Data Brokers

Data brokers are businesses that collect, aggregate, and sell personal data about individuals without having a direct relationship with consumers. They sell data for marketing, risk assessment, targeted advertising, and more.

Data brokers gather your information from numerous sources, creating detailed profiles that can include thousands of data points per individual. Common sources include social media activity, public records such as property and court filings, browsing history captured through website cookies, loyalty and reward programs, mobile app interactions, surveys, and offline transactions such as retail purchases or magazine subscriptions. They also frequently purchase or exchange data with other companies, allowing them to build comprehensive profiles that include your demographic details, interests, financial status, medical history, purchasing habits, and even inferred characteristics like political affiliations and lifestyle preferences.

Data brokers affect your privacy in many ways, from routine identity verification and risk assessments to more troubling impacts like targeted marketing that exploits vulnerabilities or sensitive situations. While data broker information can serve legitimate purposes, such as verifying identities for security or financial transactions, it also poses significant risks. Data brokers often compile sensitive consumer profiles—like "economically anxious elders" or "frequent purchasers of pregnancy kits"—potentially exposing individuals to unwanted attention or discrimination. The industry’s widespread sale of personal data can also amplify privacy harms following data breaches by re-identifying anonymized datasets. Concerns have even extended to national security, with reports of brokers selling information about veterans and protestors to foreign adversaries, prompting recognition by agencies like the Office of the Director of National Intelligence that this industry can threaten civil liberties and consumer privacy alike.

You can verify if a company is a registered data broker by checking data broker registries in California, Texas, Oregon, or Vermont—or use our database above that consolidates these registries into one location.

Currently, to delete your data from brokers, you (or an authorized agent) generally must individually submit deletion requests directly through each broker’s privacy policy or consumer request forms. Typically, you need to verify your identity, and brokers can delay responses, deny your request based on certain exemptions, or extend response timelines. For example, under California's privacy law (CCPA), brokers have 45 days to respond but can request extensions if they claim difficulties verifying your identity or accessing data. Starting in 2026, California’s DELETE Act simplifies this process significantly, enabling Californians to simultaneously submit automated deletion requests to every registered broker at no cost via the Deletion and Request Opt-Out Portal (DROP).

You can directly contact data brokers and submit a "right to know" or access request if you live in a state that provides such privacy rights (currently, no federal right exists). Use our database to find registered brokers and access their privacy policies, which typically detail how you can request your data. Keep in mind, in the United States, businesses do not need your consent to collect or sell your information—they are legally allowed to sell and share your data unless you affirmatively opt-out (where state laws permit). This lack of consent requirements is one reason data brokers are so widespread in the U.S.

The California DELETE Act (2023) is a groundbreaking law that requires registered data brokers to honor automated consumer requests for data deletion at no cost. Starting in 2026, Californians will be able to submit these requests simultaneously to every registered data broker through a single, streamlined process known as the Deletion and Request Opt-Out Portal (DROP). Privacy Rights Clearinghouse proudly co-sponsored this legislation, leading a coalition of advocates to establish this unprecedented consumer right and give consumers more meaningful control over their personal information.

Your data rights vary depending on your state’s laws. Comprehensive privacy laws in states such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and Virginia typically provide you rights to access, correct, delete, and opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal data. Additionally, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act regulate certain aspects of data collection and sale, especially in credit and financial contexts. The California DELETE Act specifically targets data brokers, simplifying data deletion requests starting in 2026.

This is a difficult question to answer, with a sliding target that changes every day and for every individual. You can minimize data broker collection by opting out of tracking cookies, using ad blockers, enabling privacy settings on your devices, and employing browser privacy signals like the Global Privacy Control (GPC). Additionally, consider authorized agent services that help automate opt-out requests.