Right now, thousands of companies you’ve never heard of are building detailed profiles about you. They know where you live, what you buy, where you work, your health concerns, your financial struggles and they’re selling this information for profit.
These are data brokers, and they’ve built a nearly $300 billion industry on our personal information. There are roughly a thousand operating in the U.S. alone, with five times that number worldwide. Their clients range from banks and retailers to intelligence agencies, anyone willing to pay for detailed dossiers on individuals.
What They Know About You
The depth of information these companies collect is staggering:
Basic identifiers: Names, addresses, birthdates, phone numbers, emails, and ID numbers from passports to social security cards
Personal circumstances: Age, gender, ethnicity, marital status, education level, financial situation, even how many pets you have and what car you drive
Location patterns: Your workplace, home, favorite stores, and entertainment venues tracked through geolocation data
Purchasing behavior: Online and offline purchases, loyalty program memberships, preferred brands
Financial details: Credit scores, account types, investments, mortgages, credit card usage patterns, bankruptcy records
Digital footprint: Browsing history, social media activity, content preferences, recently viewed advertisements
Health information: Medication purchases, symptom searches, fitness app data
Personal beliefs: Political and religious views, interests, hobbies, preferred media sources
Social networks: Family members, colleagues, friends
They gather this by scraping public records, social media profiles, business registries, and real estate databases. They buy data from credit bureaus, loyalty programs, gadget manufacturers, and each other. They work with online advertisers and tracking companies, especially those embedded in mobile apps.
All these fragments are then stitched together using email addresses, phone numbers, and other recurring identifiers to create comprehensive profiles.
The Real-World Impact
This invisible data economy shapes your life in ways you never see. That loan rejection? The sudden spike in insurance premiums? The real estate agent who somehow got your number the day after you started house hunting?
In 2025, this data turned deadly when a killer purchased residential addresses from publicly available data broker websites to track and assassinate political targets.
Data brokers deliberately operate in secrecy. They avoid direct consumer contact, hide their data sources, and prohibit clients from revealing where they obtained their information.
And when data brokers get hacked, which they do, the consequences are massive. In the past year, hackers breached National Public Data and stole 2.7 billion records containing names, addresses, birthdates, phone numbers, and social security numbers. The breach potentially affected every single person in the U.S. with an SSN.
Why Removal Is So Difficult
While privacy laws are emerging, removing your data in practice is deliberately frustrating:
No central system: You must search for your data on each broker’s website individually and submit separate removal requests.
Hidden opt-out pages: A study in California, where law requires data brokers to register and honor removal requests found that 35 out of 499 registered brokers blocked search engines from indexing their removal pages. These links are often buried in website footers or deep within privacy policies.
Complex verification: Requests often require multiple steps and additional personal information to verify your identity. Researchers found some brokers demanding unusual verification like your zodiac sign or monthly car payment amount.
How to Actually Remove Your Data
If you’re ready to take this on, here’s the process:
- Build your target list: Start with comprehensive databases like the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse registry, which focuses on U.S. companies but includes major global players. Add region-specific brokers relevant to your location.
- Create a template: Draft a standard removal request email with your key personal details and references to applicable privacy laws, CCPA (California), GDPR (EU), UK-GDPR (UK), LGPD (Brazil), or 152-FZ (Russia). Even if these don’t directly apply to you, some brokers will honor the request anyway.
- Find the opt-out pages: For each broker, search for pages labeled “Opt Out,” “Do Not Sell,” “Privacy Request,” “Right to Delete,” or “Right to Be Forgotten.” Check website footers first, then privacy policy sections. Google searches can help when all else fails.
- Submit carefully: Read each broker’s specific requirements. Send your template via email if that’s their process, or adapt it to their online forms.
- Track everything: Use a spreadsheet to record the broker name, submission date, and request page URL. You’ll need this for follow-ups.
- Wait patiently: Responses can take up to six weeks, if they come at all. Your spreadsheet helps track timing and necessary follow-ups.
For those without the time or patience, paid services exist that automate these requests. This isn’t one-and-done. Data collection is continuous, so repeat this process every three to six months.
Prevention: Limiting Future Data Collection
You can’t completely avoid data brokers, but you can minimise what they collect:
- Separate email addresses and phone numbers: One set for important contacts (family, banks, government), another for shopping and non-essential services. Consider using more than two.
- Minimal loyalty program information: Give only what’s absolutely required.
- Audit your privacy settings: Review online banking apps and e-commerce sites. Disable anything under “Marketing Data,” “Advertising Preferences,” or “Partner Offers” phrases like “Show me ads based on my interests” often mean data sharing.
- Reset advertising IDs: Turn off and reset them on your smartphone regularly.
- Disable location tracking: Most apps don’t actually need it.
- Lock down social media: Use privacy settings in all social networks and messaging apps.
- Use privacy-focused browsers: Or apps designed to block online tracking.
The data broker industry thrives on obscurity. The more people understand how it works and take steps to protect themselves, the harder it becomes for these companies to profit from our personal information without consequence.