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Data Broker Exposure Check

Hundreds of companies sell your personal information — often without your knowledge. Find out who has your data and how to remove it.

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Data brokers collect and sell your personal information without your consent. Answer two questions to see which brokers likely hold your data and how to opt out.
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Quick Answer

Data brokers are companies that collect and sell your personal information — address, phone, relatives, income estimates — without your consent. Over 4,000 brokers worldwide hold records on virtually every adult. You can opt out, but each broker has its own process and re-acquires data within months.

  • • 4,000+ data broker companies — largest hold records on every US adult
  • • Sources: public records, loyalty programs, social media, app data, court filings
  • • EU: use GDPR erasure rights. California: use CCPA. Other states: manual opt-out
  • • Automated removal services (DeleteMe, Incogni) handle re-addition monitoring

The Data Broker Industry

The data broker industry generates over $200 billion annually by buying, packaging, and selling personal profiles. There are estimated to be over 4,000 data broker companies worldwide, with the largest holding records on virtually every adult in the United States.

Unlike social media companies (where you at least choose to create an account), data brokers collect and sell your information without any direct relationship with you. A Spokeo profile might include your current and past addresses, phone numbers, relatives' names, property records, estimated income, and more — sold to anyone who pays a few dollars.

3 Categories of Data Brokers

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People-Search Sites

Sites like Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, and Radaris aggregate public records and create searchable profiles. Anyone can look up your address, phone, and relatives by name. These are the most visible to consumers and typically have opt-out processes, though they are often deliberately cumbersome.

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Marketing Data Brokers

Companies like Acxiom, Epsilon, and Oracle Data Cloud build detailed consumer profiles used for targeted advertising. They combine purchase history, demographic data, lifestyle interests, and financial estimates. Your data is sold to banks, retailers, and insurers to influence pricing, credit decisions, and advertising.

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Background Check Providers

These aggregate criminal records, court filings, employment history, and education records. LexisNexis and Intelius are used by employers, landlords, and law enforcement. Their opt-out processes typically require ID verification.

How to Protect Your Data Going Forward

  • •Use an email alias service (SimpleLogin, AnonAddy) when signing up for services — no broker can link multiple accounts to your real address.
  • •Opt out of loyalty programs that share purchase data — many supermarket and retail loyalty schemes sell transaction history to marketing brokers.
  • •Review app permissions regularly — many apps (weather, flashlight, games) sell precise location data to data brokers in the background.
  • •Use a VPN to prevent IP-based tracking across sites — your IP is a primary identifier brokers use to link browsing activity to your profile.
  • •Minimise what you share on social media — date of birth, employer, location, and family connections are all data broker inputs.
  • •Use a virtual card number for online purchases — services like Privacy.com generate single-use card numbers so your real card is never shared with merchants.

Hide Your IP While Opting Out

Use LimeVPN when visiting data broker opt-out pages so they can't link your request to your real IP and re-profile you.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are data brokers? ▼
Data brokers are companies that collect, aggregate, and sell personal information about individuals — without directly asking for your consent. They gather data from public records, loyalty programs, social media, app usage, purchase histories, and other sources. They then sell this data to marketers, employers, landlords, insurers, law enforcement, and anyone willing to pay.
How did data brokers get my information? ▼
Data brokers acquire your information from many sources: voter registration records, property records, court records, social media profiles, website trackers, app data purchases, loyalty card programs, and data shared or sold by other companies you've used. Most of this data is legally obtained from public sources or through agreements you may not have noticed when signing up for services.
Can I actually get my data removed? ▼
Yes, but it requires effort. Each broker has its own opt-out process, and many are deliberately difficult. Even after successful removal, brokers often re-acquire your data within months. For comprehensive, ongoing removal, automated services like DeleteMe or Incogni handle this repeatedly on your behalf. EU residents can use GDPR erasure rights; California residents can use CCPA.
Does a VPN prevent data brokers from collecting my data? ▼
A VPN prevents sites from associating your browsing activity with your real IP address — which is one data signal. However, data brokers primarily collect from public records, not browser tracking alone. A VPN is most useful when combined with other measures: opt-out requests, a privacy-focused browser, email aliases, and not sharing personal information online unnecessarily.
What is DeleteMe or Incogni? ▼
These are paid services that automate data broker opt-out requests. They send removal requests to dozens or hundreds of brokers, monitor for re-addition, and send regular reports. DeleteMe covers US-focused brokers (from ~$100/year). Incogni (by Surfshark) covers EU and US brokers and is more affordable. Permission Slip from Consumer Reports is a free alternative with fewer brokers.
What data does this tool collect? ▼
None. This tool runs entirely in your browser. Your region selection and concern choices are never sent to any server. We do not scan actual databases — that would require you to provide personal information to a third party, which we do not recommend.

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