don't have an account, it's free and easy to create one.
2. Select your name in the top right-hand corner and then select My Account.
3. Select the Communication Preferences tab.
4. Select Email Preferences to view all current and available email subscriptions.
5. Under MANAGE RENEWAL REMINDERS, select one of the following:
   • Receive Reminders - Get up to seven mails to remind you to renew your membership.
   • Receive Limited Reminders - You will receive one email renewal reminder.
6. Under MANAGE NEWSLETTERS:
   • Uncheck the box next to the newsletters you no longer wish to receive from AARP
   • Select Unsubscribe to all, I no longer wish to receive all AARP Newsletters to unsubscribe from all newsletters.

Unsubscribe from all AARP emails

To unsubscribe from all AARP newsletters and marketing emails, go to our Unsubscribe Website and enter your email address.

[FrankD652485]

Same question.

It is a shame that AARP will not respect our privacy and that we cannot opt out of third party junk mail via our profile.

We have seen probably a 10 fold or more increase in junk mail in the past half year, since joining AARP.

According to the chat bot; you have to chat or call the customer service line during office hours Mon-Fri to be removed from third party sharing.

I am skeptical if that will do any good, since they already passed our info on to so many different parties. 

[ClaytonWing]

AARP like most companies give you an option to Limit Sharing. Which limits how your information is shared with their affiliates & third parties. This information is located in a companies privacy policy. AARP’s limit sharing is located in their Privacy Hub > Right to opt out of sharing.

Filing out this form will stop postal mailers from AARP’s affiliates/third parties - AARP NY Life, AARP Hartford, AARP Medicare Supplement, etc. that are connected to the membership number entered.

Visit AARP’s website > Privacy Hub and/or Your Privacy Choices (bottom of webpage). Both options will direct you to aarp.org/privacy > Right to opt out of sharing. Enter name (EXACTLY as in account), email connected to AARP account and AARP membership number.

Unsure of membership number - see physical membership card, nine digit number on mailing label of AARP Magazine/Bulletin, log into AARP account and view your digital card.

If you continue to receive AARP affiliate/third party postal mailers:

• You have an inactive AARP account (I had three).
• You are/were a customer of AARP affiliate/third party companies.
• Your info is on the non AARP member list.

A sign of this is receiving AARP affiliate/third party postal mailers in a different name/address variation other than your current AARP account info.

[GailL1]

AARP Privacy Hub 

[toddaoh]

Anybody? 

Am looking for where the settings might be to restrict/filter AARP from sharing my info to junk mailers...? 

Thanks,

[GailL1]

AARP Privacy Hub 

[SereneSeagull]

Thanks Gail. 👍

I’m Still getting used to posting links.  That would’ve been less wordy of me.  
perfect, yes that’s the link to do it all.  A few clicks to do it, but it’s easier than calling I’d imagine.

[AARPConsumerCare]

Hi Toddaoh,

You can reduce or stop AARP co-branded mail and limit contact sharing by updating your communication preferences. Log in to your AARP account and adjust your mail and email settings, or visit https://help.aarp.org?cmp=SNO-LITHIUM---&socialid=19405345496 and search “communication preferences.” If you’d rather speak with someone, Member Services can also help at 1-888-687-2277. -AARP Darryl 

[SereneSeagull]

Adding another way as well. At the bottom of AARPs website you’ll see “Your Privacy Choices”. Click that and it will take you to the Privacy Hub.  Pics below.

1st pic is the bottom of AARPs webpage.  Next is where that leads..to the Privacy Hub.

 

[SereneSeagull]

Here’s where that led

[SereneSeagull]

The link they gave is a partial direct link unfortunately.  I was able to go to the help page help.aarp.org   (And if my text here doesn’t hyperlink, type that into your browser directly since links don’t always work here) Help.aarp.org 

Type communication preferences in the search box there.  

[FrankD652485]

False. That link goes nowhere specific.

And in our Mail Preferences there is not a single option to eliminate third party sharing. 

According to the chat bot, a person has to CALL or CHAT with a human during office hours Mon-Fri ... to be opted out of third party sharing. 

[SereneSeagull]

@FrankD652485   I’ve just put a bunch of pics above a few posts,  ⬆️ where you can see where to go directly yourself to opt out.  Start at the bottom of AARPs webpage and you’ll see “Your Privacy Choices”. I did it in a few short minutes with 3rd party opt out etc…

[toddaoh]

yep - that is unfortunately correct. The link provided goes nowhere and searching using the terms only gets you back to your existing preferences which do NOT allow you to opt out of this junk mail or sharing your personal contact info with others.

[SereneSeagull]

Hi, This is from the Contact Us page. 

[JanetO299482]

 Do you think they didn't see that? Nothing in that information tells them how to stop AARP junk mail.

Unfortunately AARP receives royalties for third party info. That's really all they do, make money off of us seniors. Benifits= not much.

[SereneSeagull]

No, I didn’t think they saw it, hence one of the reasons I posted it.  Thanks!