Data Broker Removal Guide

Data brokers profit from selling your personal data — addresses, phone numbers, political affiliation, court records, and more. That information is used by advertisers, insurance companies, law enforcement, stalkers, and even AI model trainers. You can remove yourself — manually, automatically, or with paid services.

🧰 LEVEL 1 — Manual DIY Removal

✅ Pros:

• Free
• Maximum control
• No 3rd-party trust needed

❌ Cons:

• Tedious, repetitive
• Some brokers ask for photo ID
• Must be repeated every 3–6 months

🔗 Recommended Broker Lists (Free):

1. 🔗 Yael Grauer’s Big Opt-Out List
   🧠 Most complete, cyber-privacy veteran approved
2. 🔗 Optery’s DIY Opt-Out Directory
   Includes detailed instructions for ~200 brokers
3. 🔗 SimpleOptOut.com
   Fast, user-friendly list of high-priority opt-outs

⚙️ LEVEL 2 — Free Tools

⚠️ Cyber Warning: Always read privacy policies. Some “free” tools harvest more than they protect.

🔧 Optery (Free Tier)

• Scans hundreds of brokers and shows where your data is
• You submit the removals yourself

✅ Pros:

• Transparent company
• Good dashboard
• No data reselling

❌ Cons:

• No auto-removal unless you pay
• Limited visibility unless upgraded

🔧 Blur by Abine

• Provides masked email and phone
• Related to DeleteMe (see below)

✅ Pros:

• Good alias creation
• Basic anti-tracking tools

❌ Cons:

• Not a real data broker removal tool
• More useful for forward privacy, not removal

❌ Permissions.io — Not Recommended

• Claims to manage your “marketing consent preferences”

🚨 Privacy Risk: Aggregates your info for marketing databases.
Not a data broker opt-out service. Avoid.

💸 LEVEL 3 — Paid Removal Services

Paid tools reduce workload, but can’t reach every broker. Also important: not all of them show proof of results.

🔒 Optery (Paid)

• Starts at $9.99/mo
• Removes from 40–150+ brokers
• Offers real-time dashboards and PDF logs

✅ Pros:

• Transparent, technical backend
• GDPR + CCPA aware
• Very active support

❌ Cons:

• No mobile app yet
• U.S.-focused

🧼 DeleteMe by Abine (affiliate link)

• $129/year
• Removes from ~30–50 major data brokers
• Sends quarterly reports with screenshots

✅ Pros:

• Longstanding reputation
• It’s what I use personally
• Human-verified removals
• Great for non-technical users

❌ Cons:

• Only targets a limited number of brokers
• Can take 1–2 months for the first report
• Some upsell pressure

🌐 Incogni by Surfshark

• $6.49/month billed yearly
• Uses legal privacy requests (GDPR/CCPA)

✅ Pros:

• Legal-based takedown automation
• Includes EU jurisdictions

❌ Cons:

• No dashboard or visibility into where data was removed
• Owned by Surfshark (mixed privacy reviews in security circles)

🛡️ Kanary

• $89/year
• Targets people search + breach aggregators

✅ Pros:

• Monitors leaks and marketing data
• Unique coverage of social/marketing platforms

❌ Cons:

• Less transparent UI
• Broker coverage is thinner than Optery/DeleteMe

📌 Summary Table (Cyber-Aware View)