by Larry Magid
This post first appeared in the Mercury News
As an experiment, I entered a friend’s name and city of residence into Google and, within seconds, got to a page with his street address. A few seconds later I also found his phone number. I then went to one of the many online “people search” sites and, without even having to pay a fee, I found the name of some of his relatives, other places he’s lived and his age.
Had I been willing to pay a small fee, I could have learned considerably more: His email addresses, social media profiles, education background,. any criminal history that might exist and the names of his neighbors or even his friends and business associates. It doesn’t stop there. You can also dig up dating site history, unpaid medical bills, credit reports, sex offender registry checks, bankruptcy and foreclosure records, employment summaries, known aliases, past address history, eviction reports and even estimates of bank assets or income.
None of this requires any hacking. No special skills. No insider access. Just a name and a city or state, if that. It’s the type of information many of us share freely online every day.
The consequences of all this information range from mildly annoying to very serious. It’s one way that spammers get your phone number and email address and scammers and criminals can use it to help target you and fine tune their pitches to convince you to fall into their traps. The information can also be used to stalk and harass people, including domestic violence survivors whose abusers can use it to track them down.
There can also be adverse or false information, including inaccurate records of crimes, liens, lawsuits, bankruptcies, or other negative data that may not be true but could nonetheless affect your chances of getting a loan, a job, admission to college or even impact a potential friendship or romantic relationship.
Chances are pretty good that you and your family members are listed on some of these sites, but the good news is that there are tools that can help minimize what they have about you. I don’t know of any tool that is guaranteed to remove everything about you online but there are a number of commercial tools and a new free one from the state of California, that can be used to remove information from data brokers and people search sites.
California DROP site
The State of California now offers the Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform, known as DROP. Established under the 2023 Delete Act (Senate Bill 362), this free and easy-to-use site allows consumers to submit a single request to have their personal information deleted by every registered data broker in the state. Under the law, these brokers must register with the California Privacy Protection Agency annually, process deletion requests submitted through DROP, and undergo audits to ensure compliance. Companies that fail to comply face significant daily penalties and administrative fines. However, because the legal requirements for brokers to begin retrieving these requests don’t officially kick in until August 1, 2026, there may be a delay before you see your information disappear from their databases.
According to the California Privacy Protection Agency, data brokers collect and sell a wide range of personal information, including Social Security numbers, precise geolocation data, browsing history, email addresses, phone numbers, personal interests, health-related information, shopping habits, and other details about individuals’ activities and behavior. The agency says removing your information from broker databases may reduce unwanted texts, calls and emails because your data is no longer being widely sold for marketing purposes. It can also improve security by lowering the risk of identity theft, fraud, AI impersonation, or exposure in a data breach. However, the state notes that deleting your information from data broker databases could affect some online experiences, such as receiving fewer targeted ads or personalized content.
Commercial services
DROP is only for people living in California. If you live elsewhere or want a service that continuously monitors information about you, consider a commercial service such as Incogni, Optery, DeleteMe, and Kanary. These services claim to scan hundreds of data broker databases, submit removal requests on your behalf and periodically check to see whether your information has reappeared so they can request removal again. Some also provide reports showing where your information was found and what has been taken down.
Before you spend money on one of those services, consider the 2024 Consumer Reports study, “Data Defense: Evaluating People-Search Site Removal Services.” The good news from the study is that “private information about each participant on the people-search sites decreased after using the people-search removal services. And, not surprisingly, the removal services did save time compared with manually opting out.” However, the study also found that, “without exception, information about each participant still appeared on some of the 13 people-search sites at the one-week, one-month, and four-month intervals.”
Whack-a-mole
Unfortunately, it is close to impossible to entirely scrub your digital data from the internet. However, whether you use California’s new DROP site, manually request deletions yourself, or subscribe to a commercial service, playing this game of privacy whack-a-mole can reduce your online footprint.
For what it’s worth, you are in very good company. Nearly every adult with a digital footprint is listed in these databases. While that is cold comfort to those whose privacy or security has been violated, it means you are one of hundreds of millions whose information is out there. By taking these steps and staying vigilant against common scams, you shift yourself from “easy prey” to a “hard target.”
You may not be able to achieve total digital invisibility, but you don’t have to leave the front door wide open. Whether you’re a Californian using the state’s new free portal, opting for a paid service or taking the time to manually request that data brokers remove your information, you’re not likely to erase yourself from the internet but your information will be a bit harder to find.