If you live in California, you have the right to ask a company to tell you what personal information it has about you, stop it from selling personal information, delete the information or allow you to download it.
Posted: Jan 09 2020
Look for the Link
Certain businesses that sell your personal information must include a link on their homepage that says “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” or “Do Not Sell My Info” which allows you to exercise your rights.
You should also be able to find this information if you're using the business's app.
Submit Your Request
To access, download, delete and control the sale of your personal information, you have to make a request.
Online
Some businesses will let you submit requests without logging in to an account while others may require you to do so to access a dashboard or form where you can access, download, delete or control the sharing of your information.
If you don’t already have one, a business cannot require you to create an account just to exercise your rights.
Phone
Unless the business operates exclusively online, it must provide a toll-free number. If it isn’t readily available elsewhere, you can usually find this number in the privacy policy.
Email/Mail
To submit an email request, you can check the business’s website privacy policy for a contact email or call and ask for the email of its privacy or compliance officer. It might also have a downloadable form in the privacy policy that you can submit.
In-Person
You should see a notice and be able to make requests in a store (or other business) at the point where the business collects your personal information.
Verify Your Identity
Businesses must verify that it's you (or someone you authorized) submitting the request. You might be asked to submit information that the business already has about you or that a third party can use to verify your identity.
Wait
After you submit your request, you should receive a confirmation within 10 days from the business.
The business then has 45 days to fulfill or deny your request, but it may delay responding for up to 90 days in some cases. If your request is delayed or denied, the business must tell you why (i.e. it can’t verify your identity, you asked for information it can't provide, etc.).
File a Complaint
If you believe a business isn't complying with the law, you can file a complaint with the California Attorney General’s office.
