Yes, Your Personal Information Is for Sale. Here’s What to Do About It

How data broker sites threaten your privacy, and how you can fight back.

If you’ve ever Googled your own name, you’ve likely seen search results from sites with names like Intelius, MyLife, PeopleFinder, or Spokeo. They seem to know a surprising amount about you—not only your age, address, and phone number, but things like your homeownership status, your tax records, your court records, your voting records, or your religious affiliation.

You’ve probably had questions about these sites. What are they, exactly? How do they know so much about me? It seems like an invasion of privacy and an invitation for identity thieves—is this legal? Here are some answers.

Data Brokers: Legally Gathering and Selling Your Information

The sites promoting your personal information are called data brokers, a.k.a. “people search” sites. There are more than 100 of them currently operating; they scour the internet collecting people’s data, then sell it to advertisers and other groups. And it’s completely legal for them to do so.

These sites use automated software to harvest your information from tech companies, telecommunication providers, credit bureaus, tax records, court records, DMVs in some states, and other public sources. They bundle your data into a comprehensive personal profile, which they can sell to any person or group willing to pay a few dollars. (A typical report costs $20.)

There are three main privacy and identity risks involved when data broker sites sell your personal information:

1. You have no control over who can see your information.
   Advertisers want to access your profile so they can target their ads to you, but they’re far from the only ones. Prospective landlords, lenders, employers, and anyone else willing to spend a few dollars can easily buy your information from these sites.
2. Your data could fall into the wrong hands.
   Whether they buy your profile legitimately or steal it through a data breach, cyberthieves can access your profile and use it to target you for phishing campaigns, identity fraud, or other crimes.
3. You could be the victim of inaccurate information.
   The automated software used by data brokers to scour information is far from perfect; it often mixes the data of people with similar names. Imagine the shock and anger you’d feel if one of these “people search” sites mistakenly showed that you’ve been convicted of a crime—all because you happen to share the name of someone who actually committed the crime.
   
   

   To protect your privacy, the best course of action is to have your personal information removed from these data broker sites. (They are legally obligated to remove your information if you request it.) The biggest question is how to get it done.

The Challenge of Removing Your Data Manually

You could visit each of these data broker sites, one by one, and request to have your information removed. The process, however, is complicated and time-consuming. As mentioned earlier, more than 100 of these sites exist. Each has its own removal process: Some ask you to complete a form, some ask you to email them, and many require a phone call.

What’s more, once you’ve submitted your removal request, you’ll need to continue to monitor its progress, as some sites can take up to several weeks before removing your data. And when they do remove it, that’s not even the end of the story: They’ll start working to gather and sell your information all over again. Be prepared to go through the process again in the future.

Getting Your Data Removed Automatically

There’s a far simpler solution available. Just as data broker sites use automation to retrieve your information, you can use automation to get it removed.

Consider a personal data removal tool like ForgetMe from IDX Privacy, which automatically scans more than 100 data broker websites to see which ones are selling your personal profile. Whenever ForgetMe discovers your profile, it requests removal. Once the removal process is started, the software tracks its progress. You’ll see a confirmation when it’s complete.

Because these data broker sites are so persistent, ForgetMe doesn’t stop the first time it successfully removes your information—it continues scanning on a monthly basis. When ForgetMe detects that your information has reappeared, it automatically repeats the removal process, as often as it takes until the site finally stops reposting your profile.

Data broker sites continue to rake in lots of cash—legally—by selling information that you’d rather keep private. The good news is, you don’t have to be a part of it. With the right tools in place, you can opt-out of these “people search” sites and ultimately protect your privacy.