Guides · 23 August 2026 · 8 min read

How to Stop Data Brokers From Selling Your Data

A step-by-step guide to opting out of data brokers and sending deletion demands under CCPA, plus what these companies can and cannot remove.

To stop data brokers, you opt out of each one individually. There is no single switch. You find the sites that list your name, submit a removal or deletion request to each, and repeat the process every few months because the records come back. Below is how to do it by hand, for free.

What a data broker actually is

A data broker is a company that collects information about you and sells or publishes it. Some run people-search websites where anyone can type in your name and see your address, age, relatives and phone number. Others work behind the scenes, packaging your data for advertisers, background-check firms and lenders.

They build their records from many sources: public records, marketing lists, loyalty schemes, social media, and other brokers. This is why the same details appear on dozens of sites at once. It also explains why removal is never permanent. When you delete a listing, the broker can rebuild it from the same upstream feeds. Listings typically reappear within a few months.

What you can and cannot remove

You can ask a broker to delete the profile it publishes about you. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), California residents have the right to request deletion of personal information a business holds, and the right to opt out of its sale. Many brokers extend the same process to everyone because it is simpler than checking each person's location.

You cannot delete public records. Court filings, property ownership records, corporate registrations and voter rolls are public by law. A broker may repackage that information, and you can ask the broker to stop displaying its copy, but the underlying record stays public at the source. Be wary of any service that claims otherwise.

Before you start

Removal requests often ask you to confirm your identity, sometimes by clicking a link sent to your email. Set aside an email address you check, and expect some verification friction. Keep a simple list as you go: the broker name, the date you submitted, and whether you received confirmation. You will want this when listings reappear.

How to opt out of data brokers, step by step

1. Find out who lists you. Search your own name in a search engine, in quotes, together with your city or a past address. The people-search sites that appear in the results are the ones holding a public profile on you. Open each result and note the site name.
2. Locate the opt-out page for each site. Most brokers keep a page for privacy requests, opt-out or "do not sell my personal information". Look in the footer of the site, or search the broker's name with the words "opt out". Do not guess at a web address. If you cannot find the page, look for a privacy policy, which is legally required to explain how to make a request.
3. Find your specific listing first if required. Some brokers ask you to paste the URL of your own profile into the opt-out form. If so, search the site for your name, open your profile, and copy the address from your browser's bar.
4. Submit the request. Fill in what the form asks for. This is usually your name and an email address, and sometimes the profile link. Give only what is needed. If the broker offers deletion and opt-out of sale as separate choices, request both.
5. Complete any verification. Watch for a confirmation email. You often need to click a link or reply before the request is processed. If you skip this, nothing happens.
6. Send a written CCPA request where there is no form. Some brokers only accept requests by email or post. If you are a California resident, state clearly that you are exercising your rights under the CCPA to delete your personal information and to opt out of its sale. Include enough detail for them to find you. Even outside California, many brokers will honour the same request.
7. Record what you did. Add the broker, the date and the outcome to your list. Confirmation messages sometimes give a reference number. Keep it.
8. Check back and repeat. After a few weeks, search your profile URL again to confirm it is gone. Then set a reminder to repeat the whole search in a few months, because new listings will appear.

Cut off the source where you can

Deleting individual listings treats the symptom. You can also reduce what flows into brokers in the first place.

• Opt out of data sharing with companies you use. Loyalty cards, retailers and apps often sell or share customer data. Check the privacy settings in each account.
• Be careful with new sign-ups. Every form you fill in with your real address and phone number is a potential source. Use a secondary email where you can.
• Reduce your public social profiles. Brokers scrape openly visible information. Tightening privacy settings limits what they can collect next time.

None of this removes what is already published, but it slows the rebuild.

Why the listings come back

This is the part most guides skip. Brokers do not delete you in the sense of forgetting you exist. They suppress a public profile. The moment their next data feed arrives, matching your name against the same records, the profile can be recreated. Treat data broker removal as maintenance, not a one-time fix. A search every three to six months, followed by fresh opt-outs, is a realistic routine.

Doing it faster

The manual process works, but it is slow. Dozens of brokers, each with a different form and its own verification step, is a lot of repetitive effort, and it never truly ends. Vanish is a Mac app that automates it: it finds where brokers publish your details and sends CCPA deletion demands on your behalf, then keeps watching for listings that return. It does the same work described above, without you filling in every form by hand.

Whether you do it manually or with a tool, the principle is the same. Find the listings, demand removal, and check again in a few months.