Hundreds of companies are collecting and selling your personal information right now — your address, phone number, relatives, income estimate, and more. Here's how to fight back.
Data brokers are companies whose entire business model is collecting, aggregating, and selling personal information about you. They gather data from public records (property records, court filings, voter registrations), social media, loyalty programs, app tracking, purchase history, and hundreds of other sources. The result is detailed profiles that include your current and past addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, relatives and associates, estimated income, political affiliation, health interests, and much more. This information is sold to marketers, employers, landlords, private investigators, and — most concerningly — anyone willing to pay, including stalkers and scammers.
The scale of the problem: there are over 4,000 data broker companies operating in the United States. The largest — Acxiom, LexisNexis, Experian (the data broker division, separate from the credit bureau), Spokeo, BeenVerified, Whitepages, and Intelius — maintain profiles on virtually every American adult. The data broker industry generates over $200 billion in annual revenue. Unlike credit bureaus, data brokers are largely unregulated at the federal level, though California (CCPA), Virginia (CDPA), and a growing number of states have enacted privacy laws that include data broker opt-out rights.
Manual opt-out: the free but time-consuming approach. Most data brokers are legally required to honor opt-out requests, though the process is deliberately cumbersome. Each broker has its own opt-out procedure — some require a web form, some require a copy of your ID, some require a written letter, and some require you to create an account (which creates a new data point). The major brokers to prioritize: Spokeo (spokeo.com/optout), BeenVerified (beenverified.com/opt-out), Whitepages (whitepages.com/suppression-requests), Intelius (intelius.com/opt-out), PeopleFinder (peoplefinder.com/optout.php), and Radaris (radaris.com/page/how-to-remove). Expect to spend 10–20 minutes per broker, and expect your information to reappear within 6–12 months as brokers re-scrape public records.
Automated removal services: the practical alternative. Services like DeleteMe, Incogni, Optery, and Privacy Bee submit opt-out requests to hundreds of data brokers on your behalf and monitor for reappearances. DeleteMe ($129/year for one person) covers around 750 data broker sites and sends quarterly reports showing what was found and removed. Incogni ($6.49/month) covers over 180 brokers with a more automated approach. Optery offers a free tier that shows you where your data appears, with paid tiers ($3.99–$14.99/month) that handle removal. For most people, the time savings of an automated service easily justify the cost.
What data removal can and cannot do: data removal services can remove your information from people-search sites and marketing data brokers — the sites that show your address and phone number to anyone who searches your name. They cannot remove your information from credit bureaus (which are regulated separately), government records (court filings, property records, voter registrations — these are public by law), or companies with whom you have a direct business relationship. They also cannot prevent data brokers from re-collecting your information from public sources, which is why ongoing monitoring and periodic re-removal are necessary rather than a one-time fix.
Reducing future data collection: opt out of data sharing at the source. Opt out of pre-screened credit offers at OptOutPrescreen.com (this removes you from Equifax, Experian, TransUnion, and Innovis marketing lists). Register with the DMA's Mail Preference Service to reduce direct mail. Use a separate email address for loyalty programs and retail accounts. Review app permissions and revoke location access from apps that don't need it. Use a VPN to prevent your ISP from selling your browsing data. Consider a privacy-focused browser and search engine. None of these steps eliminates data collection entirely, but together they meaningfully reduce the volume of data available for brokers to collect and sell.
Safety 1st Editorial Team
This article is credited to Safety 1st Editorial Team. Safety 1st Consumer Protection has republished this content with attribution.