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Digital PrivacySeptember 2, 20266 min read

Stop Data Brokers from Selling Your Information

Your personal details are being bought and sold online. Here is how to find where they are listed and remove them.

Data brokers collect information from public records, social media, shopping habits, and leaked databases. They package it into profiles and sell it to marketers, investigators, scammers, and anyone else willing to pay.

Find where you appear

Search your full name, city, and phone number in quotation marks. You will likely find dozens of sites listing your address, relatives, age, and contact details. These are data broker sites.

Opt out one by one

Most brokers have an opt-out page, though they hide it. You typically need to find your profile, copy its URL, and submit a removal request. Some require email verification or a photo ID.

Automate what you can

Services exist that handle data broker removals for a fee. If you prefer to do it manually, keep a spreadsheet of sites, URLs, and confirmation dates so you can re-check every few months.

Reduce future collection

The less you share publicly, the less brokers can find. Remove old accounts, limit social media visibility, and avoid giving your real email or phone number to apps and retailers unless necessary.

Digital Privacy for Everyday People cover

Get a full data broker removal checklist

Digital Privacy for Everyday People includes a practical checklist for finding and removing your information from data brokers, plus templates and follow-up schedules so your data stays private.

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