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Home › Data › Data brokers selling your personal information
Data: What happens to your information · Tech & software

Data brokers selling your personal information: fair or not?

Search your name online and you may find a site listing your address, age, phone numbers and relatives. Behind it is an industry of data brokers that collect and resell details about people who never signed up with them, usually without their knowledge. Is it fair to build and sell a profile of someone without asking?

Is it fair for companies you have never dealt with to collect and sell your personal information?

Be one of the first to vote.

What happens

Data brokers gather information from public records, such as property and court files, and buy more from apps, stores, websites and other brokers. They combine it into profiles that can include your addresses, phone numbers, relatives, purchases, interests and sometimes where your phone has been.

These profiles are sold or rented to marketers, other brokers, and anyone who pays to look you up on a people-search site. You usually have no account with these companies, so you never see a privacy notice or a choice. When you do find a listing and remove it, a copy of the same data may still sit with dozens of other brokers, and listings can come back later.

Why many people say it’s not fair

  • You never chose to do business with these companies, yet they profit from details about your life.
  • Profiles can expose a home address to stalkers, abusers, scammers or angry strangers.
  • Removing yourself means finding and contacting many separate companies, often one at a time.
  • Deleted listings can reappear when brokers refresh their data.
  • Profiles can be wrong, and you may have no easy way to see or fix them.
  • Sensitive details, like visits to clinics or places of worship, can be inferred from location data.

The other side

Brokers and their customers say much of this information comes from public records that anyone can already see, and that collecting it in one place saves time. Their data is used to verify identities, prevent fraud, find heirs and lost relatives, run background checks allowed by law, and reach customers with relevant offers.

Many brokers say they offer opt-outs, do not sell sensitive health or financial details, and follow state registration and privacy laws. Some argue that tight limits would make fraud checks harder and raise costs for small businesses that depend on affordable marketing lists.

Options you may not be told about

Californians can use the state's free DROP tool to send one deletion request to every registered data broker. Brokers had to start processing these requests on August 1, 2026, and must check for new ones every 45 days.
Most people-search sites have their own opt-out page. Some ask for a link to your listing or proof of identity. Consumer Reports suggests rechecking about twice a year because removed listings can come back.
California, Vermont, Texas and Oregon require data brokers to register with the state. These public lists can help you find companies to contact.
In California and some other states, you can turn on a browser privacy signal like Global Privacy Control so sites treat it as a request not to sell or share your data.
If you live in a state with a consumer privacy law, such as California, Colorado or Connecticut, you can ask businesses to delete your data or stop selling it.

What you can do

  1. Search your name, city and phone number to see which people-search sites list you.
  2. Use each site's opt-out page, and save confirmation emails and dates.
  3. If you live in California, file one request through DROP at the state privacy agency's website.
  4. Turn on Global Privacy Control or a similar setting in your browser.
  5. Set a calendar reminder to search again in about six months.
  6. Report brokers that ignore requests to your state attorney general and the FTC.

Rules and your rights

No single federal law covers data brokers in general. California's Delete Act created DROP: Californians could sign up starting January 1, 2026, and registered brokers had to begin processing deletion requests on August 1, 2026. Vermont, Texas and Oregon also require broker registration. Several state privacy laws give rights to delete data or opt out of its sale. The FTC has acted against brokers selling sensitive location data, including X-Mode, InMarket, Gravy Analytics and Kochava, using its power to stop unfair practices. You can report problems to the FTC and your state attorney general.

Has this happened to you? Share what happened so others know what to expect.

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Related

Common questions

How do I remove my information from people-search sites?

Search for yourself on major people-search sites, then use each site's opt-out or privacy page to request removal. Some ask for your listing's link or an email to confirm. Keep records, and check again every few months because listings can reappear. Paid removal services can help, but none can promise to remove everything.

What is California's DROP tool?

DROP, the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, is a free state website created under California's Delete Act. A verified California resident files one request, and every registered data broker must check the list and delete that person's information. Brokers began processing requests on August 1, 2026, and must check at least every 45 days.

Is it legal for data brokers to sell my information?

In most cases, yes. No general federal law bans it, though some uses are limited, such as reports used for credit, jobs or housing. Some states require broker registration or give residents rights to delete data or opt out of sales. The FTC has acted against brokers over sensitive data like location tracking.

Sources: California Privacy Protection Agency: Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) and data broker registry ↗ · CalPrivacy: January 2026, DROP is coming ↗ · CalPrivacy: Making privacy easier for Californians (opt-out preference signals) ↗ · CPPA: California, Colorado and Connecticut sweep on Global Privacy Control (Sept. 2025) ↗ · Cozen O'Connor: New data broker laws in Texas and Oregon ↗ · FTC: Final order with X-Mode and Outlogic on sensitive location data (April 2024) ↗ · FTC: Final order with InMarket on precise location data (May 2024, archived copy) ↗ · FTC: Final order barring Gravy Analytics and Venntel from selling sensitive location data (January 2025) ↗ · Willkie: FTC settlement with Kochava and subsidiary (May 2026) ↗ · Consumer Reports: How to delete your information from people-search sites ↗

General information, not legal, financial or real estate advice. Whether a practice is fair is a matter of opinion; votes and shared experiences are the views of site visitors, not AblePro, Inc. Rules and company policies change; check current terms and your state’s rules.